Author: Abhishek Shukla

Owner of Sports India Live.
by Abhishek Shukla

Indian Women’s Hockey Team to take on hosts England on Saturday

London, 20 July 2018: The mood among the Indian Women’s Hockey Team is upbeat as they are set to take on hosts England in their opening match of the Vitality Hockey Women’s World Cup London 2018 on Saturday, 21 July 2018. India grouped in Pool B will take on World No.16 Ireland on 26 July followed by World No.7 USA on 29 July apart from facing the Olympic Champions England in their home ground on the opening day of the prestigious tournament.
“The pressure will be on England and not on us,” asserted Indian Team skipper Rani on the eve of the match. “Yes they will have the home ground advantage but we are not new to playing in front of big crowds. We have done well against England before and we will carry the confidence of doing well in our recent tournaments including the CWG where we had tasted victory against England in the Group Stage in Gold Coast. We will go into the match with the belief that we can beat them. We just need to make sure we don’t make silly mistakes like we did in the Bronze Medal match at the CWG which cost us the game,” added Rani.
India’s previous appearance at the FIH World Cup was in 2010 when the event was held in Argentina. Rani then was the cynosure of India’s ninth-place performance as she had scored maximum of seven goals for the team during the course of the tournament. While there will be a lot riding on Rani during the Vitality Hockey Women’s World Cup London 2018 too, she has a unit that has shown confidence-inspiring performance over the past two years where India even climbed to a career-best ranking of World No.10. “The team, especially the forward-line does not depend on Rani alone anymore to score goals. We have young strikers including the experience of Vandana Katariya with 200 plus International Caps who have scored on multiple occasions for the team. I like to look at the positives we have and having a drag-flicker like Gurjit Kaur who is one of the best in the world is also an advantage we have,” stated Chief Coach Sjoerd Marijne.
After having arrived in London a week prior to the start of the tournament, the Indian Team has had good training sessions at the event venue Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Stadium including two practice matches against Australia and Belgium. “We have had good match practice against two of the top teams in the World. The team is upbeat and excited ahead of the first match and right now, our only focus is to do well against England. We have played USA and Ireland too in the past and have specific game plan against them. But for now, our focus is on the first match,” signed off Rani.
On 21st July India will take on England in their first match of Vitality Hockey Women’s World Cup London 2018 at 18:30 IST. All matches will be shown live on Star Sports 2, Star Sports HD 2 and Hotstar and
DD Sports (Only India matches).
by Abhishek Shukla

AFI selects six ultra-runners for 100km World Championships

New Delhi. Six Indian ultra-runners will take part in the 30th IAU 100km World Championship to be held at Sveti Martin na Muri, Croatia on 08th September 2018. This is the first time an Indian team will participate in the 100km World Championships.

The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) has selected Vikash Malik, Lt Cdr Abhinav Jha, Sandeep Kumar, Lallu Lal Meena, Binay Kumar Sah and Suman Kumar Mishra to represent India at the ultra-marathon race.

Earlier last month, AFI invited applications from Indian nationals to represent India in the competition. The cut-off timing for Men in 100km was nine hours 45 minutes while for Women it was ten hours 45 minutes. The ultra-runners who have completed a 90km race in past one-year were also eligible for selection with a cut-off time of eight hours 30 minutes for Men and nine hours 30 minutes for Women while a distance of 115km (Men) and 100km (Women) in a 12-hour race was also considered as a selection qualification.

Out of a total 42 applications received by AFI, Vikash Malik, Lt Cdr Abhinav Jha, Sandeep Kumar and Lallu Lal Meena met the cut-off timings while Binay Kumar Sah and Suman Kumar Mishra are considered for the team on the basis of their timings which were very close to the selection criteria set by AFI.

Lt Cdr Abhinav Jha, said, “I am very excited and would like to thank AFI for sending team to this competition. I will try my best,”

Adille J Sumariwalla, AFI President said, ”I am really glad that sport of ultra-running is catching up fast in India and we are now having athletes who can represent India in World Championships. In the years to come, we will start organizing National Championships in ultra-events so there is more participation across the country.”

About Ultra-marathons- Ultra running, Trail running and Mountain races are events that are growing world wide especially in Europe, America and Asia. The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) has recognized these sporting events. The International Association of Ultra runners (IAU), the international governing body of ultra distance running and the International Trail Running Association (ITRA) conduct World Championships. The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) is a member of the IAAF, IAU and ITRA. Through the AFI, Indian ultra runners have the opportunity to participate at the World and Regional Championships.

Indian Achievements- Ultra running as a sport began in India around 2007-08. Since then it has grown rather rapidly, with more and more runners venturing into this field each year. The year 2007 saw mere 65 finishers in India’s only ultra race at that time. Today more than 1500 runners (and counting) participate in about 18 ultra races being organised across the country. The AFI sent a team comprising Ullas Narayan and Kieren D’Souza for India’s first ever participation at the Trail World Championships, Italy in June 2017; and, Meenal Kotak, Aparna Choudhary, Ullas Narayan and Kieren D’Souza represented the country at the 24 Hour World Championships at Belfast in July 2017. The participation of Indian athletes had provided athletes the much need exposure to the international arena and has also fueled the passion of ultra-running among others.

by Abhishek Shukla

Indian Junior Men’s Hockey Team play out a 1-1 draw against Belgium

Antwerp (Belgium), 18 July 2018: The Indian Junior Men’s Hockey Team were held to a 1-1 draw by Belgium in their third round robin match of the U-23 Five Nations Tournament (Men) here on Tuesday.
The Indian Junior Men’s team had a mixed bag of results in their first two matches of the tournament as they beat Ireland 5-0 in their first match, but lost 1-3 to Great Britain in the second match. However, a strong performance against the hosts was needed and the Indian Forwards did not disappoint as they produced an attacking display in the first two quarters.
The Indian Junior team were rewarded for their constant pressure on Belgium when striker Mohammad Umar found space in the striking circle and put the ball into the back of the net at the stroke of half-time. The third quarter, however, saw the hosts produce a quick reply to India taking the lead, as Syril Frying cancelled out the lead in the 34th minute to level the scores.
Both the teams had their chances in the final quarter of the match, but neither could capitalise the chances and  the match ended in a draw, which means that India will need to win their last round robin match against the Netherlands to have a chance of qualifying for the Final match of the U-23 Five Nations Tournament.
On 20 July 2018, Indian Junior Men’s Hockey Team will take on the Netherlands at 18.30 hours IST.
by Abhishek Shukla

Surge in World Ranking is big motivation, says Indian Men’s Hockey Team Skipper PR Sreejesh

Bengaluru, 18 July 2018: Following their stupendous Silver-Medal performance at the recently-held FIH Men’s Hockey Champions Trophy 2018 in Breda, the Netherlands, the Indian Men’s Hockey Team have have surged ahead in Men’s FIH Hero World Ranking from World No.6 to fifth place. The PR Sreejesh-led Indian team’s recent exploits has pushed Germany to sixth place.
According to the FIH Release on Tuesday, Australia (1906 points) sit 23 points ahead of second ranked Argentina (1883), with Belgium (1709) and Netherlands (1654) occupying the respective third and fourth positions.
“We are really happy and elated to see ourselves jump one step ahead in the World Rankings. The higher we go there is a lot more responsibility on our shoulders to do well and come up with consistent performance. The elevation in World Ranking gives us a big boost to do well in the upcoming 18th Asian Games 2018 in Jakarta and the Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup Bhubaneswar 2018 where we want to finish on the podium in front of our home crowd,” expressed Sreejesh on the sidelines of the ongoing National Camp at Sports Authority of India, Bengaluru.
The ace goalkeeper further added that the team needs to work hard to achieve their desirable goal of moving up to Top 3 in the World. “When you are going higher up the World Ranking, everyone (other teams) will take a close look at us and we will be in their radar constantly. We need to work really hard to maintain and improve our World Ranking. I believe we have the potential to go higher up to World No.3 but for that we need to do significantly well at the upcoming events and World Ranking has certainly added positive energy to our preparations,” stated Sreejesh, who was awarded the Goalkeeper of The Tournament title at the FIH Men’s Hockey Champions Trophy 2018.
Meanwhile, the team’s Chief Coach Harendra Singh congratulated his players for their efforts but was quick to add that they must remain persistent to climb further up. “My heartiest congratulations to all the players, support staff and Hockey India for their constant support. It is the hard work of the players that has paid dividends. I believe this team has the potential to do better and moving up to Top 3 is realistic if we finish on the podium at the Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup Bhubaneswar 2018. We must work harder now and take this as a big motivation to excel in forthcoming tournaments,” stated Chief Coach Harendra Singh.
by Abhishek Shukla

‘Can’t take any team lightly at Asian Games,’ say Indian Hockey Men and Women’s Team Chief Coaches

New Delhi, 17 July 2018: The Indian Men’s Hockey Team will begin their campaign at the 18th Asian Games 2018 Jakarta-Palembang against Hong Kong China on 22 August 2018 as per the fixtures that was announced on Monday. While the Men’s team led by PR Sreejesh will face Korea, Japan, Sri Lanka and Hong Kong China in Pool A, the Indian Women’s team led by Rani will take on Indonesia on 19 August 2018 followed by matches against Kazakhstan, Korea and Thailand in Pool B as per the schedule announced on Monday.
“Though we are the Defending Champions, we cannot take any teams lightly. I don’t call this an easy group. We must be highly cautious against each of these teams as we have not played against teams like Hong Kong China and Sri Lanka. Japan is a rising team in Asia and are capable of surprising any team. They have done well in recent events while Korea too are a good team, play very defensive hockey and we have watched their game closely during the on-going practice matches in SAI, Bengaluru,” stated Indian Men’s Team Chief Coach Harendra Singh. The Indian Men’s Team had defeated Pakistan in the Final of the 2014 Asian Games to win Gold and qualify for the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.
The Chief Coach further stated that the team will go in with a must-win attitude if they wish to qualify for the 2020 Olympic Games. Harendra said, “I expect the team to be hungry to win the Gold again and get direct qualification for the 2020 Olympic Games and I want to make it clear that there will be no room for complacency.”
In Men’s Pool B, Malaysia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Oman, Thailand, and Indonesia, will go head to head to secure top positions in the round robin stage.
Meanwhile, the Indian Women’s Hockey Team will be vying for a Gold too in order to qualify for the 2020 Olympic Games and had previous settled for the Bronze in the 2014 Asian Games. “As we arrived in London on Sunday for the Vitality Hockey Women’s World Cup London 2018, our focus is on the current tournament. However, in the Asian Games Pool, Korea will be our toughest challenge and I am happy we have played quite a few matches against them this year and are aware of how they play. The only thing I would say to the team is that it does not matter who we play, if we want to win, we must win against everyone whether they are ranked lower than us or higher,” Chief Coach Sjoerd Marijne stated.
In Pool A of the Women’s Category, China, Japan, Malaysia, Hong Kong China, and Chinese Taipei will take on each other to secure top positions in the round robin stage.
Hockey at the Asian Games will witness 21 Teams from 14 countries go head to head in the Men’s and Women’s categories in 60 matches over a course of 14 days. The winners of the Men’s and Women’s tournament will book their place in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. All matches will be played in the Gelora Bung Karno (GBK) Sports Complex, Jakarta, Indonesia.
by Abhishek Shukla

World junior squash championship opens

Chennai: The world junior squash championship was formally declared open by the Tamil Nadu Minister for Youth Welfare and SportsDevelopment, Mr P. Balakrishna Reddy at a colourful function at the Indian Squash Academy here on Tuesday. The matches get underway on Wednesday.

Members from the 28 teams, including host India, marked for participation in this championship were present for the neatly organised function. Flag bearers of the representing countries came in to the arena amidst cheers all around and gathered into a colourful bunch within the centre court. As always the host team, whose flagbearer was Ashita Bhengra, received the biggest applause.

The Minister Mr Balakrishnan underlined the big role that the government had been doing for the promotion of sports in the state. He mentioned the name of former Chief Minister late J. Jayalalitha and her keen interest in sports development while adding that the present government was fully behind all the ideals that she had stood for. Ever since the establishing of modern infrastructure in the wake of the 1995 SAF Games, he said, the State had seen a surge in the performances of athletes in various sports. The government had also provided several crores of rupees in sportsincentives to the best performers. The Minister said he was happy that Tamil Nadu was in the forefront in the sport of squash and specially mentioned the role of State’s squash players Saurav Ghosal, Joshna Chinappa and Dipika Pallikal Karthik in the main in bringing laurels to the country.

Referring to the Current World championship, Mr Balakrishnan congratulated Mr N. Ramachandran, President, Tamil Nadu Squash Rackets Association and his team for the good work done for the successful conduct of the event.

Earlier Mr Ramachandran thanked the Government and the Chief Minister in particular for being very supportive in all the major ventures of the Squash Association, including the current World championship.

Also to speak on the occasion was Mr Dheeraj Kumar, Principal Secretar, Ministry of Youth Welfare and Sports Development. The Championship Director, Mr Cyrus Poncha proposed a vote of thanks.

Another highlight of the evening was a brief phase of music and dance to symbolise a blend of tradition and modernity that set alight the arena even as colour lights ran riot. All in all it was an evening that the good gathering in good cheer.

by Abhishek Shukla

NBA Academy India lose to NBA Academy China in their opening game

The second NBA Academy Games and Basketball Australia Prospects Camp tipped off yesterday at The NBA Global Academy at the Australia Institute of Sport (AIS) in Canberra, Australia. More than 120 prospects representing 18 countries arrived in Canberra for a series of exhibition games, on-court drilling, positional skill development and daily life skills sessions.
 
The week-long camp will feature prospects from the NBA Academies in Australia, China, India, Mexico and Senegal, along with five teams comprised of 50 top prospects from Australia, including BA’s Centre of Excellence team.
 
NBA Academy Game and BA Prospects Camp Teams: The NBA Global Academy; The NBA Academy Africa; The NBA Academy China; The NBA Academy India; The NBA Academy Latin America; Centre of Excellence
BA Prospects Team A; BA Prospects Team B; BA Prospects Team C; BA Prospects Team D; BA Prospects Team E
Today’s on-court action included combine testing, physio sessions and team practices throughout the morning. Prospects also participated in an Introduction to Meditation life skills session led by former NBA player and NBA Academy Advisory Committee member Adonal Foyle.
 
Exhibition games began Monday afternoon, including the following three matchups:
 
The NBA Academy China vs. The NBA Academy India
  • The NBA Academy China defeated The NBA Academy India 81-63.  The NBA Academy China features prospects from the three NBA Academies in China (Jinan, Urumqi and Zhuji), while The NBA Academy India traveled from Delhi National Capital Region (NCR) to Canberra for the second straight year.  The high-scoring NBA Academy China team was paced by Xihao Yang, who recorded a 12 point / 10 rebound double-double and Lin Qi who dropped 17 points on 7/10 shooting.  Pritish Jitesh Kokate scored 14 points off the bench for The NBA Academy India. Box Score.
 
 
The NBA Global Academy vs. The NBA Academy Latin America
  • The NBA Global Academy defeated The NBA Academy Latin America 72-55. After being down two points at halftime, The NBA Global Academy rallied in the second half to outscore The NBA Academy Latin America by 19 points to win the opening game of the week.  The NBA Global Academy had three players in double figures including, Tamuri Wigness (Australia), Josh Bannan (Australia) and Aly Khalifa (Egypt). The NBA Academy Latin America’s strong team chemistry was on full display, led by the dynamic backcourt of Jermaine Perez (Puerto Rico) and Santiago Vescovi (Uruguay) who scored 15 points and five points, respectively. Box Score.
 
The NBA Academy Africa vs. Centre of Excellence
  • Centre of Excellence defeated The NBA Academy Africa 60-41 in the final game of the day. Centre of Excellence jumped out to an early 32-15 lead at the half before The NBA Academy Africa settled into an offensive rhythm, scoring 16 third quarter points. The Centre of Excellence benefited from a balanced scoring attack fueled by 21 points off turnovers. Alexander Ducas and Daniel Grida led the COE in scoring with 13 points and 10 points, respectively.  Timothy Igohoefe (Nigeria) led The NBA Africa Academy with a team high 14 points and nine rebounds. Ibou Badji (Senegal) turned in an impressive eight point, six rebound and four block performance in 19 minutes. Box Score.
by Abhishek Shukla

Indian Women’s Hockey Team leave for Vitality Hockey Women’s World Cup London 2018

New Delhi, 15 July 2018: The excitement among the members of the Indian Women’s Hockey Team was palpable as they boarded the flight at the Indira Gandhi International Airport on Sunday afternoon for the Vitality Hockey Women’s World Cup London 2018 to be held between 21 July and 5 August 2018.

This is the first time in eight years that the Indian Women’s Hockey Team will appear at the prestigious World Cup and no other player in the current squad apart from skipper Rani and Deepika have ever played at a World Cup before. “The team is extremely excited and we have waited for this moment ever since we won the Asia Cup last year. For almost everyone on the team, this will be a first-time experience to be playing at the World Cup,” expressed skipper Rani who was brimming with confidence ahead of the team’s departure.

Though this will be the first-appearance at the quadrennial event for most of them, the fact that the team consists of players who have more than 100 International Caps is an advantage feels Rani. She said, “It is a plus point for us that this team barring only three or four players have been playing together for over two years now and have had good international exposure with many of them having more than 100 or 150 plus International Caps for India. Every player in the team has grown from strength to strength and I am confident we will do well at the Vitality Hockey Women’s World Cup London 2018.”

The Indian team is grouped in Pool B with Olympic Champions England, World No.7 USA and Ireland. In their first match on 21 July 2018, the Indian team will take on hosts England. Having beaten the team who are ranked World. No 2 at the recent Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Rani believes the pressure will be on England when they meet on the opening day. “The pressure is not on us but it will be on England because they know we are capable of doing well against them. Though they defeated us in the Bronze Medal match at the CWG, we made some silly errors that cost us the match that day. The Indian Women’s Team are no longer the underdogs and in our mind, we want to get off to a good start regardless of England having home support and advantage,” stated an assertive Rani.

On 21 July 2018, the Indian Women’s Hockey Team will take on hosts England at 18.30 hours IST.

Matches will be shown live on Star Sports 2, Star Sports HD 2 and Hotstar.

by Abhishek Shukla

Indian Women’s Hockey Team grouped with England, Ireland and USA for the Vitality Hockey Women’s World Cup London 2018

New Delhi, 26 November 2017: The Indian Women’s Hockey Team will be grouped with England, Ireland and USA in Pool B for the prestigious Vitality Hockey Women’s World Cup London 2018 scheduled to begin on 21 July 2018.
The 16 national women’s teams qualified for the event now know who they will face in next year’s pinnacle event with the pools and schedule for the Vitality Hockey Women’s World Cup London 2018 officially released by the International Hockey Federation (FIH) today.
Fans can also get in on the action with all remaining tickets now released for general public sale via the official ticket website. A look at the schedule reveals some fantastic match-ups as the top teams in the world prepare to go head-to-head.
While in Pool A, the world number one side and current holders of the World Cup, Netherlands, await the challenge of Asian giants China and Korea as well as rising European stars Italy, Pool B is headed by the host nation and World No.2 England. They will face tough challenges from the Indian Women’s team who were recently crowned Asia Cup Champions which won them the World Cup berth. USA who won the 2017 Hockey World League Semi-Final in Johannesburg and Ireland also feature in Pool B.
India will face hosts England in their first match on July 21. “We look forward to the challenge in Pool B. England (World No.2) and USA (World No.7) are ranked above us but the Indian Women’s team is on the rise with confidence-boosting performances in the past few months. Every match at the World Cup is important and each match needs to be played like a Final. It will be crucial for us to have a good outing in the Commonwealth Games next year so we carry a winning momentum into the World Cup. We have set our sights on Mission 2018 and all our training will be focused on peaking at the prestigious tournament,” stated Indian Women’s Team Chief Coach Harendra Singh.
Argentina are ranked number three in the world, and they have European rivals Germany and Spain to contend with, along with African continental Champions South Africa in Pool C. Pool D sees Oceania rivals Australia and New Zealand go head to head along with Japan and 2017 Rabobank EuroHockey Championship runners-up Belgium.
There are some amazing games to look forward to in the Pool stages, with many matches guaranteed to have fans on the edge of their seats.
With England’s 10,000-seater Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park sold out for six sessions, including all England’s Pool matches – plus their potential quarter-final, the semi-finals and final, fans should not hesitate in snapping up the remaining tickets.
For those who can’t make it to the venue, this event will be broadcast to millions across the world in over 100 countries through FIH’s global broadcaster partners.
With eight months between now and the Vitality Hockey Women’s World Cup London 2018 and today’s release of the match schedule, the countdown has really begun.
by Abhishek Shukla

Sathiyan enters Spanish Open final; Manika-Mouma pair sets the tone

New Delhi, November 26: G. Sathiyan entered the men singles final of 2017 Challenge Spanish Open when he defeated Lam Siu Hang of Hong Kong 11-7, 11-8, 11-3, 8-11, 12-10 to become the first Indian to do an encore in a Challenge series at Almeria today.

He will take on sixth-seed Japanese Kazuhiro Yoshimura in the final to be played latertonight. The Japanese downed Ng Pak Nam, the No. 14 seed, from Hong Kong 8-11, 11-7, 11-7, 3-11,11-5, 11-7 in a tough first semi-final earlier.

As for the Indian, who has a World Tour series title from Belgium Open in 2016, it looked all easy when he quickly went 3-0 up against the Hong Kong player. But the latter made most of Sathiyan flaws and took a comfortable lead of 8-4. Yet, Sathiyan closed in on his rival before he won with a sizeable margin.

In the fifth game, however, it was Lam who surged ahead with a winning lead of 9-5 but squandered it to allow Sathiyan level 9-9 and go 10-9 up. As he served for his match point, he failed to keep the ball in play and it allowed a lifeline to his opponent. After deuce, he served but a powerful backhand return from Sathiyan forced Lam block but the ball went out for Sathiyan to let out a big scream in elation.

It was an unexpected win for Sathiyan in the semi-final when he sent the third seeded Iranian, Noshad Alamiyan, packing rather cheaply as he the Indian won 7-11, 11-6, 11-9, 11-7, 11-6.

Manika-Mouma in maiden final

Earlier, the Indian pair of Manika Batra and Mouma Das entered its maiden women doubles final after accounting for the local favourites Ana Garcia and Xuan Zhang 9-11, 11-7, 11-7, 6-11, 16-14. The second-seeded Indian duo began sluggishly, losing the first game but grew in confidence to lead 2-1 rather easily. However, the Spanish pair came back strongly to level score and taking the issue to the decider.

The Indians did well to keep a slender lead and combining well posed sufficient problems to the Spaniards. But credit to the local girls who fought well and mounted pressure on their opponents after deuce.

The decisive saw Indians losing three match points before they held their fourth to enter the final where they will meet the top-seeded and a strong Korean pair of Jihee Jeon and Haeun Yang. The Koreans beat Ukraine’s Ganna Gaponova and Ievgeniia Vasylieva 10-12, 10-12, 11-9, 11-5, 11-7.

The Koreans have an impeccable record of 14 final appearances on the ITTF World Tour, with seven titles to their credit!

Boys win first-round

Meanwhile, the junior boys’ team of Manav Thakkar, Manush Shah and Snehit Suravajjula blanked out New Zealand 3-0 in the their first round group D match in the 2017 World Junior Table Tennis Championships, currently on at Riva del Garda in Italy.

In the opening rubber Manush Shah defeated Dean Shu 11-3, 11-6, 11-3, while Manav overcame a tough Alfred Dela Pena 5-11, 11-6, 8-11, 11-4, 11-7. In the third rubber, Senhit accounted for Victor Ma 11-4, 11-9, 11-7

by Abhishek Shukla

India v Sri Lanka Test series, 2017 – Stat Preview

Number one Test team is ready to take on Sri Lanka in a three-match Test series starting November 16. Here are some number games between the teams.

0 Number of Test matches won by Sri Lanka in India. There have been 17 Tests played between the teams in India in a bilateral series, India winning 10 of those while seven matches have been drawn. Overall, India has won 19 matches against the Lankans out of 40 matches played.

8-3 India’s record against Sri Lanka in a bilateral Test series. So far 15 Test series played between the teams, India having upper hand with eight series win.

8 Wickets required to Ravichandran Ashwin to become the fastest to claim 300 Test wickets. He has 292 Test wickets in 52 matches. Dennis Lillee of Australia holds the fastest 300 Test wickets which he achieved in his 56th match against Pakistan at Brisbane. Which means, Ashwin needs 8 wickets in this Test series to top the table.

10 Test hundreds by Virat Kohli as a captain for India; the second-most by Indian Test captain. Little Master Sunil Gavaskar holds the record of most Test Hundreds (11) by an Indian captain. Virat has an opportunity to surpass Gavaskar in this series.

10 Wickets needed to Rangana Herath to become the highest wicket-taker left-arm bowler in Tests. Pakistan’s Wasim Akram has 414 Test wickets which are the record by the left-arm bowler.

by Abhishek Shukla

Table Tennis: Lower groups throw surprises, leaders packed off

Thane, November 14: Paddlers in top six groups hardly dropped a sweat as they retained their position to move into the main draw of Sub-Junior Girls in the 11Sports National Ranking Championships (West) for the Mayor Cup at the Dadoji Konddev Stadium here today.

Tisha Kohli of Delhi, Kavyashree Baskar of Tamil Nadu, Radhapriya Goel of UP, Cathrin Tina Dass of Tamil Nadu, Sharmitha Srinivasan, also of Tamil Nadu, and Pritha Vartikar of Maharashtra easily beat their group rivals. There were similar results in some other groups, too, except for some topsy-turvy outcomes in a few where the group toppers were sent packing.

For instance, Delhi’s Tamanna Gulshan, who is ranked in the 9-16 brackets, could not take the advantage of the walkover of a player from her group and lost the only match that she had to play against Sayali Wani of Maharashtra as the latter won 12-10, 11-5, 9-11, 8-11, 11-9 in group 7.

In group 8, Meghana Karandikar of Maharashtra toppled Fatema Kadri of Gujarat in straight games to enter the main draw, courtesy the lone win and a walkover from the third player. In Group 17, Aafrien Murad of Gujarat beat both the No. 1 and No. 2 players, Sucheta Prosad of West Bengal 3-0 and then accounted for Sayali Baxi of Maharashtra 3-1 to advance. In group 19, Ratnabali Pathak of West Bengal did a similar act against Taniya Patil of Goa, beating her 3-1 and then downing Poonam Yadav of Maharashtra in straight games.

In group 22, Aneeha D’Souza of Maharashtra entered the main draw after accounting for the top two players Sania Bhowmick of North Bengal (3-0) and Kaashvi Gupta of Delhi (3-1).  There were other upsets when Sampada Bhiwandkar of Maharashtra, Aditi Joshi of Karnataka and Kalyani Dhinesh, also of Karnataka, surprised the group leaders to make it a memorable outing for them.

It will be a draw of 64 in both the Sub-Junior Boys and Girls categories with the top eight ranked players getting at least byes in the first round. The third round matches, currently on, will decide which of the 32 boys who will make the cut.

Meanwhile, the Cadet Boys and Girls group matches get underway from tomorrow.

Important results:

Sub-junior Girls Qualifying: Group 7: Sayali Wani (MHR) bt Gulshan Tamanna (DLI) 12-10, 11-5, 9-11, 8-11, 11-9;Group 8: Meghana Karandikar (MHR) bt Fatema Kadri (GUJ) 12-10, 11-9 11-8; Group 17: Aafrien Murad (GUJ) bt Sucheta Prosad (WB) 5-11, 13-11, 12-10, 11-7; Group 19: Ratnabali Pathak (WB) bt Taniya Patil (GOA) 11-4, 10-12, 11-7, 13-11; Group 22: Aneeha D’Souza (MAH) bt Kaashvi Gupta (DLI) 4-11, 11-9, 11-6, 11-3; Group 23: Taneesha Kotecha (MHR) bt Nehal Venkatasamy (TN) 11-5, 11-3, 11-13, 10-12, 13-11; Group 25: Sneha Bhowmick (WB) bt Vartica Bharat (UP) 11-5, 10-12, 11-4, 12-10; Group 26: Sampada Bhiwandkar (MHR) bt Spriha Devanath (WB) 11-8, 11-6, 11-13, 11-7; Group 29: Aditi Joshi (KNT) bt Kavisha Parekh (GUJ) 11-6, 11-6, 11-13, 11-3; Group 30: Kalyani Dhinesh (KNT) bt Anoushka Chatterjee (GUJ) 11-6, 12-10, 11-7.

by Abhishek Shukla

2nd edition of Hockey India 5-a-side Senior National Championship 2017 (Men and Women) starts tomorrow in Pune

Pune, 13th November 2017: After tasting success in their 1st edition last year, the futuristic Hockey India 5-a-side Senior Hockey National Championship 2017 (Men and Women) is back with its second edition starting in Pune, Maharashtra onTuesday, November 14 at the Shivaji Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Balewadi, Boxing Hall.

The six-day domestic extravaganza will see teams vie for top honours in three categories – Men’s, Women’s and the all-new Combined Men & Women event which will see men and women play in a combined team on November 18.
Hosted by Hockey Maharashtra, the 2nd Hockey India 5-a-side Senior National Hockey Championship 2017 will see a star-studded line-up with members of the Indian Women’s Hockey Team, who recently created history by clinching the 2017 Asia Cup in Japan, turn up for their respective state teams.
The Combined event is pegged as the most exciting event of the tournament which will put both men and women on an equal pedestal to showcase their talent in the most exciting format. A team participating in this category will feature a minimum of either 4 men or women in their team of nine member 5-a-side team. In this category, Hockey Haryana, Uttar Pradesh Hockey, Hockey Odisha and Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu form Pool A whereas Hockey Maharashtra, Hockey Karnataka, Hockey Punjab and Hockey Jharkhand are in Pool B.
In the Men’s category, Hockey Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh Hockey, Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu and defending Champions Hockey Maharashtra are placed in Pool A while Hockey Haryana, Hockey Odisha, Hockey Jharkhand and Hockey Punjab will lock horns in Pool B.
In the Women’s category, Hockey Haryana, Hockey Karnataka, Hockey Odisha and Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu will make up Pool A while Hockey Punjab, Hockey Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh Hockey and Hockey Jharkhand are in Pool B.
Rules:  
 
This exciting short format is played on a 38.5 meter x 22.5 meter size indoor court. In this format, each team consists of 9 members, out of which only 5 members can be present on the court at any given time of the match which includes one goalkeeper. The duration of the match is 30 minutes which is divided into three periods of 10 minutes each with an interval of 3 minutes between the periods.
The key differences from outdoor field hockey are in terms of the way the goals are scored and penalties are imposed. A goal is awarded when a goal is scored from anywhere on the court which is unlike traditional hockey where you cannot score directly from outside the circle. In addition, the ball is moved using a push, scoop or flick and no hitting is allowed as it is played in an indoor arena.
In terms of fouls, only free hits and challenges are awarded for respective offences by an attacker or defender. A Challenge is similar to the way shootouts are conducted in modern hockey. Free hits and fouls follow the same rules as modern hockey as well.
by Abhishek Shukla

Rani’s golden goal ensures Indian Women’s Hockey Team win Asia Cup after 13 years

Kakamigahara (Japan), 5 November 2017: Indian Women’s Hockey Team create history as they beat China in a tense shootout to lift the Women’s Asia Cup 2017 after 13 years and qualify for next year’s Women’s World Cup as Continental Champions here at Kakamigahara Kawasaki Stadium in Japan. It was India skipper Rani who scored the winning goal for India while Savita made a great save in sudden death to ensure India the 5-4 score in penalty shootout. Earlier, it was Navjot Kaur who scored India’s lone goal in the 25th minute. It was in 2004 when Indian Women’s Team lifted the Asia Cup after beating Japan 1-0 in the final.
It was advantage China right at the start as a stick check in the circle saw India concede a penalty corner in only the second minute of the game. However, Indian goalkeeper Savita was at her usual best to pad it away while an alert Deep Grace cleared the ball. Soon after, Indian forwards launched a swift attack with Navneet Kaur and Vandana working in tandem to find space in the Chinese D but an attentive Wang Na averted the danger. China, meanwhile, won their second PC but Savita was spot on yet again to pad away Meiyu Liang’s flick.
With the first quarter ending in a stalemate, India came back looking determined to find a breakthrough. The Indian forwards kept the pressure on China as they made brave forays into the striking circle. Navjot Kaur came close to converting a field goal in the 17th minute but her diving effort was blocked even as skipper Rani made a quick attempt to find a deflection. It was not until the 25th minute when India found its first breakthrough when Navneet Kaur and Rani played give-and-take before penetrating the circle only to assist Navjot who took a clear shot on goal. It was a much-needed 1-0 lead for India. Though China launched a counter attack soon after, Indian defenders were up to the task in denying success.
India began the third quarter rather positively as they stayed persistent with an aggressive attack. They dominated the ball possession with accurate passing, rotating the ball and testing China’s patience. Neha Goyal and Lilima Minz showcased good dribbling skills to steer past Chinese defenders but a second goal was not to come by even as the clock ticked away to the third hooter. On China’s part, they stayed disciplined in their defence to deny India a chance to score through a PC.
The final quarter was tense as China won a PC through successful video referral in the 47th minute. Tiantian Luo kept low as she improvised from the injection to find the right corner of the post, scoring a sensational equalizer for China. The following minutes saw both teams play on par with each other not allowing either of them to stay in control. With nine minutes left for the final hooter, India upped their attack desperately attempting to find a gap in the 15-yard mark but Chinese defenders were resolute not allowing any room for error.
Meanwhile China won their fourth PC of the match with little less than three minutes to go for the final whistle. But it was brilliantly saved by rusher Sunita Lakra and almost immediately, India launched a counter attack but only to send the ball wide off the target and complete the full-time in stalemate resulting in a shootout. In the penalty shootout Rani scored twice while Monica, Lilima Minz and Navjot scored a goal each to ensure India reclaimed the Asia Cup title after 13 years. Savita was adjudged Goalkeeper of the Tournament while Monica won Woman of the Match award.
It is a sweet double for both Indian Men and Women as they are crowned Asia Cup Champions this year.
The victorious Indian Women’s Team will arrive on 6 November 2017 at 9.00PM at the IGI Airport New Delhi.
by Abhishek Shukla

Indian Junior Men’s Hockey Team lose 3-4 to Australia in 7th Sultan of Johor Cup 2017

Johor Bahru, Malaysia, 26 October 2017: The Indian Junior Men’s Hockey team lost 3-4 to Australia in a high scoring encounter in their fourth match of the 7th Sultan of Johor Cup 2017 at the Taman Daya Hockey Stadium here today. Dilpreet Singh (30’, 47’) and Sanjay (9’) scored for India in the match but goals from Joel Rintala (3’), Coby Green (36’), Jonathan Bretherton (45’) and Nathan Ephraums (49’) were enough for Australia to secure the victory.

Australia dominated the proceedings in the initial stages of the first quarter as they attacked the Indian defence to start on a bright note. This resulted in the Australians winning a penalty corner in the 3rd minute of the match which was well converted by Joel Rintala to give his side the lead. However, after conceding an early goal, the Indian team stepped up their efforts in the latter half of the first quarter and won themselves a penalty corner in the 9th minute which was finished off by Sanjay to level the scores at 1-1.

The game was very well balanced between the two sides throughout the second quarter as both the defences showed resilience to keep out the efforts. However, in the last minute before the half-time hooter, a misplaced pass from the Australians led to beautiful counter-attacking play from the Indian side meant that Dilpreet Singh scored from just inside the circle with a fiercely struck shot to give India a 2-1 lead at half-time.

In the third quarter though, Australia focused on getting an equalizer by controlling the rhythm of the play and attacking the Indian defence with some fast-paced passing. This meant that the Australians finally managed to convert another penalty corner in the 36th minute when Coby Green found himself free in front of goal after the drag-flick was not successfully executed by his teammates. Australia then scored again in the 45th minute to take a 3-2 lead when another unsuccessfully executed penalty corner was followed up by a well taken shot on goal by Jonathan Bretherton.

In the last quarter, it was India who had to put pressure on the Australian defence to find an equalizer, and they did so successfully when a long pass to forward Dilpreet Singh was calmly finished off by him to level the scores in the 47th minute. However, India could only stay level at 3-3 for two minutes as Australia’s Nathan Ephraums converted a penalty corner in the 49th minute to give Australia a 4-3 lead. India tried to equalize yet again in the last ten minutes of the match, but their efforts were kept out by a resolute Australian defence which meant that Australia won the match by a score-line of 4-3.

India will now face Great Britain in their fifth match of 7th Sultan of Johor Cup 2017 on Saturday, 28th October 2017 at 13.35 hrs IST.

by Abhishek Shukla

India all set to participate in the FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup 2017 in Mongolia

Bengaluru, 26th October 2017: The FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup 2017 will take place in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia on October 27-29 2017.Mongolia will host the second edition of the most important 3×3 competition for national teams in Asia and – for the first time – Oceania. The inaugural edition was held in Doha, Qatar on May 15-16 2013.This will mark the first time ever Mongolia hosts a FIBA 3×3 official event. The Indian women’s team are entering the tournament with high hopes as they are the defending champions of the first edition of this tournament.

Team India(Women)

Sr. No.

Name

Height(cm/ft&inches)

Date of Birth

(dd/mm/yyyy)

1

Shireen Vijay Limayee

184cm/ 6’0″

13/02/1995

2

Raspreet Sidhu

171cm/ 5’7″

18/07/1989

3

Jeena Palanilkumkalayil Skaria

179cm/ 5’10”

09/01/1994

4

Gia Merlin Varghese

174cm/ 5’8″

29/03/1995

The women’s team are in Pool D alongside Kyrgyzstan and New Zealand.They play their first match against Kyrgyzstan at 13.50 A.M(11.20 A.M IST), 27th October and the second match against New Zealand at 15.20 A.M(12.50 A.M IST) on the same day.

Team India(Men)

Sr. No.

Name

Height(cm/ft&inches)

Date of Birth

(dd/mm/yyyy)

1

 Ravi Bharadwaj 204cm/ 6’8″ 31/10/1992

2

 Anil Kumar Bukankere Krishne Gowda 185cm/ 6’0″ 31/07/1989

3

 Gurvinder Singh Gill 201cm/ 6’7″ 21/01/1996

4

 Jeevanantham Pandi 205cm/ 6’8″ 13/10/1994

The men’s team are in the Qualifying draw along with Lebanon and Chinese Taipei. They play their first match against Chinese Taipei at 8.50 A.M(6.20 A.M IST), 27th October and the second match against Lebanon at 9.30 A.M(8.00 A.M IST) on the same day.

1st FIBA Asia 3X3 Championship for Men & Women was held at Doha, Qatar from 15th to 16thMay, 2013. The Indian Women team won GOLD medal and Geethu Anna Jose was selected member of the Dream Team, All Star team of Women. The Men team reached the Quarter final stage.  (Mens Team – Ajay Pratap Singh, Pratham Singh, Arjun Singh, Ranbir Singh & Mr. Shakti Sinh Gohil as Manager; Women Team– Geethu Anna Jose, Anitha Paul Durai, Manisha Dange, Pratima Singh and Dr. Suman Sharma as Manager). Qatar won the championship for Men. Geethu Anna Jose was declared the MVP for women.

by Abhishek Shukla

Indian Men’s Hockey team win the Hero Asia Cup 2017

Dhaka (Bangladesh), 22 October, 2017: Indian Men’s Hockey Team were crowned as the Hero Asia Cup 2017 Champions after they beat Malaysia 2-1 in the Final of the tournament here today at the Maulana Bhashani National Hockey Stadium. Goals from Ramandeep Singh (3’) and Lalit Upadhyay (29’) secured the title for India as Malaysia failed to make an impact on the game in the early stages but came back with a solitary goal through Shahril Saabah (50’).
This is the third time that India have won the Asia Cup title and after a gap of 10 years. The team started the match aggressively, making clear that their intention was to win the title against the second highest ranked team in Asia. It was in the 3rd minute that the Indians found a gap in the Malaysian defence when SV Sunil played a pass from the right flank to find Ramandeep Singh inside the circle, who hit the target on his second attempt to give India the all-important lead in the Final.
India continued to dominate the possession in the first quarter as Malaysia failed to produce any good opportunities. The second quarter also saw India produce some outstanding attacking play as they looked to extend their lead. However, Malaysia held on and created some chances of their own as the Indian defence stood tall to deny Malaysia of any real opportunities to score. At the stroke of half-time, it was India was threatened again through the left flank as Akashdeep Singh found Sumit in an advance position with a long pass and the latter then found Lalit Upadhyay inside the circle, who then calmly tapped in the ball in the back of the net to make it 2-0 in India’s favour.
The third quarter was a balanced one where Malaysia started to open up spaces in the Indian defence but all their efforts were well kept out.
India on the other hand, had opportunities of their own in the latter part of the third quarter but could not produce a third goal to seal the deal. Malaysia took advantage of the same as they came back hard in the fourth quarter scoring a field goal in the 50th minute via Shahril Saabah as the Indian defence failed to stop the Malaysian attackers.
Malaysia kept up the pressure on the Indian defence in the final 10 minutes of the match, but India absorbed the attacking forays made. The Indian team showed some resolute defending in the last five minutes to keep their 2-1 lead intact. In the end, the defensive skills displayed by India were enough for them to clinch the title after a gap of 10 years.
by Abhishek Shukla

Indian Junior Men’s Hockey Team start their Sultan of Johor Cup campaign with a 3-2 win over Japan

Johor Bahru (Malaysia), 22 October 2017: The Indian Junior Men’s Hockey team started off their 7th Sultan of Johor Cup 2017 campaign with a hard fought 3-2 victory against Japan in their opening match of the tournament here today at the Taman Daya Hockey Stadium. Dilpreet Singh (11’, 53’) and Sukhjeet Singh (41’) scored the goals for India while Kyohei Ogawa (23’, 31’) scored a brace for Japan.
India started their opening match of the campaign on a bright note as they displayed a good shape, and were constantly attacking Japan in the first quarter. It was in the 11th minute that India’s efforts were rewarded with a goal as they scored through Dilpreet Singh after the Japanese defence failed to clear the ball.
In the second quarter, Japan fought back into the match as they gained control of the possession. They were awarded a penalty corner in the 23rd minute when the ball hit the foot of an Indian player inside their circle. Japan’s Kyohei Ogawa converted the PC as he brought the teams level on 1-1 after the second quarter.
The Japanese had a good rhythm to their play going into half-time and they maintained it at the start of the third quarter when Kyohei Ogawa scored his second of the match through a field-goal in the first minute after the restart to give Japan a 2-1 lead in the 31st minute. However, the young Indian team showed their character in the latter part of the third quarter when they struck back through a penalty corner in the 41st minute to level the scores at 2-2. It was Sukhjeet Singh who got onto the score-sheet as he brought back confidence within the Indian team.
Going into the fourth quarter, India seemed to control the game and kept looking for the third goal which would help them register a win in their first match of 7th Sultan of Johor Cup 2017. The dominant performance in the last quarter by the Indian team was rewarded when Dilpreet Singh popped up again inside the circle to score his second of the match in the 53rd minute which gave India a morale-boosting 3-2 win over the Japanese.
India will now face Malaysia in their second match onMonday, 23rd October 2017, at 18.05hrs IST.
by Abhishek Shukla

India’s Amjyot Singh Gill Selected by the Oklahoma City Blue in the 2017 NBA G League Draft

Mumbai, October 21, 2017: Amjyot Singh Gill was selected 103rd in the fourth Round of the NBA G League Draft held in New York on October 21, 2017.  The 25-year old was drafted by the Oklahoma City Blue, affiliate team of the NBA’s Oklahoma City Thunder.

 

The 6ft 9in player said, “It’s an awesome feeling to get drafted in the NBA G League! Thank you to all my supporters and well-wishers back home. I’m really looking forward to this opportunity with OKC Blue.”

 

Amjyot, who led the Indian Men’s National Basketball team at the 2017 FIBA Asia Cup, has been representing India since 2010.  He also represented Tokyo Excellence in the National Basketball Development League – Japan in 2015-16 season.  The power forward has also been an Asian All-Star for 2015 & 2016.

 

Meanwhile, Indian origin player Gokul Natesan was picked by Canton Charge as 97thpick.  Canton Charge is the Development team of Cleveland Cavaliers.  The 6ft 5in player from Colorado School of Mines was the RMAC (Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) Scholar-Male Athlete of the year as well as RMAC Tournament MVP in 2016-17 season.

 

The NBA G League will tip off the 2017-18 season on Friday, Nov. 3.  A record 26 teams will compete in the NBA G League’s 17th season, including four expansion clubs owned by NBA franchises: the Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario (LA Clippers), Erie BayHawks (Atlanta Hawks), Memphis Hustle (Memphis Grizzlies) and Wisconsin Herd (Milwaukee Bucks).  Each team will play a 50-game schedule that concludes in March 2018.

by Abhishek Shukla

Saurav Ghosal looses against to sees in Channel VAS championship

Surrey: Indian star Saurav Ghosal’s exciting journey ended at the semi-final stage with the top seed Mohamed Elshorbagy of Egypt beating him 13-11, 11-8, 11-9 late on Saturday in the Channel VAS championship, a major PSA world tour event here.

Ghosal had come in as a qualifier and beaten two seeded player enroute to the last four but the former world number one , Elshorbagy proved a tough nut to crack. But it was not an easy match for the Egyptian, even forced to save a game ball in the first game. Even though Ghosal played high standards forcing Elshorbagy to earn his points, the Indian could not dominate beyond a point.

by Abhishek Shukla

Dominant Indian Men’s Hockey Team beat Pakistan 4-0 to register a place in the Final of the Hero Asia Cup 2017

Dhaka (Bangladesh), 21 October, 2017: The Indian Men’s Hockey Team booked their berth in the Final of the Hero Asia Cup 2017 with a convincing 4-0 victory over arch-rivals Pakistan in the Super 4s match here today at the Maulana Bhashani National Hockey Stadium. Goals from Satbir Singh (39’), Harmanpreet Singh (51’), Lalit Upadhyay (52’) and Gurjant Singh (57’) ensured the top spot in Super 4s for India.

This was the second match between the two sides in the Hero Asia Cup 2017 as they have already faced each other in the Pool stage where India came out on top with a 3-1 victory. However, in the Super 4s stage, Pakistan started the match on the attack as they won three penalty corners inside the first quarter but could not convert any as the Indian defence was up to the task. Pakistan kept their defensive shape well as they did not allow India to have spaces in behind their defence which meant that the latter struggled to attack. But India also won a penalty corner in the 14th minute which was scuffed by drag-flicker Harmanpreet Singh. The tempo of the match increased towards the end of the first quarter but the teams ended the first quarter goal-less.

The second quarter saw both the teams battle it out in the midfield as they looked to establish their authority in the match. It was India who got the first chance to take the lead in the 24th minute through Ramandeep Singh but the Pakistani goalkeeper Amjad Ali deflected his shot to deny the Indians. Asia’s highest ranked team then turned on the heat in the latter part of the second quarter as they won a penalty corner in the 28th minute, however the flick from Harmanpreet Singh hit the crossbar as the teams ended the second quarter without a goal being scored.

The third quarter finally saw India penetrate Pakistan’s circle as their team-work led to a great goal in the 39th minute when forward Satbir Singh made a darting run on the right flank and passed the ball towards the Pakistan goal which made its way inside the goal as the Pakistani defence failed to intercept it. India kept the possession well throughout the third quarter and dictated play as cracks began to open up in the defensive line of their arch rivals. India had a glorious chance to extend their lead in the 45th minute when Captain Manpreet Singh found Lalit Upadhyay free inside the circle but the latter could only hit a shot which was saved by goalkeeper Amjad Ali as India kept their 1-0 lead after the third quarter.

India started the fourth quarter aggressively as Varun Kumar missed a chance to score when Gurjant Singh found him in the circle with a calculated pass in the 46th minute. India won two successive penalty corners in the 48th and 49th minute, both of which were saved by Pakistan’s Amjad Ali with some heroic saves to deny the Indians. India were dominant in the final 10 minutes of the match as they scored twice in two minutes to make it 3-0 in their favour. First, it was drag-flicker Harmanpreet Singh who converted a well-taken penalty corner in the 51st minute to score his 7th goal of the tournament while the third goal was scored by Lalit Upadhyay as he finished off a brilliant team-move in the 52nd minute to make it 3-0 in India’s favour. India secured victory in the 57th minute when Gurjant Singh struck a fierce shot from the edge of the circle to make it 4-0 in India’s favour and register their berth in the Final of the Hero Asia Cup 2017.

India will now face either Malaysia or Korea in the Final of the Hero Asia Cup 2017 on Sunday, October 22, 2017 at 17.00hrs IST.

by Abhishek Shukla

Saurav Ghosal reached semies of $ 100,000 Channel VAS Championship

Surrey (UK): It was mixed fortune for the three leading Indian professionals in the PSA circuit. While Saurav Ghosal had moments to relish having reached the semi-final after starting as a qualifier in the $ 100,000 Channel VAS Championship being held here, Joshna Chinappa and Dipika Pallikal exited in the first round itself from the $50,000 Carol Weymuller Open away in New York.

After two rounds of tough qualifying phase matches, Ghosal showed his mettle by dislodging the third seed Marwan Elshorbagy of Egypt in the first round 11-7, 11-7, 11-2 to reach the milestone of 200 match wins in the PSA circuit. This Egyptian did not pose much of a problem but in the next round, the Indian had a tough customer in another Egyptian , the eighth seeded Mohamed Abouelghar. Ghosal came back from being 1-2 in game scores at one stage to convert the 68 minute in his favour with some shrewd control over the pace of the match. The Indian won 11-9, 5-11, 8-11,11-3, 11-8 to get ready for another Egyptian, this time the top seed Mohamed Elshorbagy in the last four.

However in the US, the two grand ladies of Indian squash, Joshna and Dipika succumbed to their Egyptian opponents. Dipika was unlucky to get pitted against the second seed Raneem El Welily in the very first round and it was 11-8, 11-6, 11-7 defeat. Sixth seeded Joshna however faced a tough fight against Salma Hany and as it happened lost to the latter for the first time in seven meetings. Salma won 9-11, 13-11, 14-16, 11-5, 12-10.

by Abhishek Shukla

Indian Men’s Hockey Team will look to continue winning form against Pakistan: Marijne

Dhaka (Bangladesh), 20 October 2017: Even as hockey fans around the world gear up for yet another exciting India Vs Pakistan encounter on Saturday here at the Hero Asia Cup 2017 Super 4s stage, Indian team Chief Coach Sjoerd Marijne stated that his team will be focused on improving their performance from their previous outing where they beat Pakistan 3-1 in the Pool stage. “We were happy with the win against Pakistan in our previous match but we know we can perform better. On Saturday, we will go into the match focusing on our structure and stick to the game plan we have against Pakistan,” expressed the 43-year-old Dutchman.
India have sailed through the tournament showcasing impressive form. They notched up three successive wins in the Pool stage but the forward line was put to test against a highly defensive Korean side in their first Super 4s match. India mustered a goal in the 59th minute to settle for a draw but bounced back into the Super 4s with an astounding 6-2 win against Malaysia, who have in the past year beaten India twice. India showed sublime skills in their clinical demolition of the Malaysian side and will look to carry on the winning form.
Though India are on top of the table with four points from one draw and one win, Malaysia are close second with three points from their win against Pakistan, while Korea have two points from two draws and Pakistan are at No.4 with one point. Yet, the Pool is open for any of these teams to make the Final. “Because the stage is open for anybody to make the Final, it is exciting to the last moment. As a Coach I want my players to perform under pressure and this is the best way to create that scenario. For us, at this moment, it is a lot important to play top international matches because we can raise our level,” he added.
He further emphasized that the team will make most of the exposure they gain from this tournament going into an all-important Odisha Hockey World League Final Bhubaneswar 2017 this December. “In Super 4s we get to play more matches and the team is tested at a top level. We must be our best in every game. I think this format is especially good for us now as we go into the Odisha Men’s World League Final Bhubaneswar 2017 in December,” Marijne expressed.
Meanwhile, Pakistan Coach Farhat Khan expressed that his team, especially their forward line, needs to go all-out against India if they want to be in the Final. “We not just need to win against India but we need to win with a big margin (at least 3 goals) so we make the Final by the virtue of goal difference. But it is going to be easier said than done because I am not happy with how our forwards have performed in this tournament. We have missed many opportunities in the circle and against India we cannot misfire,” asserted the Coach.
On 21 October 2017, India will take on Pakistan at 17.00 hours IST in their last Super 4s encounter.
by Abhishek Shukla

INDIA’s AMJYOT SINGH ENTERS 2017 NBA G LEAGUE DRAFT

NEW YORK, Oct. 20, 2017 – One hundred and forty-six players are eligible to be selected in the 2017 NBA G League Draft, which will take place on Saturday, Oct. 21 at 1 p.m. ET via teleconference from the league’s New York headquarters.
No trades will be permitted during the four-round draft and only players signed to an NBA G League Standard Player Contract are eligible to be selected. Teams are required to make at least three selections during the draft.  Once a team declines to make a pick, it may not make another selection for the remainder of the event.
Fans are encouraged to log onto www.nbagleague.com to follow the live draft board.
by Abhishek Shukla

Indian Men’s Hockey Team ensure fireworks in Dhaka with 6-2 win over Malaysia

Dhaka (Bangladesh), 19 October 2017: It was a Diwali blockbuster in Dhaka as a resilient Indian men’s hockey team edged out Malaysia 6-2 in their Super 4s match to stay on course to make the Hero Asia Cup 2017 Final here at the Moulana Bhashani Hockey Stadium on Thursday. After suffering two back-to-back loses to Malaysia earlier this year, the Manpreet Singh-led Indian team ensured a well-structured game to demolish the Malaysian defence. It was goals by Akashdeep Singh (14’), Harmanpreet Singh (19’) and SK Uthappa (24’) that gave India a 3-0 head start followed by Gurjant Singh (33’), SV Sunil (40’) and Sardar Singh (60’) who ensured fireworks in favour of India.
Played in front of a vocal and partisan home crowd there was no doubt that this top of the table clash was going to be played with pace and skill and the teams didn’t disappoint. Having won all their matches thus far in the tournament, Malaysia raced out of the blocks at a frenetic pace, attacking India constantly. They made two strong circle entries at the start of the game but an alert Indian defence kept them out of scoring. India’s first break-through came in the 14th minute when Manpreet Singh assisted Akashdeep Singh inside the circle with a fiercely-struck long pass. The Indian forward was impeccable in his attempt to improvise the pass to beat the Malaysian goalkeeper Kumar Subramiam to take a 1-0 lead in the first quarter.
The second quarter saw Indian goalkeeper Suraj Karkera make brilliant saves that had the Dhaka audience in raptures. His first big save came only two minutes into the second quarter when Malaysia won a PC. Karkera was resolute to pad it away. Later in the 23rd minute, another PC was averted when Karkera saved a fiercely struck dragflick to keep Malaysia from converting. Earlier, Harmanpreet Singh was at his best when he found the centre of the goal to take India’s lead to 2-0 in the 19th minute. A good assist by SV Sunil saw SK Uthappa score India’s third goal in the 24th minute.
Post the 10-minute half-time break, India scored two more goals to stamp their supremacy over Malaysia. It was Gurjant Singh in the 33rd minute followed by a splendid goal by SV Sunil brilliantly-assisted by Gurjant Singh who worked in tandem to score India’s fifth goal. A trademark reverse hit by Gurjant from the left flank to Sunil who made a diving attempt to push the ball into the post ensured the local crowds were thoroughly entertained. This goal by SV Sunil was also adjudged as the goal of the match.
The final quarter saw India make a few defensive errors that saw them concede PCs. With 10 minutes to the final hooter, Malaysia’s Razie Rahim utilized the chance to put one past a diving Akash Chikte in the 50th minute. Malaysia won another PC in the 54th minute but Chikte was outstanding in his save. Almost immediately, Malaysia won another PC but an alert Chikte averted a goal again. Malaysia won two back-to-back PCs in the 58th minute but couldn’t make the chance count. Though their second goal came through in the 59th minute via Ramadan Rosli, India extended their lead in the 60th minute when stalwart Sardar Singh picked up a brilliant assist to get a reverse shot on goal. There were some tense moments towards the final minutes of the match but India held their sway to win.
On 21 October 2017, India will take on Pakistan at 17.00 hours IST in their last Super 4s encounter.