Author: Abhishek Shukla

Owner of Sports India Live.
by Abhishek Shukla

India entered the quarterfinal of the girls team event in the World junior squash

Tauranga (New Zealand) : India finished runner up in Pool C and thereby qualified for the quarterfinal stage in the girls’ team event here on Wednesdayin the WSF-World junior squash championship. India will play the Pool D winner Hong Kong in the quarterfinal on Thursday.

In its last pool league match, India defeated lower ranked France 2-1 to get the second place behind England. The margin could have been 3-0 but Akanksha Salunkhe playing the French girl Fanny Segers in the inconsequential third match of the tie had to retire midway with muscular pain in her legs. As Coach Surbi Misra said Akanksha had begun confidently and went two games up when suddenly she developed pain. “In great pain, she went down in the third game and at that point we decided she will not be able to continue,” Misra said.

Earlier, Misra said Sunayna Kuruvilla had given a good start with a fluent win over Maelle Fuhrer in 17 minutes. Ashita Bhengra was the next to make appearance. This Chennai girl faltered first, lost the first game but regained confidence to win the next three against Chloe Mourier to give the winning margin.

The results: India bt France 2-1 (Sunayna Kuruvilla bt Maell Fuhrer 11-5, 11-6, 11-2; Ashita Bhengra bt Chloe Mourier 8-11, 11-4, 11-9, 11-8; Akanksha Salunkhe lost to Fanny Segers 11-4, 11-6, 9-11, retd)

by Abhishek Shukla

FIBA Asia Women’s Cup 2017 – India storms into Div B Quarterfinals

Bengaluru, 25th July 2017: The group stage of the FIBA Women’s Asia Cup 2017 concluded today, with four Division A games and one Division B game at the Sree Kanteerava Indoor Stadium in Bengaluru, and two Division B games at the Koramangala Indoor Stadium.

 

India has stormed into the Division B Quarterfinals after topping their preliminary Group stages, 2-0.

Division A

New Zealand come from behind to beat Chinese Taipei

A crucial last day of group games kicked off at the Sree Kanteerava Indoor Stadium in Bengaluru with a hugely consequential game between Chinese Taipei and New Zealand. With one win apiece, both teams were looking for the win to nab second place in Group A.

 

In the first quarter, Chinese Taipei opted to play zone defense to keep the bigger New Zealand players out of the paint, and executed their plan to near perfection. New Zealand were relegated to taking contested outside shots, and struggled to penetrate. On the other hand, Chinese Taipei were sinking their shots, racing to a 23 – 7 lead early in the second quarter.

 

As the game wore on, New Zealand stepped up their defense and hustle for every possession, forcing Chinese Taipei to take tougher shots, and found their way back into the game. They managed to tie it up at 38 with 9 minutes left in the game, before edging ahead for a 59 – 53 win.

 

Jillian Harmon struggled to make her shots in the first half, but willed her side back into the game and finished with 15 points and 15 rebounds. “We were too stagnant in the first half, we talked about cutting more to beat the zone,” she said. Centre Kalani Purcell was a big factor in the comeback, scoring 16 of her 22 points in the second half. She also had 13 rebounds.

 

New Zealand (Kalani Purcell 22 pts, 13 rebs; Jillian Harmon 15 pts, 15 rebs; Micaela Cocks 12 pts) bt Chinese Taipei (Hsi-Le Bao 12 pts; Fan-Shan Huang 7 pts) 59 – 53 [7 – 21, 17 – 14, 10 – 3, 25 – 15]

Australia hand Japan first defeat

Probably the most awaited game of the league stages took place today with defending champions Japan taking on world no. 4 Australia. The game turned out to be a fascinating exhibition of contrasting styles of basketball.

 

There was not much to separate the teams in the first quarter, with players on both sides knocking down their shots. Japan began the second period with a slim 1-point lead (15-14). But Australia shot out of the gates in the second, going on a 7-0 run. The Opals channeled most of their offense through the post and it paid off.

 

Veteran centre Marianna Tolo along with forwards Kelsey Griffin and Sara Blicavs carried the bulk of the scoring load for the Aussies. They were patient in the post and used their size to hit shots around the basket against the small Japan defenders.

 

But each time Australia though they had pulled away, Japan fought back to close the gap. Backup point guard Manami Fujioka put on a dazzling offensive display, despite her tiny stature. She was able to penetrate the Australia defense with ease, either scoring or creating for her teammates. She ended up with a double-double of 18 points and 10 assists. Japan’s first-choice point guard had a below average display and saw little playing time. Along with Fujioka, the shooting of Yuki Miyazawa (19 points) helped keep Japan in the contest.

 

In the second half, Australia’s 3-point shooting lit up the game. The Opals shot an incredible 60% from 3-point range in the game, led by Katie-Rae Ebzery and Stephanie Cumming who hit all three of their attempts. Tolo also stepped up in the clutch, hitting a couple of buckets down the stretch to maintain the Australia lead.

 

“We did a better job of controlling the tempo in the second half. We wanted to play more of a grind-out game,” said Tolo after the game. Australia ended with an 83-74 win.

 

Australia (Marianna Tolo 17, Kelsey Griffin 16, Sara Blicavs 12) bt Japan (Yuki Miyazawa 19, Manami Fujioka 18, Maki Takada 10, Yuka Osaki 10) 83-74 [14-15, 20-15, 25-20, 24-24]

 

Korea get first win of the tournament against Philippines

The third fixture of the day was the final Group B game, played between Philippines and Korea. The Philippines’ women were looking for their first win of the tournament and began the first quarter brightly. Punching above their weight against a bigger Korean team, they raced to a 12 – 4 lead. But in the last few minutes of the first, Korea began to knock down a few shots and tied the game 19 – 19 by the end of the quarter.

 

From then on, Korea began to establish themselves in the paint: Guard Kim Han Byul (178 cm, 5ft 10”) and centre Park Jisu (195 cm, 6ft 5”) commanded the paint, grabbing the offensive rebounds and converting the second chance attempts.

 

The women from the Philippines worked hard to keep up, driving hard to the basket and attempting the odd 3 – point shot.

 

But the size disadvantage proved too hard to overcome, as Korea began to build a lead. Their shooting was disappointing, at only 38 percent, but they were dominant on the boards. They grabbed 65 rebounds compared to 41 for the Philippines, and scored 26 second chance points.

 

Five players finished with scoring in double figures, two of whom had double – doubles: Kim Danbi (19 points & 10 rebounds) and Lim Yung Hui (13 points & 10 rebounds).

 

Korea (Kim Danbi 19 pts, 10 rebs; Park Jisu 15 pts; Lim Yung Hui 13 pts, 10 rebs) bt Philippines (Allana May Lim 14 pts; Analyn Almazan 12 pts; Janine Pontejos 10 pts) 91 – 63 [19 – 19, 25 – 15, 26 – 13, 21 – 16]

 

China dominate against DPR of Korea

The final league stage game of Division A saw China taking on DPR of Korea. China is undefeated thus far in the tournament, while DPR of Korea is still searching for its first win.

 

It was immediately obvious that China had the size advantage. DPR of Korea’s small lineup was unable to handle the bigger Chinese players. China scored a majority of their buckets around the basket, led by their 6-foot-7-inch centreYueru Li.

 

Korea’s players had no answer for Li who received numerous touches in the paint. She put up 33 points to go with 11 rebounds. China was able to test their bench strength today, with all but one of their players getting a chance on the court. Their team play was scintillating to watch – 38 assists on 44 made baskets. Sijing Huang also had a double-double for China with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

 

China ended up blowing out DPR of Korea by over fifty points. They have now ended up at the top of their table ahead of the quarterfinals beginning on Thursday. For DPR of Korea, it was a winless league stage.

 

China (Yueru Li 33 pts 11 rbs, Song Gao 14, Sijing Huang 12 pts 10 rbs) bt DPR of Korea (Suk Yong Ro 20, Jong Ok Ri 11) 110-53 [23-7, 30-20, 28-11, 29-15]

 

Division B

Kazakhstan maintain perfect record with win over Fiji

In the first Division B game of the day, Kazakhstan beat Fiji 71 – 48. They capitalized on their size advantage in the paint, grabbing 24 offensive boards and scoring 16 second chance points. OxanaOssipenko top scored for Kazakhstan with 21 points, hitting five out of eight shots from beyond the arc. BulouKoyamainavure top scored for Fiji with 28 points, but she had little support from the rest of her team mates. Having topped Group B, Kazakhstannow qualify automatically for the semi-finals, because Group A comprises only three teams.

 

Kazakhstan (Oxana Ossipenko 21 pts; Tamara Yagodkina 16 pts; Nadezhda Kondrakova 13 pts) bt Fiji (Bulou Koyamainavure 28 pts) 71 – 48 [19 – 9, 14 – 7, 16 – 12, 22 – 20]

 

Singapore run Lebanon close

Lebanon beat Singapore 74 – 64 to recover from their terrible start to the tournament, having lost to Kazakhstan in their first game. They shot the ball at a healthy 47%, and were led in scoring by Nancy Maalouf with 16 points. Lebanon capitalized on their size advantage, scoring 32 points in the paint and limiting Singapore to only 12. Singapore put up a valiant challenge, led by forward Cheryl Poon with 20 points, but eventually succumbed to the size and physicality of the Lebanese team.

 

Lebanon (Nancy Maalouf 16 pts; Chirine El Charif 15 pts; Rebecca Akl 11 pts) bt Singapore (Cheryl Poon 20 pts; Jia Min Lim 12 pts; Jayne Tan 11 pts) 74 – 64 [18 – 16, 16 – 15, 21 – 11, 19 – 22]

 

Grima Merlin stars as India outclass Sri Lanka

The headline game of the day was the host’s matchup against Sri Lanka, as they looked to cement top spot in Group A. The Indian women were heavily favoured to prevail over their island neighbours, and they did not disappoint.

 

They recorded an emphatic 88 – 42 victory. Coming off an impressive game against Uzbekistan, Grima Merlin turned in an even better performance, notching up a double-double (20 points and 10 rebounds).

 

But in comparison to Sunday’s assured and all-round performance, the Indian women began the game rather nervously: missing outside shots and turning the ball over. Nevertheless, they worked hard to penetrate the paint and find the high-percentage looks. Centre Rajapriyadharshini was a dominant force in the paint early on, grabbing offensive rebounds and converting the second chance points.

 

As the game wore on, the Indians’ lead grew. This gave coach Visic the opportunity to give his bench a run-out before the tougher knockout fixtures. There were good showings all around as the bench combined to score 51 points.

 

Shireen Limaye racked up 10 rebounds for the second game in a row, in a great collective showing off the boards that saw India notch up 85 rebounds, in comparison to only 40 for Sri Lanka. India’s young centre Poonam Chaturvedi scored 8 points late in the game to the sound of loud cheers from the crowd.

 

India will now play Fiji in the quarterfinals on 27th July at the Sri Kanteerava Indoor Stadium, Bengaluru.

 

India (Grima Merlin 20 pts, 10 rebs; Anitha Paul Durai 13 pts; Shireen Limaye 8 pts, 10 rebs) bt Sri Lanka (Imesha Dapana Durage 9 pts; Nadeeshani Kumarine Silva 8 pts) 88 – 42 [23 – 10, 3 – 17, 13 – 19, 16 – 29]

 

 

Division A quarterfinals schedule

Division B quarterfinals schedule

Picture credits: FIBA.com

by Abhishek Shukla

Gals, we are so proud of you!

Despite falling short by just 9 runs to lose World Cup to England, Indian Women’s cricket team’s journey from World Cup qualifier to final of biggest stage of the game is not less than any dramatic movie.

Forty third over, fifth ball, Anya Shrubsole to set opener Poonam Raut, length ball pitched inside and Raut misjudged it completely. Umpire raised his finger and Raut with her partner Veda Krishnamurthy took more than 15 seconds and she had no option but to leave crease. India now 4 down for 191, 38 needed from 43 balls with 6 wickets in hand.

Next 35 balls, 28 runs, 6 wickets and India gone.

If you analyze the India’s lost, there are multiple variants someone can find. Mithali Raj’s run out, Veda’s needless short, Smriti Mandhana’s yet another duck and so many. But was that the reason India lose the final? For me it’s big NO. After nearly 12 years, India professed to World Cup final and it was only second time in 11 editions though. On other hand, England who was favorite to win this tournament played fearless last ten overs and experience pays for them.

http://gty.im/821255998

Base from Women’s World Cup Qualifier

No doubt, it was India’s final till 43rd over. But table turns from there for England was something Indian team won’t want to recall in their future. India’s appearance in the final was not an easy entry as team appeared in the Women’s World Cup qualifier in Sri Lanka in February and emerged as winner winning all 8 games including 4 group stage games, 3 super six games and last ball finish in the final against South Africa in which 2 games were minor game.

India’s skipper Mithali Raj, the highest run scorer in Women’s ODIs who has been playing the game since 1999, with 19 years old Deepti Sharma were top scorers in that tournament. Deepti who scored 253 runs in six games with three fifty-plus score and with an average of more than 50 which is said to be the best Women’s cricket. While her skipper too scored three fifty-plus knocks scoring 207 runs with the same number of average.

The bowling performance by Indian women in that tournament was phenomenal. 13 wickets in five games by Ekta Bisht and 11 wickets in six games Shikha Pandey tells you how good they were in bowling department. Bisth’s five-for 8 was the top performance for India and economy throughout the tournament was just 2.28. Imagine how good they were in that tournament with these numbers.

http://gty.im/507699528

India who was runner up of the 2005 Women’s World Cup could not make through the direct qualification for this World Cup. During 2014 to 2016 in the ICC Women’s Championship, they were not up to the mark. Played seven series against top teams winning just three and if you check the opponent, they were Sri Lanka, Pakistan and West Indies. Though West Indies was into the top four at the end of the Championship period, India suffered to go down for the fifth place caused to go through qualifier process.

The Final Performance

Remarkable performance in World Cup Qualifier was not just indication for big stage, it was the signal from women in blue to go beyond that performance which they did fabulously throughout the tournament. 10-1 record in 2017 before making into the World Cup followed by four consecutive victories to kick off at the center stage was the start they were desperately waiting for.

It was complete team effort by girls with everyone’s contribution at the right pays off. After two impressive innings by Smriti Mandhana she lost her temperament completely in following matches. But Mithali’s cool and composer innings including hundred against New Zealand in the knock out game was the proof of that team effort. Also Harmanpreet Kaur’s vital inning in the semifinal against Australia kept her and team on higher note.

In the bowling department, spin duo Deepti Sharma (12 wickets) and Poonam Yadav (11 wickets) took the responsibility and well supported by highest wicket taker in Women’s ODIs Jhoolan Goswami (10 wickets). Rajeshwari Gayakwad was clinical against New Zealand where she wrote her career best figure of 5 for 15.

http://gty.im/809159204

Though India lost momentum in the final after 43rd over, but their performance throughout the tour was something different they could cherish in their life for sure. At the end of the tournament, India winning 16 out of 20 matches in this year will tell you how good they are prepared for the upcoming season. And for the record, it is their best ever performance in a calendar year in their history.

by Abhishek Shukla

AFC Competitions Committee’s decision published regarding ISL and I-League

Following a recommendation from the All India Football Federation (AIFF), the Competitions Committee gave special dispensation for the Indian Super League (ISL) which will be played simultaneously with the I-League for six or seven months in 2017 and 2018 as a temporary short-term ‘bridging solution’.

AIFF’s recommendation to the AFC was that the ISL will replace the Federation Cup, whose winner is currently allocated an AFC Champions League Play-Off place AFC  Cup preliminary stage place.

Therefore, the Committee approved that the I-League champions will play in the AFC Champions League Play-off round and the ISL Champions will play in the AFC Cup preliminary stage – as long as all clubs adhere to the AFC rules and regulations, particularly club licensing, from 2018.

The situation will be reviewed on a yearly basis with conditions which, in addition to adherence to club licensing regulations, include promotion, production, a player allocation system and the following of the Road Map agreed between the AFC and Indian football stakeholders at a meeting in Kuala Lumpur on June 7, 2017.

by Abhishek Shukla

Hockey India League to return in 2019 with a fresh outlook

New Delhi, 25 July 2017: After hosting five successful editions that generated tremendous interest from hockey fans across the globe, the sixth edition of Hockey India League will be hosted in 2019. The tournament’s Governing Committee, comprising representatives of Hockey India and other stakeholders, have unanimously decided to schedule the next edition of India’s only professional hockey league in 2019 instead of 2018 January and February.
“After five years of successfully organizing the Hockey India League which has greatly helped unearth talent and significantly improved the National Team’s performances at both Junior and Senior level, we felt that it is time to review the League, evaluate its success and comeback with a fresh outlook that will benefit the development of the sport further and our franchises and stakeholders. This decision was made after consultation with all our commercial partners and meeting the contractual obligations of all parties involved,” stated Mohd Mushtaque Ahmad, Chairman Hockey India League and Secretary General, Hockey India.
Ahmad further clarified that this will only be a temporary discontinuation and that the Hockey India League will return in 2019. “Due to a conflict in dates of the schedule of Hockey India League 2018 and a major international tournament which was likely to restrict the participation of international players, it was decided that the best solution was to postpone the conduct of the sixth season of the League. I want to emphasize that we want to resume the League in 2019 albeit with greater prospects to make it more viable financially not only for the stakeholders but also for the players,” he added.
The Hockey India League in these past five years has given rise to players who have gone on to make a name for themselves in World Hockey. The League significantly contributed in the success of the Indian Junior Men’s Team that won the 2016 Junior World Cup while the Indian Men’s Team advanced in the world ranking to a commendable No.6 position. The foreign players too hugely benefited with the League as it has helped them earn monetary benefits playing in the month-long League along side players from different countries.  “Hockey India League has undoubtedly been a fantastic platform for players from around the world to showcase their talent and the participating teams thoroughly enjoyed the experience over the last five seasons. The Governing Committee would like to thank everyone involved with the HIL and all those who participated in the first five seasons of the tournament,” expressed Ahmad.
by Abhishek Shukla

Indian girls had a mixed day in World junior squash championship

Tauranga (New Zealand): India began well in Pool C with a 3-0 win over South Africa but later in the day went down to higher ranked England 0-3 for mixed fortune on the opening day of the girls’ team event competition in the WSF-World junior squash championship here on Tuesday.

This is a four-team Pool with France being the fourth team. India at the end of two matches is placed two in the Pool with a match against lower ranked France to go. Two teams from this Pool qualify for the knock-out phase.

The results: Pool C: India bt South Africa 3-0 (Akanksha Salunkhe bt Faith Panashe Sithole 11-6, 15-13, 11-4; Aishwarya Bhattacharya bt Helena Coetzee 11-7, 11-5, 11-7; Sunayna Kuruvilla bt Jenifer Preece 11-5, 11-5, 11-5); India lost to England 0-3 (Akanksha Salunkhe lost to Lucy Turmel 1-11, 5-11, 5-11; Aishwarya Bhattacharya lost to Jasmine Hutton 4-11, 5-11, 4-11; Sunayna Kuruvilla lost to Elise Lazarus 9-11, 8-11, 12-10, 8-11)

by Abhishek Shukla

India to host Boxing World Championship in 2018 and 2021

In a historic decision AIBA (International Boxing Association) announced that New Delhi India will host 2018 Women’s World Championships and 2021 Men’s World Championships.

India has never hosted the men’s World Championship but has hosted the 2006 women’s mega-event.

“The strength of all of the bids we have seen today is the clearest indication yet of AIBA’s successful efforts to amplify the prestige of its World Championships even further, with the strongest global broadcasting and sponsorship partnerships secured to date already finalised for next month’s Men’s World Championships in Hamburg,” said AIBA President Dr Ching-Kuo Wu.

“Having witnessed the Russian Boxing Federation’s dedication to promote the sport of boxing and its capacity to meet the Executive Committee’s expectations for hosting our biggest event, we are delighted to have the AIBA Men’s World Championships 2019 confirmed for Sochi, and equally excited to announce New Delhi as host city in 2021 as the Boxing Federation of India continues to show its commitment to developing the sport. Following the presentation of the Turkish Boxing Federation, I know that Trabzon will also meet the demands of hosting the world’s biggest women’s boxing tournament in 2019.”

by Abhishek Shukla

MFA Super Cup 2017: Chhinga Veng FC lift trophy

Chhinga Veng FC came out on top in a one-sided final of the MFA Super Cup today (24th July,  2017) ,thoroughly beating their opponents Chanmari West FC in a 5-0 victory.
They collected a beautiful trophy and a cash prize of Rs 2,00,000 from the wife of late Mr Lalbiakliana,  who’s family sponsored the tournament.
After heavy clouds disrupted play twice about a couple of minutes into the first half, Chhinga Veng FC enjoyed more possession and were able to threaten their opponents.
They got their breakthrough in the 31st minute with a flurry of goals where CVFC scored 3 in the space or four minutes. Striker Malsawmfela scored in then 31st minute and again 3 minutes later, with Laldingngheta adding a third less than a minute gone.
The second half began in the same manner with striker Malsawmfela completing his hattrick on the 49th minute and making it near impossible for the West Warriors to salvage anything out of the game.
MIdfielder R Malsawmtluanga then scored their fifth goal fifteen minutes from time.
63 clubs from various divisions of Mizoram football participated in the tournaments where the two Mizoram Premier League clubs met in the final.
Result:
Chhinga Veng 5-0 Chanmari West FC
(Malsawmfela 31′, 34′, 49′, Laldingngheta 35′, R. Malsawmtluanga 78′)
Awards:
Best Goalkeeper : Laltanpuia, Mizoram Police FC
Best Defender : Lalrinchhana Tochhawng, Chhinga Veng FC
Best Midfielder : R Malsawmtluanga, Chhinga Veng FC
Best Forward : Malsawmfela, Chhinga Veng FC
Fair Play Award : Chhinga Veng FC
by Abhishek Shukla

Indian Men conclude William Jones Campaign

Bengaluru/Taipei, 24th July 2017: The Indian men’s basketball team finished their campaign yesterday at the William Jones Cup in Chinese Taipei with a 61-77 loss against the Japanese national team.

 

The Indian men were leading 30-28 going into halftime, but fell behind after a disappointing third quarter where they were outscored 28-15.

 

Amjyot Singh Gill led the scoring for India with 22 points, while Jeevanantham Pandi chipped in with 10 points. The Indian team was strong on the boards, out-rebounding the Japanese men 41-31, but only managed to hit one of thirteen from beyond the arc.

 

The Japanese offensive effort was led by Shuta Hara (15 points), and supported by Kengo Nomoto (14 points) and Shuto Ando (12 points).

 

The Indian men finished the tournament without a win, but these games have provided valuable minutes to the squad ahead of the FIBA Asia Cup in Lebanon next month. Head coach Phil Weber will be encouraged by the performances of the squad, particularly the young forwards – Muin Bek Hafeez, Jeevanantham Pandi, and Gurvinder Singh Gill.

 

Japan (Shuta Hara 15 pts; Kengo Nomoto 14 pts; Shuto Ando 12 pts) bt India (Amjyot Singh Gill 22 pts; Jeevanantham Pandi 10 pts) 77 – 61 [15 – 11, 13 – 19, 28 – 15, 21 – 16]

 

22nd July: India lose to Philippines

On 22nd July, the Indian men’s basketball team lost the penultimate game of the William Jones Cup 70-101 against the Philippines.

 

The men from the Philippines were on fire from beyond the arc, hitting 17 three-pointers on 47% shooting.  Mathew Andrew Wright was the top scorer for the Philippines (19 points), hitting 5 of 5 from three-point land.

 

Like so many games in this tournament, the Indian men were competitive in the early minutes of the game, but dropped off in the second quarter and were outscored 7-27.

 

The Indian team had a couple of strong performances, with Amjyot Singh scoring 25 points, and Jeevanantham Pandi notching up a double-double (14 points and 10 rebounds). Overall, the shooting was a mixed bag: the team shot 60 percent from two-point range, but attempted as many as 30 three-pointers and hitting only 23%.

 

Philippines (Matthew Andrew Wright 19 pts; Von Rolfe Pessumal 14 pts; Almond Vosotros 14 pts) bt India (Amjyot Singh Gill 25 pts; Jeevanantham Pandi 14 pts, 10 rebs) 101 – 70 [27 – 24, 27 – 7, 26 – 24, 21 – 15]

 

About the William Jones Cup

The William Jones Cup is a basketball tournament that has been held annually in Taipei since 1977. The tournament was named in honour of Renato William Jones, who was one of the founders of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA). One team represents each country, and that team could be the national team, a professional club, or a college team. The tournament is played in a single round-robin format, and the final points tally will determine the placing of the teams.

 

This is the 39th edition of the tournament, and all the games were played at the Basketball Stadium of Heping Elementary School, Taipei City.

 

The William Jones Cup has served as excellent competitive exposure for India ahead of the FIBA Men’s Asia Cup to be held in Lebanon from 8th to 20th August 2017.

 

Last year, Philippines’ Mighty Sports club team took gold in the men’s tournament, while South Korea and Republic of China (i.e. Chinese Taipei) – Blue finished second and third respectively. India finished 1-7 in this edition.

List of participating teams

  1. Canada 3D Global Sports
  2. India National Team
  3. Iran National Team
  4. Iraq National Team
  5. Japan National Team
  6. Korea National Team
  7. Lithuania Atletas Team
  8. Philippines National Team
  9. Chinese Taipei National Team A
  10. Chinese Taipei National Team B

India’s full schedule

  • 15th July, 1100 hrs CST (or 0830 hrs IST)- versus Iraq
  • 16th July, 1100 hrs CST (or 0830 hrs IST)- versus South Korea
  • 17th July, 1900 hrs CST (or 1730 hrs IST)- versus Republic of China – Blue
  • 18th July, 1500 hrs CST (or 1230 hrs IST)- versus Iran
  • 19th July, 1300 hrs CST (or 1030 hrs IST)- versus Lithuania
  • 20th July, 1500 hrs CST (or 1230 hrs IST)- versus Republic of China – White
  • 21st July, 1100 hrs CST (or 0830 hrs IST)- versus Canada
  • 22nd July, 1300 hrs CST (or 1030 hrs IST)- versus Philippines
  • 23rd July, 1500 hrs CST (or 1230 hrs IST)- versus Japan

 

INDIAN CONTINGENT FOR THE 39TH WILLIAM JONES CUP

 

Sr. No. First Name Middle and Last Name Position DOB State/Unit
1 Ambati PRUDHVISHWAR REDDY PG 02/10/96 Telangana
2 Anil Kumar BUKANKERE KRISHNE GOWDA SG 31/07/89 Karnataka/Vijaya Bank
3 Arjun SINGH G 08/06/92 Uttarakhand/ONGC
4 Pratham SINGH SG 01/10/91 Tamil Nadu/IOB
5 Basil PHILIP SG 10/01/91 Kerala/Customs & Central Excise
6 Jeevanantham PANDI PF/C 13/10/94 Tamil Nadu/IOB
7 Rikin PETHANI C 02/12/90 Tamil Nadu/Income Tax
8 Amjyot Singh GILL PF 27/01/92 Punjab
9 Baladhaneshwar POIYAMOZHI PG 07/12/92 Tamil Nadu
10 Gurvinder Singh GILL PF/C 21/01/96 Punjab
11 PrasannaVenkatesh SIVAKUMAR SF 25/09/92 Tamil Nadu/IOB
12 MuinBek HAFEEZ SF 28/01/91 Tamil Nadu
Support Staff
13 Baskar SAPPANIAMBALAM Coach 20/07/66 Tamil Nadu
14 Padipurakkal Joseph SEBASTIAN Coach 21/05/67 Kerala
15 Devender KUMAR Manager 04/07/56 Delhi
16 Raj Kumar DUBEY Physiotherapist 01/06/68 Uttarakhand/ONGC
17 Peter SanthoshDivaker PEREJI Referee 03/07/73 Telangana

*PG – Point Guard / Feeder, G – Guard, F – Forward, G/F – Wing, PF – Power Forward, C – Centre, PF/C – Post

by Abhishek Shukla

Amritpal Singh shines as Sydney Kings win Atlas Challenge

Bengaluru/Suzhou, 24th July 2017:  Amritpal Singh, the near 6’ 10’’ centre of the Indian national team, had another dominant performance for the Sydney Kings in the final of the Atlas Challenge in China. Amritpal notched up another double-double, his third of the tournament, with 17 points and 16 rebounds. The Sydney Kings won the final against Lithuania 79 – 65, capping off a perfect tournament.

 

The Sydney Kings were approaching the tournament as an opportunity to evaluate prospective players who may make the Sydney Kings roster at a later stage. After a stellar showing over the course of the tournament, Amritpal Singh will be very optimistic about his chances.

 

Singh had been formally invited to join the Sydney Kings for the Atlas Challenge 2017, after he impressed a number of teams at the National Basketball League (NBL) Draft Combine in Melbourne, Australia earlier this year. He was part of a four member contingent that also included Amjyot Singh, Yadwinder Singh and VisheshBhriguvanshi. A report on the official NBL websitereflects high praise for the Punjab centre, and played up his potential to become the first Indian-born player to play in the NBL. Among the stand out features of his play were his defensive presence around the rim, finishing the Combine tied as the leading shot blocker.

by Abhishek Shukla

Neel Joshi and Ananya Dabke wins U15 titles in Dutch junior Open squash

Amsterdam: India’s bunch of juniors made some impact in the just concluded Dutch junior Open squash with Neel Joshi and Ananya Dabke winning the respective U-15 boys’ and girls’ titles.

Both top talent in their age, Neel, who was the top seed defeated England’s Alhassana Khalil 9-11, 11-4, 11-5, 11-6 in the final while Ananya who was seeded 9/12 beat the second seed Serena Daniel of USA 11-7, 11-4, 12-10 for the title. The Mumbai girl had earlier beaten the top seed Chukwu Chinyere of Hungary in semi-final.

Vikas Mehra (U-19) and Arnaav Sareen (U-15) made third place finishes while Rutva Samant (U-13), Kanhav Nanavati (U-15) were placed fourth in their respective age categories.

In all 16 players (11 boys and 5 girls) had taken part in this prestigious European event for juniors.

by Abhishek Shukla

Bengaluru FC to train in Spain ahead of AFC Cup clash

Bengaluru: A new-look Bengaluru FC side will kick off their pre-season training this week in the city before heading to Spain early next month for a 10-day training camp. The Blues will train at the state-of-the-art facilities at Pinatar Arena in Murcia during their stay in the Mediterranean region. Having finalized their squad on Sunday at the ISL Draft, Bengaluru FC Head Coach Albert Roca will now have an eye on the crucial AFC Cup Inter-Zonal semifinal against North Korean side April 25 SC as he prepares his squad for the first leg at home onAugust 23.

“The facilities at Pinatar Arena are top-class and I thank the management for providing us with this opportunity. The arena will provide us with everything we need to get up and running as fast as possible. Among all the other ISL teams, we’ll be in action first in the AFC Cup and it’s important that we utilize this time well so that our team settles in quickly. While we have managed to retain the core of our team, there are a lot of new signings which means that we need to put in that extra effort in pre-season to gel as a unit,” explained Roca.

During their stay, the Blues are set to face Spanish Segunda-B Division side UCAM Murcia CF (August 9) and 2016-17 UAE Pro League side Baniyas S&R(August 15) in friendly games.

The Blues base – the Pinatar Arena – boasts of six natural grass (Bermuda and ray grass) floodlit football pitches at FIFA standards with special areas designated for goalkeepers and a stadium with a capacity of 3,500 spectators that hosts friendlies and tournaments. The Arena also has top-class fitness centers with all the latest equipment from health and fitness innovators.

While the facility recently hosted an U21 tournament between national teams of Australia, Austria, Finland and Netherlands, they have regularly hosted training camps of top-flight clubs from all over Europe. A few of them include, German heavyweights Borussia Dortmund and FC Kaiserslautern, Spanish sides Levante UD and UD Almeria, Russian powerhouses CSKA Moscow and FC Zenit apart from Ulsan Hyundai (South Korea), FC Twente (Netherlands), Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia) and Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine).

This will be the second time the Blues travel abroad for a pre-season training camp having earlier visited China at the start of the 2014-15 season. Back then, the Blues faced off against Sven-Goran Eriksson’s Guangzhou R&F FC (0-3) from the Chinese Super League and Hong Kong Premier League’s Eastern AA (0-2).

The 23-man team departs from India on August 5th and is scheduled to return on August 16th.

by Abhishek Shukla

Minerva FC starts In-School training program with St. John’s High School in Chandighar

Minerva Punjab FC, North India’s sole representatives in the top division of Indian Football, has begun a tie-up with one of the best schools in Chandigarh, St. John’s High School (Ranked amongst the best schools in the country by India Today) for the first of its kind in-school football training programme. Minerva Punjab FC AFC and UEFA certified coaches will train the students of St. John’s High School and the school teams for competitions.

Minerva Punjab FC is the powerhouse of football in North India having one of the largest and best residential football academies in the country and a thriving Youth Development Programme which is renowned all over the country. Minerva Academy Football Club was set up in 2010 with the aim of contributing local players to the Indian National Teams and giving local players a platform to shine. Minerva has been dedicated to the revival and promotion of football in and around theTricity area and Punjab. In fact, it is regarded by AIFF as the premier youth development academy in India for football which has contributed 27 players to the national teams over the last two years.

St. John’s boasts the biggest and best football grounds in the tri-city area and matched infrastructure for sports. The Minerva Coaching staff are a team of highly experienced and qualified and UEFA and AFC certified coaches who are specialists in youth and grassroots development programs who will operate and manage before and after-school football training programmes at St. John’s. Certified Coaches will teach kids the Minerva Way using european training methodology and technical expertise. The school program will be designed and monitored by Minerva Punjab FC Technical Director and Head of Youth Development. The training will be executed in line with the detailed and well planned Grassroots and Youth Development Curriculum of Minerva which has been developed after meticulous research and drawn from various successful training systems from all over the world customised for the Indian player and ecosystem.

Recently Minerva Punjab FC fielded Krishna Pandit a youngster who passed out from St. John’s High School a few years ago, in their senior I-League Side in their debut season. At just 18 years of age, Krishna Pandit became one of the most promising youngsters in the league after a spectacular Man of the Match winning performance against Mohun Bagan and scoring a goal against East Bengal. Krishna said “I am so happy that Minerva Punjab FC is taking over the football coaching in St. John’s as I understand the value of having the right guidance at the right time to help shape your career as a professional footballer.”

Within the first month, many students of St. John’s have signed up for the training. Out of the trainees, two St. John’s boys have already been invited to train with the Minerva Punjab FC U-13 and U-15  I-League team. Rishabh, one of the trainees who has just joined the programme said, “It is exciting to train under the Minerva coaches with new methodology and style. I have already stared noticing the improvement in my game. I cant wait for our next tournament to test out these newly acquired skills”

Minerva Punjab FC Founder Ranjit Bajaj is himself an alumnus of St. John’s High School and is thrilled with the opportunity to give back to his Alma Mater, “With the technical expertise of Minerva Punjab FC coaches and youth development program, I am sure that St. John’s will produce many more Krishna Pandits in the years to come!”

Ms. Kavita Das, Principal of the prestigious St. John’s High School said, “We believe in giving our students the best. With Minerva, we not only have the best but, better still, we have an alumnus of ours at the helm, who is giving back to his alma mater with the generosity of spirit that Johnians are famous for.”

by Abhishek Shukla

Maratha Yoddhas & North East Tigers qualify for semi-finals of Super Boxing League

New Delhi, 24 July 2017: Another action packed weekend in the Super Boxing League saw Maratha Yoddhas, North East Tigers and Haryana Warriors register comprehensive wins in their respective matches to stay in the hunt for the semi-final spots. The Maratha Yoddhas impressed again as they won their second consecutive match of Super Boxing League beating the Bahubali Boxers 12-6 in Group B. Thesecond Group B encounter of the weekend saw Asha Roka-led North East Tigers beat Mumbai Assassins 12-6 to ensure Maratha Yoddhas’ and North East Tigers’ semi-final berths. Whereas, in Group A, Haryana Warriors kept their hopes of a semi-final spot as they beat the struggling UP Terminators 15-3.

The first match of the weekend was between Deepak Tanwar-led Maratha Yoddhas and Kuldeep Singh-led Bahubali Boxers in Group B. It was the Maratha Yoddhaswho started the match strongly as they won the first four bouts of the night through Sandeep Singh, Andy Chuaua, Lalnunfeli, and Deepak Tanwar to take an unassailable 12-0 lead. Bahubali Boxers were struggling on the night and needed two consecutive Knock Out wins to level the points after the six bouts, but they could only win the two bouts by Unanimous Decision as the match finished 12-6 in Maratha Yoddhas’ favour.

In Group B’s second encounter of the weekend, it was Asha Roka-led North East Tigers who took on the Mumbai Assassins. The match between the two teams also consisted of the most anticipated bout of the Super Boxing League when Tigers’ Asha Roka took on Assassins’ Manjit Kolekar in the Super Fly category. It was the Mumbai Assassins who started the match with two wins as both Asif Asad Khan and Pawan Goyat won their respective bouts to give their team a 6-0 lead. However, Asha Roka was not having any of it, and won her bout against Manjit Kolekar to initialize a comeback for the North East Tigers. This resulted in the Tigers winning the next three fights as well through A Naoba Meitei, Jitender Nandal and Ashish Ahlawat to win the match with a score line of 12-6.

The last match of the weekend was a Group A encounter between the Haryana Warriors and the UP Terminators. It was an important match for the Warriors as they had to win to stay in the hunt for the semi-finals. However, it was the Terminators who took an early 3-0 lead through Ashish Kumar as he beat Warriors’ Sandeep Bhagri in the Feather Weight category. The Warriors needed to make a comeback if they were to stay in the League, and they did that through Parmod Kumar, Anita Kumari, Sandeep Nain, Sukhdeep Singh, and Jagdeep Singh. All the boxers won their respective bouts to give their side a much needed 15-3 win.

Here is the match line-up for the next weekend as we enter the last three fight-nights of the league stage in Super Boxing League:

Friday 28th July, 2017  – Delhi Gladiators vs OPM Punjab Sultans

Saturday 29th July, 2017 – Mumbai Assassins vs Bahubali Boxers

Sunday 30th July, 2017 – Maratha Yoddhas vs North East Tigers

Please find below the Points Table at the end of Week 2 of Super Boxing League:

GROUP A

TEAM P W D L PF PA PD PTS
DELHI GLADIATORS 2 2 0 0 31 6 25 6
HARYANA WARRIORS 3 2 0 1 36 21 15 6
OPM PUNJAB SULTANS 2 1 0 1 21 21 0 3
UP TERMINATORS 3 0 0 3 9 49 –40 0

 

GROUP B

TEAM P W D L PF PA PD PTS
NORTH-EAST TIGERS 2 2 0 0 24 15 9 6
MARATHA YODDHAS 2 2 0 0 24 15 9 6
MUMBAI ASSASSINS 2 0 0 2 15 24 -9 0
BAHUBALI BOXERS 2 0 0 2 15 24 -9 0
by Abhishek Shukla

India U23 defeated Turkmenistan by 3-1

DOHA: India signed off the AFC U23 Championship Qualifiers campaign in style, having overpowered Turkmenistan by a whopping margin of 3-1 at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium in Doha tonight (July 23, 2017).

 

Having conceded in the 13th minute, India made a strong comeback in the first-half three minutes to the end of the final whistle when Manvir Singh netted the equaliser. Alen Deory and Jerry Lalrinzuala scored within four minutes to stage their first victory in the tournament.

 

India finished their campaign with 3 points from 3 matches, behind Qatar and Syria who will lock their horns later tonight.

 

India started today where they left against Qatar the other day. Flurry of attacks in the first 10 minutes, getting closer to scoring their opening goal in the tournament, keeping the enthusiast Indian supporters on the edge of the seats- everything were dished out subtly by the boys clad in their usual blue outfit in their final match of the AFC U23 Championship Qualifiers at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium in Doha today (July 23, 2017).

 

India snatched their first corner in the 4th minute of the match but Anirudh’s long corner came a bit too heavier for Sarthak.

 

Lallianzuala caused to wreck havoc from the left flank but his cutting-edge deliveries couldn’t have been utilised properly by Hitesh Sharma.

 

Meanwhile, Davinder Singh conceded a free-kick at the top of the box in the 13th minute and Hojovov Hoshgeldi, from the free-kick, stunned the Indian outfit to pull off a stunner against the run of the play.

 

The goal seemed to have reignited the boys’ zeal to make a comeback in the match. Zuala took on his own but his blasting left-footer missed the target by an inch or two in the next minute.

 

Indians tightened the screw to threaten the Turkmenistan defence more often but the opposition defenders stood tall between them and the equaliser.

 

In the 42nd minute, Manvir Singh tapped down a long ball which had his name written on it to finally get past the Turkmenistan goalie who maintained a clean sheet against Syria in their last match.

 

The boys headed to the changing room locked at a 1-1 scoreline.

 

After the resumption, Stephen’s boys started to press more to get onto the driver’s seat but they had to wait until the super-sub Alen Deory found the back of the net in the 72nd minute.

 

Manvir and Nikhil built on an exquisite counter-attack to finally find Alen, who replaced Hitesh Sharma four minutes before, to do the damage work to send the 200-odd Indian supporters into a delirium.

 

Indians were at the top of their game and they didn’t need to wait long to double the lead. Nikhil earned a free-kick at the top of the Turkmenistan box which was wrongly handed by a defender inside the box. The referee didn’t think twice to award the Indians a penalty.

 

Jerry Lalrinzuala came forward to shoulder the duty and clobbered India’s third goal in style to take the game away from the oppositions.

 

Till the final whistle, Indians were able to hold their nerves to leave the ground holding their heads high.

 

India: Vishal Kaith (GK), Davinder Singh, Jerry Lalrinzuala, Salam Ranjan Singh (C), Sarthak Golui, Anirudh Thapa (Robinson Singh 90′), Germanpreet Singh, Lallianzuala Chhangte (Nandha Kumar 80′), Nikhil Poojary, Hitesh Sharma (Alen Deory 68′), Manvir Singhanvir

by Abhishek Shukla

FIBA Asia Women’s Cup 2017 – India defeated Uzbek in first match

Bengaluru, 23rd July 2017: The FIBA Women’s Asia Cup 2017 tipped off this morning at the Sree Kanteerava Indoor Stadium in Bengaluru.

Division A

Australia down Korea

The first Division A game was a clash between powerhouse Australia and Korea. Playing for the first time in the FIBA Asia zone, Australia made an emphatic statement with a 78-54 win.

 

Ranked number 4 in the world, Australia got off to a slow start, allowing Korea to gain a 15-13 lead at the end of the first quarter. But from the second period onwards, Australia stifled the Koreans, forcing them to take tough contested shots. Korea managed only 3 points in the second quarter compared to Australia’s 20.

 

With a 33-18 lead to begin the second half, Australia cruised the rest of the way, relying on the scoring of forwards Kelsey Michelle Griffin (15 points) and Allanna Smith (13 points). Point guard Lauren Stacey Mansfield had 6 points and 5 assists.

 

Australia (Kelsey Michelle Griffin 15, Alanna Smith 13, Belinda Snell 11) bt Korea (Sungyoung Sim 11, Jisu Park 10, Hana Park 7) 78-54 [13-15, 20-3, 24-18, 21-18]

Japan rout Philippines

The Philippines were given a tough introduction to Division A, as they were defeated by Japan 106 – 55. The Japanese women got off to an electric start in the first quarter, opening up a 16-point lead. The lead only continued to grow as the game wore on, as the Japanese women continued to rotate the ball well, and maintain a high tempo on transition.

 

Evelyn Mawuli (21 points) led the scoring for Japan, and five other players also finished with scoring in double figures. Star point guard Asami Yoshida racked up five assists in the first five minutes of the game, and could afford to spend the rest of the game on the bench as the Japanese lead was never threatened.

Japan (Evelyn Mawuli 21 pts; Miyuki Kawamura 14 pts; Sakura Akaho 12 pts) bt Philippines (Gemma Miranda 17 pts; Allana May Lim 9 pts; Janine Pontejos 8 pts) 106-55 [25-11, 31-20, 31-8, 19-16]

Chinese Taipei edge past PRK

Chinese Taipei won their first game of the tournament 77 – 76 against DPR of Korea, in a thrilling finish. The game was tied at 60 going into the fourth quarter, and tied at 76 in the final minutes of the game. With seconds left on the clock, Chinese Taipei were awarded free throws for a foul committed by DPR of Korea, and managed to convert one of them.

 

The women from Chinese Taipei had to overcome a spirited performance from Suk Yong Ro, who had 36 points, shooting at a surreal 82%. DPR of Korea fielded a small team that played the game with a lot of intensity and at a very high tempo, forcing Chinese Taipei to play catch-up through most of the game. There were seven lead changes and five ties over the course of the game.

 

Chinese Taipei was led by centre Hsi-Le Bao who had a double-double, racking up 17 points and 10 rebounds.

 

Chinese Taipei (Hsi-Le Bao 17 pts, 10 rebs; Yu-Hao Lan 14 pts; Ping-Jen Huang 11 pts) bt DPR of Korea (Suk Yong Ro 36 pts; Hyang Ok Kim 23 pts) 77-76 [20-28, 20-16, 20-16, 17-16]

China defeat New Zealand

In their first match in the expanded FIBA Asia zone, New Zealand was blown out by team China. China’s size bothered New Zealand throughout the game. Starting at centre for China was 6-foot-7-inch Yueru Li, who was a towering presence in the paint.

 

China played excellent defense on New Zealand, rotating well and closing in on the NZ shooters. The paint was practically shut down by Yueru Li and backup centre Hongpin Huang. On the offensive end, China was patient, using the shot clock and finding the open shot.

 

Despite the absence of their first-choice centre Sun Mengran, China led from start to finish and closed out on a 77-48 win. Meng Li top scored for China with a game-high 15 points. Jillian Harmon had 14 points for New Zealand in the loss.

 

China (Meng Li 15, Yi Shen 14, Shuang Zhao 14) bt New Zealand (Jillian Harmon 14, Micaela Cocks 9, Antonia Edmondson 8) 77-48 [17-10, 22-14, 21-16, 17-8]

 

 

 

Division B

 

India defeat Uzbekistan

India began their quest for promotion to Division A with a flourish, beating Uzbekistan 92 – 76. The Indian women were hugely productive offensively, led by Anitha Paul Durai with 28 points. She was money from three-point land, hitting six of seven shots, and played with her heart on her sleeve, hustling on every possession.

 

Coach Visic rotated his team throughout the game, and there were bright performances all round: Jeena Skaria chipped in with 12 points and Shireen Limaye had 10 rebounds. Last minute call up Grima Merlin was very effective off the bench with 17 points, many of which were scored in transition.

 

India (Anitha Paul Durai 28 pts; Grima Merlin 17 pts; Jeena Skaria 12 pts) bt Uzbekistan (Elvira Salavatova 15 pts; Elena Khusnitdinova 14 pts; Natalya Koneva 13 pts) 92 – 76 (19 – 9, 24 – 21, 26 – 23, 23 – 23)

 

Singapore outclass Fiji

The other Division B games took place in Koramangala Indoor Stadium, starting with the game between Singapore and first time participants Fiji. Singapore outmatched Fiji in all departments, ending with a 103-38 win. Jayne Sarah top scored for Singapore with 21 points.

 

Singapore (Jayne Sarah En Min Tan 21, Jacqueline Jia Jia Chu 17, Cheryl Poon 17) bt Fiji (Bitila Sigani Tawake 8, Tiyana Anne Kainamou 7) 103-38 (35-9, 25-12, 18-9, 25-8)

 

Lebanon lose to Kazakhstan

The last s followed by the game between Kazakhstan and Lebanon. Lebanon shot the ball poorly (29% FGP) and was outrebounded 35 – 51. Eventually, the game finished 62 – 54 in favour of Kazakhstan, for whom Tamara Yagodkina top scored with 22 points and Zalina Kurazova had a double-double (14 pts, 11 rebs).

 

Kazakhstan (Tamara Yagodkina 22 pts; Zalina Kurazova 14 pts, 11 rebs; Nadezdha Kondrakova 11 pts) bt Lebanon (Rebecca Akl 18 pts; Lama Moukaddem 10 pts; Chirine El Charif 9 pts) 62 – 54 (15 – 13, 14 – 11, 21 – 13, 12 – 17)

 

Pic credit: FIBA .com

by Abhishek Shukla

Haryana Warriors keep their semi-final hopes alive as they beat UP Terminators 15-3 in Super Boxing League

New Delhi, 23 July 2017: Another action-packed SuperSunday in the Super Boxing League saw Group A teams Haryana Warriors and UP Terminators fight it out in the 9thmatch of the league here at the Siri Fort Squash & Badminton Stadium. It was the Haryana Warriors who registered a much-needed second win against the UP Terminators with a margin of 15-3 to stay in the hunt for semi-finals qualification. However, it was the last match for the UP Terminators as they have been knocked out of the Super Boxing League after failing to win any of their three matches.

 

UP Terminators’ Ashish Kumar opened the scoring for his side with a victory but Warriors’ Parmod Kumar, Anita Kumari, Sandeep Nain, Sukhdeep Singh and Jagdeep Singh were all winners in their respective categories to give their team an important three points to keep pace with the Delhi Gladiators.

 

In the first fight of the day, Haryana Warriors’ Sandeep Bhagri faced UP Terminators’ Ashish Kumar in the Feather Weight category. The first Round saw both the boxers starting strongly as there was heavy exchange of punches. However, it was Bhagri who dominated the Round as he hit the better punches. Round 2 saw a similar story as Kumar also pushed the pace with his combinations and hooks. It was a well balanced fight between the two boxers as both the boxers looked sharp. The action continued in Round 3 as Kumar took the initiative to make a statement as he hit some barging blows on Bhagri to put the tie on equal terms. But Warriors’ Bhagri also landed some punches on Kumar to end the third Round. Both the boxers had to go for it in the fourth Round to get the win for their team. It was Terminators’ Kumar who was the aggressor as he needed some important blows to win the bout. This meant that it was UP Terminators’ Ashish Kumar who was declared the winner by Unanimous Decision to give his side an early lead of 3-0.

 

It was now up to Haryana Warriors’ Parmod Kumar to cut short the lead for his team as he faced UP Terminators’ Md Mostafa in the Welter Weight category. Round 1 saw both the boxers take the opportunity to strike punches but it was Mostafa who focused on quantity rather than quality. However, Kumar kept his guard up throughout the round and hit Mostafa on the counter to make it a very exciting fight. Round 2 saw both the boxers doing a great job as they hit each other with some barging blows. The third Round turned out to be even better for both the boxers as they started to get into a nice rhythm. It was Mostafa who dominated the fight though as he hit more accurate punches on Kumar. The latter had replaced Warriors’ skipper Neeraj Goyat and he had won his last fight. Kumar maintained his winning record as he got the better hits in Round 4 to clinch the victory by Unanimous Decision to put the teams level on points 3-3.

 

The third fight saw Haryana Warriors’ Anita Kumari take on UP Terminators’ Lalruatfeli in the Super Fly category. Anita Kumari was high on confidence as she had won her first fight last weekend when she beat Bugalia. However, it was Terminators’ Lalruatfeli who started Round 1 with a better rhythm as she hit some early punches on Kumari. But the latter did not back down as she countered Lalruatfeli with some impressive combinations. Round 2 saw a similar story as the boxers kept up the pace. The 19-year-old southpaw hit some good combinations on Lalruatfeli in Round 3 & 4 to make the fight interesting. However, the Terminators’ boxer focused on hitting some jabs which she couldn’t quite get on target. This meant that the referees decided to award the victory to Anita Kumari by Unanimous Decision, giving a 6-3 lead to Haryana Warriors after three bouts.

 

The fourth fight saw Haryana Warriors’ Sandeep Nain take on UP Terminators’ Deepak Kumar in the Middle Weight category. In the first Round, both pugilists kept their shape in order to not give-in to their opponents’ initial attacks. Round 2 saw both the boxers giving some good combinations to each other but the Round belonged to Sandeep Nain as he hit his opponent harder with each blow as he utilised the age advantage. Round 3 was important for Kumar if he wanted to make a comeback, but Nain kept barging Kumar with some good combinations to win the Round and being the aggressor in the fight. Warriors’ Nain kept pushing with some amazing jabs on Terminators’ Kumar through Round 4 to win the fight by Unanimous Decision to extend his team’s lead to 9-3.

The fifth fight of the night was between Haryana Warriors’ Sukhdeep Singh and UP Terminators’ Amitesh Chaubey in the Super Middle Weight category. It was an important bout for both the teams as a win for either boxer would decide the final outcome of the match. Warriors’ Sukhdeep Singh took the initiative early on as he produced some marvelous combinations to put pressure on Chaubey in Round 1 and 2. However, Chaubey chose to hold on to his composure in the next two Rounds. Terminators’ boxer kept his guard up when it mattered, but it was not enough to keep out the heavy body shots and jabs that Singh produced. Thus, the final result was in favour of Haryana Warriors’ Sukhdeep Singh as he was awarded the win by Unanimous Decision which saw the Haryana Warriors lead UP Terminators 12-3, meaning that the former had secured the victory on the night.

 

The last fight of the night was a mere formality as Haryana Warriors had already won the tie. In the Heavy Weight category, UP Terminators were represented by Naveen Parashar and Haryana Warriors were represented by Jagdeep Singh. The Haryana Warriors’ man Singh started the first two Rounds on the front foot, making his debut in SBL. Parashar was always on the back-foot in the first two Rounds, as he failed to take the initiative. In Round 3, both the boxers started to look tired as they got into the latter part of the fight. Parashar tried to smack some blows on Singh but he failed to connect properly, whereas Singh was always hitting Parashar with some barging blows. Round 4 was all about keeping the composure for Singh, and not conceding, but Parashar did well in the last Round to hit some nice jabs and hooks on his opponent. However, Singh held on until the end of the fight and was eventually awarded the win by Unanimous Decision to make it 15-3 in Warriors’ favour on the night.

by Abhishek Shukla

AFI declares 24-member team for IAAF World Championships

Delhi: The selection committee of Athletics Federation of India (AFI) has picked a 24-member team which will compete in 14 different disciplines at the IAAF World Championships to be held in London from August 4-13, 2017.

The Indian team comprises 14 men who will participate in eight different disciplines at the worlds while ten women athletes will compete six various events.

India’s campaign at the world championships will begin with long distance runner G. Lakshmanan’s participation in the mens’ 10000m final on August 5.

A 13-member support staff comprising team officials, coaches, masseurs and team doctor will also accompany the team which will depart for London in the first week of August.

Team:

Men: 20km walk- Irfan Kolothum Thodi, Devender Singh and Ganapathi Krishnan;

400m & 4x400m relay- Muhammed Anas Yahiya;

5000m & 10000m- Lakshmanan Govindnan;

110m hurdles- Siddhanth Thingalaya;

Marathon- Gopi Thonakal;

Javelin Throw: Neeraj Chopra and Davinder Singh Kang;

4x400m Relay- Arokia Rajiv, Amoj Jacob, Kunhu Mohammed, Mohan Kumar Raja, Sachin Roby.

Women:

20 km walk- Khushbir Kaur;

400m & 4x400m relay- Nirmala; Heptathlon- Swapna Barman;

Marathon- Monika Motiram Athare;

Javelin Throw- Annu Rani;

4x400m relay- Poovamma Raju Machettira, Jisna Mathew, Anilda Thomas, Jauna Murmu, Anu Raghavan.

Team officials & coaches:

Vishal Kumar Dev, IAS, (team leader); Tony Daniel (team manager), Radha Krishnan Nair (deputy chief coach), Galina Bukharina (coach), PT Usha (coach), Surendra Singh (coach), Alexander Arstybashev (coach), Raj Mohan (coach), Bahadur Singh Chauhan (coach), Anju Bobby George (coach/observer), Arun Mendiratta (team doctor), Pawan Kumar (male masseur), Kinga Lidia (female masseur).

by Abhishek Shukla

Blues retain five, sign eight new players at ISL Draft

Bengaluru: Bengaluru FC went about their business smartly at their first ever Hero Indian Super League draft retaining five players from last season while strengthening their squad further by adding eight more Indian players, in Mumbai on Sunday.

First pick and fan-favourite goalkeeper Lalthuammawia Ralte was joined by Harmanjot Khabra, Lenny Rodrigues, Alwyn George and local-boy Calvin Abhishek among the players who will continue to be part of the squad. These players, along with the existing retentions in Sunil Chhetri, Udanta Singh, John Johnson, Juanan, Nishu Kumar, Malsawmzuala and Daniel Lalhlimpuia, will boost the squad ahead of the AFC Cup Inter-Zonal Semifinal against North Korean side April 4.25 SC in a month’s time from now.

Joining them will be seasoned professionals in goalkeeper Abhra Mondal, midfielder Boithang Haokip and defenders Rahul Bheke and Zohmingliana Ralte, along with exciting youngsters Joyner Lourenco, Collin Abranches, Thongkhosiem Haokip and Subhasish Bose.

Albert Roca, Bengaluru FC Head Coach, was content with the draft and the luck factor that goes with it, “We cannot have all the players we want. Eugeneson, Rino and Chhuantea have been important players for the club, but we knew it was impossible for us to get all our choices. However, we are happy with our picks and who we’ve signed so far. The circumstances of a draft mean that some players have to go and we’ve tried to keep as many players as possible. We looked at players who are compatible with our team, because we have important games in the AFC Cup coming up fast.”

While new signings Abhra Mondal and Boithang Haokip bring in loads of experience, the likes of Rahul Bheke and Zohmingliana Ralte were few of the stand-out performers in Indian football over the last few seasons. Rahul has created a name for himself on the domestic circuit with consistent performances for Air India, Mumbai FC, East Bengal, Kerala Blasters and FC Pune City over the last six seasons. Meanwhile, Zohmingliana, an ex-Pune FC and DSK Shivajians player, was an ever-present figure in Aizawl FC’s fairy-tale run to the I-League title. In fact, Aizawl were second only to Mohun Bagan when it came to conceding goals as they romped to the title with Zohmingliana scoring a decisive goal against the Kolkata club in the penultimate game of the season.

Bengaluru FC continued their tradition of keeping faith in youth by snapping up striker Thongkhosiem Haokip and left-back Subhasish Bose. Twenty-four-year-old Haokip was the highest scoring Indian player in the 2014-15 I-League netting seven goals throughout the season while at Pune FC. He then had stints with Salgaocar FC, FC Goa, Kerala Blasters and East Bengal.

Twenty-one-year-old Subhasish, on the other hand, had a breakthrough season at Churchill Brothers, before becoming a defensive mainstay for Sporting Goa in 2016 which prompted Mohun Bagan to sign the talented youngster. His impressive performances with the Kolkata-side even caught the eye of National Team Coach Stephen Constantine who called him up to the National Team camp, while also being part of the Indian U-23 team for the AFC Championship Qualifiers 2017.

BFC Full Squad: http://www.sportsindialive.com/football/indian-super-league-2017-18-players/

 

by Abhishek Shukla

North East Tigers register second win as they beat Mumbai Assassins 12-6 in Super Boxing League

New Delhi, 23 July 2017: With the tagline of Hit Harder, the action in the Super Boxing League continued tonight as the Mumbai Assassins looked to register their first victory when they took on the North East Tigers in a Group B encounter here at the Siri Fort Squash & Badminton Stadium. The match was a very crucial one for the Mumbai Assassins as they had to win in order to stay in the fight for the semi-finals spot. However, it was the North East Tigers who dominated as they beat the Mumbai Assassins 12-6 in a match which also witnessed one of the most highly anticipated fights in the history of Indian  female boxing when North East Tigers’ Asha Roka took on Mumbai Assassins’ Manjit Kolekar in the Super Fly category.

 

It was the North East Tigers’ Asha Roka who retained her crown of being the undefeated boxer as she beat Mumbai Assassins’ Manjit Kolekar comprehensively, initiating amarvelous comeback for her team as they wont 12-6 after trailing 0-6. Earlier on the night, it was Asif Asad Khan and Pawan Goyat who had given the Mumbai Assassins’ a 6-0 lead after two bouts. But North East Tigers’ Asha Roka, A Naoba Meitei, Jitender Nandal and Ashish Ahlawat, all won their respective matches to win the match 12-6 for their team. The match was witnessed by Mumbai Assassins’ owner Sohail Khan and Bollywood actors Sonal Chauhan, Jas Arora and Vatsal Seth.

 

The first bout of the night was between Asif Asad Khan from the Mumbai Assassins and Nanao Singh from the North East Tigers in the Feather Weight category. The boxer from the Mumbai Assassins, Asif Asad Khan started the bout on the front foot as he threw some good combinations on his opponent in Round 1 & 2 to set the rhythm for his team. It was important for Asif to win the bout as his team needed the victory on the day if they were to stay in the hunt for the semi-finals of SBL. North East Tigers’ Nanao Singh was not too behind and was looking to hit Khan on the counter. 26-year-old Singh showed some fire in Round 3 and 4 but Khan was always getting the better of him as both boxers enthralled the fans with some mind-blowing action. In a match which could have gone either way, it was Khan who was awarded the victory by Unanimous Decision to give the lead to the Mumbai Assassins.

 

In the second bout of the night, it was up to North East Tigers’ Basant Thapa to cut down the lead for his team as he faced Pawan Goyat from the Mumbai Assassins in the Welter Weight category. Coming from an Army background, Thapa did not disappoint his team as he started Round 1 with a good strategy. He kept his guard up and tried hitting Goyat on the counter; however the latter did manage to throw some punches on Thapa. Round 2 was equally spread between the two pugilists as they both hit each other with some beautiful combinations, uppercuts and jabs. In the third Round, Goyat got some good jabs as Thapa focused on quality instead of quantity. Pawan, however, got the better of Thapa as he sealed the Round with some great combinations. Round 4 was also electrifying for the crowd as both the boxers produced some great action where Goyat finally managed to land his punches on Thapa as the latter lost momentum. It was Pawan Goyat of the Mumbai Assassins who was awarded the victory by Split Decision as he helped his side take a 6-0 lead after two bouts.

 

Mumbai Assassins seemed to be in a perfect position as, in the next bout, the Pride of Mumbai, Manjit Kolekar was representing them in the most anticipated bout of the Super Boxing League. She took on North East Tigers’ Asha Roka in the Super Fly Weight category. Both the boxers started Round 1 slowly as Asha stayed patient to land some clear punches, but Assassins’ Kolekar was not going to disappoint her team as she also kept her guard up. Tigers’ Asha Roka started Round 2 aggressively as she hit Kolekar with some good jabs and combinations. The strategy used by Manjit Kolekar did not work for her in the second Round as she was forced back into the corner by Tigers’ Asha Roka, who is known for her counter-punching. Round 3 saw little action as both the boxers maintained their shape; however, it was Roka who took the upper hand as she was taking the initiative. The last Round became the most important one where Roka started the onslaught on Kolekar which resulted in the latter injuring her knee. The referee had to stop the fight as Kolekar was unable to continue, and North East Tigers’ Asha Roka was declared the winner by Unanimous Decision to win the first points of the night for her team.

 

In the fourth fight of the night, it was the North East Tigers’ A Naoba Meitei who took on Mumbai Assassins’ Siddharth Verma in the Middle Weight category. The former started the fight strongly as he hit some beautiful combinations on Verma in Round 1 & 2. However, the Mumbai Assassins’ man wasn’t going down without a fight as he hit back on Meitei in the latter two Rounds to make it a very interesting match. It was difficult to judge who was the better boxer on the night, but the judges decided to give the victory to A Naoba Meitei by Split Decision. The victory for Meitei equalised the scores for both the teams 6-6.

 

In the fifth bout, it was North East Tigers’ Jitender Nandal who faced Mumbai Assassins’ Satish Dhull in the Super Middle Weight category. It was an important bout for both the teams as a win for either team would put them into a great position. It was Tigers’ Jitender Nandal who started the bout confidently as he aimed to dent Mumbai Assassins’ chances in SBL. The Tigers’ man took an aggressive approach, which saw him dominate most of the fight with some amazing combinations. At the end of four Rounds, it was Jitender Nandal who was awarded the victory by Unanimous Decision to give the lead to the North East Tigers 9-6.

 

In the deciding bout of the night, it was Mumbai Assassins’ Evariste who was up against North East Tigers’ Ashish Ahlawat in the Heavy Weight category. Evariste had replaced Assassins’ captain Ram Singh in this match, therefore he had a lot of pressure over his shoulders, and was expected to do well as Mumbai needed a victory in the last bout. However, that was not the case as Tigers’ Ashish Ahlawat kept his good form going as he struck some jabs, hooks and combinations on Evariste. The latter seemed low on confidence and could not handle the blows, as he failed to counter Ahlawat’s punches. It meant that after four Rounds of boxing, Tigers’ Ashish Ahlawat was awarded the victory by Unanimous Decision to give his side a 12-6 victory on the night.

by Abhishek Shukla

Inauguration ceremony for FIBA Women’s Asia Cup held in Bengaluru

Bengaluru, 22nd July 2017: The inauguration ceremony for the FIBA Women’s Asia Cup 2017 took place today at the Ritz – Carlton, Bengaluru, presided by the Governor of Karnataka, Vanjubhai Rudabhai Vala.

K Govindaraj, President of the Basketball Federation of India, stressed the importance of the Cup: “The best of Asian talent from 15 nations is in Bengaluru for the FIBA Women’s Asia Cup 2017, which is the first senior level international tournament to be hosted in Karnataka. In fact, this Championship comes back to India for only the second time, after Chennai hosted it way back in 2009.”

Mr Hagop Khajirian, the FIBA Regional Director – Asia, also expressed optimism about the future of basketball in India: “Fans in India will witness first-hand the likes of Asami Yoshida, Marianna Tolo, Kim Danbi, Jillian Harmon, Shao Ting and many more. We have a strong belief and hope that hosting the FIBA Women’s Asia Cup 2017 will be a step forward towards increasing the popularity of the game in this sports frenzied nation.”

Other invited dignitaries Sri KJ George (Hon’ble Minister for Bangalore Development and Town Planning and Bengaluru District in-charge Minister) and Sri N A Haris (Hon’ble MLA, Shantinagar Constituency). The event was hosted by Smt G Padmavathi, Mayor of Bengaluru.

The inauguration ceremony was also witnessed traditional dance performances that showcased the cultural heritage and diversity of India.

This officially tips off the Cup, which will be played from 23rd to 29th July 2017 at the Kanteerava Stadium, Bengaluru.

by Abhishek Shukla

Tigers’ Asha Roka beats Assassins’ Manjit Kolekar in the most anticipated fight of Super Boxing League

New Delhi, 22 July 2017: With the tagline of Hit Harder, the action in the Super Boxing League continued tonight as the Mumbai Assassins look to register their first victory when they take on the North East Tigers in a Group B encounter here at the Siri Fort Squash & Badminton Stadium. The match was a very crucial one for the Mumbai Assassins as they had to win in order to stay in the fight for the semi-finals spot. The match also witnessed one of the most highly anticipated fights in the history of Indian boxing as two of the fiercest female boxers in the country collided when North East Tigers’ Asha Roka took on Mumbai Assassins’ Manjit Kolekar in the Super Fly category.

 

It was the North East Tigers’ Asha Roka who retained her crown of being the undefeated boxer as she beat Mumbai Assassins’ Manjit Kolekar comprehensively. Earlier on the night, it was Asif Asad Khan and Pawan Goyat who had given their side a 6-0 lead after two bouts. It was North East Tigers’ Asha Roka who cut short Assassins’ lead to 6-3 when she won her bout against Manjit Kolekar in the presence of Mumbai Assassins’ owner Sohail Khan and Bollywood actors Sonal Chauhan, Jas Arora and Vatsal Seth.

 

The first bout of the night was between Asif Asad Khan from the Mumbai Assassins and Nanao Singh from the North East Tigers in the Feather Weight category. The boxer from the Mumbai Assassins, Asif Asad Khan started the bout on the front foot as he threw some good combinations on his opponent in Round 1 & 2 to set the rhythm for his team. It was important for Asif to win the bout as his team needed the victory on the day if they were to stay in the hunt for the semi-finals of SBL. North East Tigers’ Nanao Singh was not too behind and was looking to hit Khan on the counter. 26-year-old Singh showed some fire in Round 3 and 4 but Khan was always getting the better of him as both boxers enthralled the fans with some mind-blowing action. In a match which could have gone either way, it was Khan who was awarded the victory by Unanimous Decision to give the lead to the Mumbai Assassins.

 

In the second bout of the night, it was up to North East Tigers’ Basant Thapa to cut down the lead for his team as he faced Pawan Goyat from the Mumbai Assassins in the Welter Weight category. Coming from an Army background, Thapa did not disappoint his team as he started Round 1 with a good strategy. He kept his guard up and tried hitting Goyat on the counter; however the latter did manage to throw some punches on Thapa. Round 2 was equally spread between the two pugilists as they both hit each other with some beautiful combinations, uppercuts and jabs. In the third Round, Goyat got some good jabs as Thapa focussed on quality instead of quantity. Pawan, however, got the better of Thapa as he sealed the Round with some great combinations. Round 4 was also electrifying for the crowd as both the boxers produced some great action where Goyat finally managed to land his punches on Thapa as the latter lost momentum. It was Pawan Goyat of the Mumbai Assassins who was awarded the victory by Split Decision as he helped his side take a 6-0 lead after two bouts.

 

Mumbai Assassins seemed to be in a perfect position as, in the next bout, the Pride of Mumbai, Manjit Kolekar was representing them in the most anticipated bout of the Super Boxing League. She took on North East Tigers’ Asha Roka in the Super Fly Weight category. Both the boxers started Round 1 slowly as Asha stayed patient to land some clear punches, but Assassins’ Kolekar was not going to disappoint her team as she also kept her guard up. Tigers’ Asha Roka started Round 2 aggressively as she hit Kolekar with some good jabs and combinations. The strategy used by Manjit Kolekar did not work for her in the second Round as she was forced back into the corner by Tigers’ Asha Roka, who is known for her counter-punching. Round 3 saw little action as both the boxers maintained their shape; however, it was Roka who took the upper hand as she was taking the initiative. The last Round became the most important one where Roka started the onslaught on Kolekar which resulted in the latter injuring her knee. The referee had to stop the fight as Kolekar was unable to continue, and North East Tigers’ Asha Roka was declared the winner by Unanimous Decision to win the first points of the night for her team.

 

The score line read 6-3 in favour of the Mumbai Assassins after the first three fights with three more bouts to go. In the fourth fight, Mumbai Assassins’ Siddharth Verma will take on North East Tigers’ A Naoba Meitei in the Middle Weight category. North East Tigers’ Jitender Nandal will be facing Mumbai Assassins’ Satish Dhull in the Super Middle Weight category. In what can be the deciding bout of the night, it will be Mumbai Assassins’ Evariste who will face North East Tigers’ Ashish Ahlawat in the Heavy Weight category.

by Abhishek Shukla

Ireland beat Indian Women’s Hockey Team 2-1

Johannesburg, 22 July 2017: The Indian Women’s Hockey Team scrabbled a 1-0 lead to give away two goals in the final quarter that set up a 2-1 win for Ireland in the 7th and 8th placing match here at the Women’s Hockey World League Semi Final on Saturday.

Though India started the first quarter rather slow compared to Ireland, they shifted gears ten minutes into the game. It was perhaps Ireland winning the first PC of the match that came as a wake-up call for India in the 10th minute. Monika, however was brilliant at the goal-line to defend the dragflick with her stick. In the 15th minute, India won a PC which was successfully converted by Gurjit Kaur who came up with a well-executed flick firing the ball low to the left giving India a 1-0 lead.

There was plenty of entertainment in the second quarter with India dominating with improvised circle penetrations. During one such circle entry in the 24th minute, Navjot Kaur was obstructed by Ireland keeper Ayeisha McFerran which resulted in her being sent away with a yellow card for 10 minutes. India were awarded a penalty stroke; however, nothing came off the opportunity with Ireland’s stand-by goalkeeper Grace O’Flanagan making a great save. India lost another opportunity to double their lead when a goal was disallowed as it came off the back stick of Indian striker Rani in the 28th minute.

Coming into the match after a ten-minute halftime break, India won back-to-back PCs in the 31st minute but unfortunately, they couldn’t convert the chance. India won two more PCs in the 43rd minute but striker Rani’s flick was block away by Ireland goalkeeper O’Flanagan. Though Ireland attackers made brave forays into the circle and attempted shots on goal, India’s goalkeeper Savita was on top of the job to keep the ball out.

Less than two minutes into the fourth quarter, Ireland leveled the score with a clinical variation in their PC attempt that saw Kathryn Mullan finding a perfect deflection to put it past Savita in the 47th minute. Ireland further pumped another goal through a PC converted by Lizzie Colvin in the 48th minute to take a 2-1 lead over India. Though India made desperate amends to equal the score, Ireland defence stood strong to win the match.

by Abhishek Shukla

William Jones Cup: Canada shoot their way to victory over India

Bengaluru, 21st July 2017: Today, the Indian men’s basketball team continued their campaign at the William Jones Cup against Canada’s ‘3D Global Sports’.

 

The game ended 121-72 in favour of Canada, who shot an impressive 68% from two-point range.

 

Much like the last game against China, the Indian team was undone by an all-round offensive performance: six players on the Canadian team finished the game with scoring in double figures, led by Diego Kapelan (21 points). They were also superior off the boards, out-rebounding the Indian team 56 – 22.

 

For India, Prasanna Venkatesh Sivakumar led the scoring with 15 points, and there were contributions from Amjyot Singh Gill (13 points) and Gurvinder Singh Gill (11 points).

 

With the FIBA Asia Cup in Lebanon fast approaching, the Indian team will be looking to make the most of the match practice afforded by the last two games in the tournament.

 

Next up, the Indian men play the national team of the Philippines on 22nd July at 1300 hrs CST (1030 IST).

 

Canada (Diego Kapelan 21 pts; Shaquille Keith 18 pts; Michale Kyser 16 pts) bt India (Prasanna Venkatesh Sivakumar 15 pts; Amjyot Singh Gill 13 pts; Gurvinder Singh Gill 11 pts) 121-72 [33-19, 30-19, 23-21, 35-13]

by Abhishek Shukla

Maratha Yoddhas beat Bahubali Boxers 12-6 to secure pole position in Super Boxing League

New Delhi, 21 July 2017: Action resumed here today in the Super Boxing League as another weekend of exciting boxing started. In the first match of the weekend, the Maratha Yoddhas kept their 100% record intact with a 12-6 win over the Bahubali Boxers to make it two wins out of two in Group B.

 

Sandeep Singh, Andy Chuaua, Lalnunfeli, and captain Deepak Tanwar, were all winners in their respective categories for the Maratha Yoddhas to give their team an unassailable 12-0 lead after four bouts. However, the Bahubali Boxers ended the night with two victories as Dushyant Shrivastav and captain Kuldeep Singh won their respective bouts to end the match with the score 12-6 in Maratha Yoddhas’ favour.

 

In the first fight of the match, Maratha Yoddhas’ Sandeep Singh beat Bahubali Boxers’ Venkat Naik in the Feather Weight category by 3 points as the contest was decided by Unanimous Decision. Yoddhas’ Sandeep Singh started strong as as he dominated Round 1 by pushing Naik into the corner. Singh threw some impressive punches on the Boxers’ man as the latter took the shots but kept coming back for more. However, the third Round saw Naik making a comeback into the fight as he was stronger and sharper. Singh did keep his shape throughout the fight and did not let his opponent get the better of him. Naik tried his best to make a comeback into the fight in Round 4 but it was a little too late for the Boxers’ man as Sandeep Singh was awarded the victory by Unanimous Decision to give the three points to Maratha Yoddhas.

 

Bahubali Boxers’ Joseph Emmanuel was given the responsibility to cut short the lead in the second fight of the night as he took on Maratha Yoddhas’ Andy Chuaua in the Welter Weight category. However, it was the debutant boxer Andy Chuaua who started Round 1 with some barging blows on Boxers’ Emmanuel as the latter also fell down once due to some powerful combinations thrown at him. Round 2 was a turn-around for Emmanuel as he gained parity in the fight by hitting some impression combinations on Chuaua. Round 3 was an unusual Round as both the boxers tried to keep their guard up, and neither got any impressive punches. It was not upto Boxers’ Emmanuel to win Round 4 in order to win the match, but the southpaw Chuaua kept his composure and attacked Emmanuel to get the victory by Unanimous Decision which saw the Maratha Yoddhas lead 6-0 after two bouts.

 

The third bout was between the women of the Super Boxing League as Maratha Yoddhas’ Lalnunfeli took on Bahubali Boxers’ Preeti Shah in the Super Fly category. It was a crucial tie in the match as a win for either boxer would determine the importance of the next three bouts. Yoddhas’ Lalnunfeli started Round 1 very strongly as she barged her opponent with some nasty blows. However, as the fight progressed, Boxers’ Preeti Shah pulled up her socks to hit some good blows to her opponent in Round 2. In the third Round, both the boxers tried to get the upper hand, but it was Lalnunfeli who kept the smacks going as she hit some impressive combinations to dominate Shah. It meant that Lalnunfeli was awarded the win by Unanimous Decision to extend her team Maratha Yoddhas’ lead to 9-0.

 

The fourth fight was an opportunity for Maratha Yoddhas’ skipper Deepak Tanwar to secure the match in his side’s favour as a win for him would make it improbable for the Bahubali Boxers to make a comeback with two bouts to go. Yoddhas’ Tanwar took on Bahubali Boxers’ Sandeep Dhull in the Middle Weight category. In the first Round, both pugilists kept their shape in order to not give-in to their opponents’ initial attacks but Boxers’ Sandeep Dhull did hit some right hand jabs on Deepak Tanwar. The latter would not go down though, as he came back strongly in Round 2 and 3 to put the tie in his favour. Tanwar was boxing without any pressure on his shoulders as his team was already leading in the match. Dhull looked tired after the three Rounds which resulted in him not being able to impress in Round 4 as well. The Maratha Yoddhas’ skipper produced some beautiful combinations in Round 4 also as he won the bout by Unanimous Decision to give his team an unassailable lead of 12-0.

 

The struggling Bahubali Boxers now needed an unlikely two Knock Out victories in the next two bouts to equalize the scores in the match. The fifth fight of the night was between Maratha Yoddhas’ Vivek Jangra and Bahubali Boxers’ Dushyant Shrivastav in the Super Middle Weight category. It was the latter who started the bout with an impressive attitude as his team needed him to win. Shrivastav kept the pressure on his opponent as he hit him with some barging combinations to take the first three Rounds. Yoddhas’ Jangra did keep his guard up but it was not enough to stop the onslaught by Shrivastav. Round 4 saw Shrivastav keeping up with his jabs and combinations to win the match by Unanimous Decision as he gave the Bahubali Boxers their first points of the night to make the scores 12-3 in Maratha Yoddhas’ favour. The win wasn’t enough for Dushyant Shrivastav’s team, as it meant that the Bahubali Boxers could only get to 9 points even if they won the last bout by Knock Out.

 

Unlike on other fight nights, the last fight of the night was not the eventual decider as the Maratha Yoddhas had already secured victory. In the Heavy Weight category though, it was Bahubali Boxers’ skipper Kuldeep Singh who took on Maratha Yoddhas’ Sandeep Chhikara. The former started the bout very aggressively through quick and perfect combinations. Chhikara was twice given count outs to continue the fight as he had sustained some barging blows from Singh in Round 1. However, it was Chhikara who made a comeback in Round 2 as he hit some good hooks and body shots on Singh to put the tie level. Round 3 and 4 saw both the boxers going at each other to make it an exciting last bout for the crowd present at the venue. However, it was Singh who always maintained the upper hand and was rightly declared the winner by Unanimous Decision to end the night for the Bahubali Boxers with 6 points.

In tomorrow’s match, the Mumbai Assassins will look to register their first victory in the Super Boxing League as they take on the North East Tigers. The match will also witness the most awaited and exciting match of the SBL when Assassins’ Manjit Kolekar will take on Tigers’ Asha Roka in the Super Fly category. The two pugilists had initially started their career as amateur boxers, but had later on switched to Mixed Martial Arts, where they also competed in the Super Fight League. The two could not face each other in SFL, however, tomorrow will be an opportunity for both the boxers to make the bout one of the fiercest in the Super Boxing League.