Author: Abhishek Shukla

Owner of Sports India Live.
by Abhishek Shukla

Indian Women’s Hockey Team lose 0-3 to World No.3 Argentina

Johannesburg, 16 July 2017: The Indian Women’s Hockey team lost 0-3 to strong opponents Argentina in their last group stage encounter here at the Women’s Hockey World League Semi Final on Sunday. India will next take on England in the Quarter-final on July 18.

 

World No.3 Argentina were quick to get off the blocks scoring as early as the second minute of the match. It was Rocio Sanchez who fetched Argentina an early 1-0 lead. India’s goalkeeper Savita was kept busy right from the start and unfortunately for her this goal came off Argentina’s second shot on goal. Though she made a diving effort to save the first attempt, an unmarked Sanchez was quick to pick up the rebound and convert. Soon after India came close to scoring an equalizer when Vandana Katariya assisted by Namita Toppo tried to deflect the ball into the post but it was blocked away by the Argentine goalkeeper. Savita made as many as four saves in the first 15 minutes and one of her best saves was padding away a fiercely struck shot by Julieta Jankunas. Argentina also won their first PC in the 6th minute but it was blocked away by first runner Namita Toppo. Maria Granatto scored Argentina’s second goal in the 14th minute to go into the first hooter with a strong 2-0 lead.

India played this quarter sensibly, covering their defence and restrict Argentina from entering the striking circle. In the 23rd minute India won a PC but nothing came off the opportunity as Rani’s strike was well-saved by the Argentina goalkeeper. Soon after, in the 25th minute Argentina was awarded a penalty stroke when Sushila fouled while defending a PC awarded to Argentina. The penalty stroke was converted by Noel Barrionuevo.

Argentina began the third quarter with a comfortable 3-0 lead and continued to put India under pressure. They won back-to-back PCs in the 34th minute but India goalkeeper Rajani Etimarpu, who replaced Savita after half-time, along with first runner Namito Toppo did well to defend. India came up with deep defensive tactics to keep Argentina goalless in this quarter.

The final 15 minutes saw the Indian defenders keep the Argentine attackers in check. They didn’t allow easy chances in the striking circle, they came up with a high press to frustrate the Argentines. Meanwhile, the Indian attackers made desperate attempts to take a successful shot on goal but it was hard to come by. A tense tackle by India Sunita Lakra resulted in Argentina being awarded with a PC in the dying minutes of the match. But Rajani was brilliant with her save. India gave away another PC to Argentina soon after, this was their 9th penalty corner but nothing came off the chance. Though Rani manufactured a great shot on goal within the final two minutes to the hooter, the Argentina goalkeeper denied India a goal ending the match in their favour and remained unbeaten in the tournament.

India will take on England on July 18 at 19.15 hours IST. Matches will be shown live on Star Sports 1, HD1 as well as live streamed on Hotstar.com

by Abhishek Shukla

Freitas, Sathiyan help Dabang Smashers T.T.C. edge out Falcons TTC 14-13

Chennai, July 16, 2017: Marcos Freitas won two matches and local lad G Sathiyan recorded an impressive win to help Dabang Smashers T.T.C. edge out Falcons TTC 14-13 in an exciting tie on Day 4 of the CEAT Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT), the country’s newest franchise sports league, at a packed Nehru Indoor Stadium in Chennai on Sunday.

Portugal’s world No. 14 Marcos Freitas first swept aside Sanil Shetty of Falcons TTC 3-0 to hand Dabang Smashers T.T.C. three full points in the men’s singles (foreign vs Indian), the opening match.

Freitas broke away at 5-5 to take the opening game 11-5 against the Indian. The Portuguese jumped to a 4-1 lead early in the second game before wrapping it up at 11-2 and signed off with a 11-3 win in the third game.

Chinese world No. 13 Wu Yang levelled points (3-3) for Falcons TTC with a 3-0 win over Dabang Smashers T.T.C,’s Mousumi Paul. Yang beat back a late surge by the Indian to win the opening game at 11-9. The Chinese ace cruised to a 11-4 win in the second game and sealed the third game at 11-7.

Falcons TTC’s mixed doubles (Indian/foreign) pair of Sanil Shetty/ Lee Ho Ching routed G Sathiyan/ Tetyana Bilenko of Dabang Smashers T.T.C. 3-0 to hand their side a 6-3 lead.

The Falcons TTC’s pair staged a remarkable rally late to clinch the opening set 11-8 and then went on cruise mode to take the next two at an identical 11-6.

However, in-form Freitas led from the front and thumped Swedish world No. 41 Par Gerell of Falcons TTC 3-0 (11-7, 11-6, 11-8) in the men’s singles (foreign player category) to help Dabang Smashers T.T.C. level at 6-all.

Lee Ho Ching rallied to beat Ukrainian Tetyana Bilenko of Dabang Smashers T.T.C. 2-1 (8-11, 11-9, 11-5) in the women’s singles (foreign player category) to put Falcons TTC ahead 8-7 on points.

Local lad Sathiyan pulled off a surprise 2-1 victory over higher-ranked Gerell (Falcons TTC) in the men’s singles (Indian v Foreign) to help Dabang Smashers T.T.C. draw level on points at 9-all.

Sathiyan jumped to an 8-0 lead in the opening game that he won 11-7. Gerell won the next at 11-6 and then the Chennai boy took the third at 11-6 much to the joy of a packed Sunday crowd.

North Korean world No 19 Kim Song I brushed aside Sutirtha Mukherjee (Falcons TTC) 3-0 (11-3, 11-4, 11-3) in the women’s singles (foreign v Indian) to help Dabang Smashers T.T.C. edge ahead 12-9.

As Briton Liam Pitchford was indisposed (dehydration), young Arjun Ghosh came out to represent Falcons TTC against world No. 28 Kou Lei of Dabang Smashers T.T.C. in the men’s singles.

Ghosh stunned his opponent in the opening game 11-4, before Lei took control by winning the next two at 11-10 and 11-3 to help Dabang Smashers T.T.C. seal the deal and extend their lead to 14-10 going into the day’s last game.

In the women’s singles (foreign player category), Falcons TTC’s Wu Yang beat Kim Song I (Dabang Smashers T.T.C.) 3-0 (11-7, 11-6, 11-10) to reduce Falcons TTC’s deficit to just one point (13-14).

On Monday, Oilmax Stag Yoddhas will play Shazé Challengers in what is a second outing for both.

Final Scoreline: Dabang Smashers T.T.C. 14-13 Falcons TTC

MS – Marcos Freitas beat Sanil Shetty 3-0 (11-5, 11-2, 11-3)
WS – Mousumi Paul lost to Wu Yang 0-3 (9-11, 4-11, 7-11)
MD – Sathiyan G/ Tetyana Bilenko lost to Sanil Shetty\ Lee Ho Ching 0-3 (8-11, 6-11, 6-11)
MS – Marcos Freitas beat Par Gerell 3-0 (11-7, 11-6, 11-8)
WS – Tetyana Bilenko lost to Lee Ho Ching 1-2 (11-8, 9-11, 5-11)
MS – Sathiyan G beat Par Gerell 2-1 (11-7, 6-11, 11-6)
WS – Kim Song I beat Sutirtha Mukherjee 3-0 (11-3, 11-4, 11-3)
MS – Kou Lei beat Arjun Ghosh 2-1 (4-11, 11-10, 11-4)
WS – Kim Song I lost to Wu Yang 0-3 (7-11, 6-11, 10-11)

by Abhishek Shukla

Haryana Warriors open their account with a 15-6 victory over OPM Punjab Sultans in Super Boxing League

New Delhi, 16 July 2017: Another action-packed SuperSunday in the Super Boxing League saw Haryana Warriors register a much-needed first win against the OPM Punjab Sultans with a margin of 15-6 to open their account on the points table at the Siri Fort Squash & Badminton Stadium here today.

 

Haryana Warriors’ Sandeep Bhagri, Parmod Kumar, Anita Kumari and Sukhdeep Singh were all winners in their respective categories to give their team an important three points to keep pace with Delhi Gladiators and OPM Punjab Sultans. Sultans’ Sagar Narwat and Sumit Rangi were the only boxers for their team who got the victory on the night as Warriors ran away with the tie.

 

OPM Punjab Sultans were high on confidence before the match as they had won their first match against UP Terminators on the second night of SBL. Whereas, the Haryana Warriors had lost their first game against Delhi Gladiators on the opening night of the league. Therefore, it was important for the Warriors to make a statement and win their second match of Super Boxing League to stay in contention for a semi-final spot.

 

In the first fight of the day, Haryana Warriors’ Sandeep Bhagri faced OPM Punjab Sultans’ skipper Amandeep Singh in the Feather Weight category. The first Round saw both the boxers starting strongly as there was heavy exchange of punches. However, it was Singh who dominated the Round as he hit the better punches. Round 2 saw lesser action in terms of punches being exchanged as both the boxers tripped and slipped. The action continued in Round 3 as Bhagri took the initiative to make a statement as he hit some barging blows on Singh to put the tie on equal terms. Both the boxers had to go for it in the fourth Round to get the win for their team. It was 21-year-old Bhagri who was the aggressor as he needed some important blows to win the bout. This meant that it was Haryana Warriors’ Sandeep Bhagri who was declared the winner by Split Decision to give his side an early lead.

 

It was now upto OPM Punjab Sultans’ Nikhal Bhatt to cut short the lead for his team as he faced Haryana Warriors’ Parmod Kumar in the Welter Weight category. However, Kumar had other plans in mind as he aimed to keep his team’s grip on the match by starting the first Round strongly. The Haryana Warriors’ man hit some barging blows on Bhatt to stay on top in the first Round. The second Round turned out to be even better for Kumar as he started to get into a nice rhythm. This resulted in Bhatt receiving a combination of jabs just two minutes into the second Round, and falling down. It meant that the referee counted out Bhatt, and awarded Parmod Kumar with a Knock Out victory. Kumar had replaced injured Warriors’ skipper Neeraj Goyat and he performed excellently to extend Haryana Warriors’ lead to 9 points.

 

The third fight saw Super Boxing League’s women in action as Haryana Warriors’ Anita Kumari took on OPM Punjab Sultans’ Saroj Bugalia in the Female Fly category. Bugalia had earlier won her first fight of the SBL when she beat Terminators’ Sulav Magar. Therefore, it was important for debutant Anita Kumari to start the first Round on the front foot if she had to defeat the 24-year-old Bugalia. Warriors’ Kumari did not disappoint her team as she dominated the first two Rounds, showing her technique to hit some accurate punches. The 19-year-old southpaw hit some good combinations on Bugalia in Round 2 to make the fight interesting. However, Bugalia was focused on hitting some jabs which she couldn’t quite get in target. Round 4 saw a similar story as Kumari aimed her punches well, but Bugalia’s punches were very well dodged by her opponent. This meant that the referees decided to award the victory to debutant Anita Kumari by Unanimous Decision, extending Haryana Warriors’ lead to 12 points after three bouts.

 

The fourth fight saw Haryana Warriors’ Sandeep Nain take on OPM Punjab Sultans’ Sagar Narwat 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 Sultans’ Sagar Narwat was able to control the fight by the scruff of its neck as he threw some heavy body shots on Sandeep Nain. Round 2 saw both the boxers giving some good combinations to each other but the Round belonged to Narwat as he hit his opponent harder with each blow. Round 3 was important for Nain if he to make a comeback, and he did not disappoint as he barged Narwat on every opportunity he got. But it was Narwat who kept his shape through Round 4 to win the fight by Split Decision to open his team’s account on the night with an important 3 points as the scores read 12-3 in favour of Haryana Warriors.

The fifth fight of the night was between Haryana Warriors’ Sukhdeep Singh and OPM Punjab Sultans’ Manohar Basnet 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 somemarvelous combinations to put pressure on Basnet in Round 1 and 2. However, Basnet chose to hold on to his composure in the next two Rounds. The debutant Sultans’ 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 favor of Haryana Warriors’ Sukhdeep Singh as he was awarded the win by Unanimous Decision which saw the Haryana Warriors lead OPM Punjab Sultans 15-3, 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, OPM Punjab Sultans were represented by Sumit Rangi and Haryana Warriors were represented by Arminder Singh. The Sultans’ man started the first two Rounds on the front foot, retaining the confidence he got from his first win of the SBL last weekend against UP Terminators. Rangi was always on the attack until Round 3, as he hit some smacking blows on Singh to put the bout to bed. Singh, on the other hand, was finding it difficult to deal with Rangi’s onslaught. Round 4 was all about keeping the composure for Rangi, and not conceding, as he had already brought Singh to a state where the referee could have stopped the fight to give a Technical Knock Out victory to Rangi. However, Singh held on until the end of the fight, and Sultans’ Sumit Rangi was eventually awarded the win by Unanimous Decision to make it 15-6 in Warriors’ favour on the night.

by Abhishek Shukla

William Jones Cup: Indian men showcase balanced scoring effort against Korea

Taipei/Bengaluru, 16th July 2017:  The Indian men’s basketball team lost to South Korea’s National Team 67-92 in their second game of the William Jones Cup 2017 in Taipei. The Indians matched the South Korean firepower initially and stuck close, ending the first quarter down 15 to 19. The second and third quarters, however, have proved to be tough terrain for India, as they stumbled and watched South Korea pull away.

 

There were bright spots for India despite the loss. The team outrebounded South Korea 34 to 29, which included 11 offensive rebounds. Youngster Muin Bek Hafeez put up a good all-round performance with 12 points, 4 assists and 5 rebounds. As many as four Indian players scored in double digits, led by veteran guard Anil Kumar’s 13 points.

 

India also had 10 fewer turnovers than their previous game and its two-point shooting percentage was respectable at 47%.

 

That said, South Korea was clearly superior, as the trigger happy side converted 19 of their 37 attempts from beyond the arc.

 

India will be hoping to bring it all together in its next game against Republic of China Blue on 17th July at 1900 hrs CST (1630 IST).

South Korea (Ung Heo 22 pts, Daesung Lee 16 pts, Lee Junghyun 12 pts) bt India (Anil Kumar BK Gowda 13 pts, Muin Bek Hafeez 12 pts 4 ast, Amjyot Singh Gill 10 pts, Prasanna Venkatesh Sivakumar 10 pts) 92–67 [19-15, 31-13, 29-20, 13-19]

by Abhishek Shukla

Harinder Pal Sandhu won the Victorian Open Squash for his fourth PSA title in a row

Melbourne: There was no stopping Harinder Pal Sandhu as the Indian ace annexed the Victorian Open title here on Sunday for his fourth PSA title in a row since May. Overall the Indian has in a short time swelled his kitty to nine titles, the highest by an Indian male player in the professional circuit beating Ritwik Bhattacharya’s mark of eight earlier.

In the final, the third seeded Harinder beat the top seed Rex Hedrick of Australia, a player who is several rungs above the Indian in world rankings, 12-14, 11-3, 11-4, 11-7. Except for the first game which went close and in the Australian’s favour, Harinder was at his best thereafter as he combined power and precision to wear down the local favourite in 77 minutes. This has been an amazing 17-match unbeaten streak for the Indian starting with the Malaysian Tour success in early May. The Makati Open in Philippines and the South Australian Open victory followed before this latest success.

by Abhishek Shukla

INDIA U23 CONTINGENT RECEIVE WARM WELCOME IN QATAR

DOHA, 16th July 2017: “We’ll try to be the perfect 12th man from the stands”, (QIA) Qatar Indian Association For Football have already blocked the dates as the Indian U-23 Team reached Doha to play their trade in the forthcoming AFC U23 Championship Qualifiers.

The passionate group of Indian Football fans arranged a warm welcome for the Stephen Constantine-coached team, which was nothing but ‘appreciated’ by the British coach.

“It’s great to see Indians supporting the team and we appreciate it”, Constantine said to www.the-aiff.com referring to the enthusiasm shown by the members of Qatar Indian Association for Football.

Mr. Safeer, an integral member of the QIA, sounded elated welcoming the youngsters at the Hamad International Airport as they arrived from Singapore.

“It’s our duty to back our team when they are coming to play in Qatar. The onus is on us to make them feel at home so that they can get the extra motivation.”

 

Constantine also felt that this sort of support “surely adds to the feeling of wanting to do your best.”

 

The Qatar-based Indian Football Fanatics are relentlessly working to making more people aware of the AFC U23 Championship Qualifiers so that more Indians come out in numbers in support of the Indian boys.

 

Incidentally, Indians rake up to almost 27% of Qatar’s entire population.

 

“We’ll try to put up some bill boards and distribute some handouts amongst the various Indian communities along with sharing more information on the social media.”

 

India are slated to face Syria in their first match of the AFC U23 Championship Qualifiers at the Al-Sadd Stadium in Doha onJuly 19, 2017.

by Abhishek Shukla

Delhi Gladiators beat UP Terminators 19-0, securing second win of Super Boxing League

New Delhi, 15 July 2017: The second round of matches in the league stage of Super Boxing League started today here at Siri Fort Squash & Badminton Stadium as the Delhi Gladiators beat a hapless UP Terminators 19-0 as they secured their second win of the tournament to put themselves in a strong position. The win for the Delhi Gladiators was witnessed by distinguished guests of the night, Member of Parliament from Madhya Pradesh, Shri Digvijay Singh and the Chairman of All-India Anti-Terrorist Front, Shri Maninderjeet Singh Bitta, alongside Bill Dosanjh, Owner of Super Boxing League.

 

Delhi Gladiators went into the match high on confidence as they had won their first match against Haryana Warriors on the opening night of SBL. However, it was the UP Terminators who needed the victory on the night as they had lost their first game against OPM Punjab Sultans. But it was the Delhi Gladiators who kept their run going as Rakesh Lohchab, Vanlalawmpuia, Shivani Dahiya, captain Pawan Maan, Gaganpreet Sharma and Deepak Malik all won their respective bouts.

 

The first bout of the night saw Delhi Gladiators’ Rakesh Lohchab take on UP Terminators’ Ashish Kumar in the Feather Weight category. The Terminators’ man Kumar started the bout on the front foot as he threw some good combinations on his opponent in Round 1 & 2 while Gladiators’ Lohchab focused on keeping his guard up. But it was Rakesh Lohchab who got the upper hand in the latter stages of the bout as he countered Kumar well in Round 3 with slips, jabs and uppercuts. The last and final Round saw Kumar push the pace as he wanted the victory, but Rakesh Lohchab smacked the better punches on Kumar which meant that the referees decided to award Rakesh Lohchab with the win by Unanimous Decision as Delhi Gladiators took a 3-0 lead.

In the second bout of the night, it was up to UP Terminators’ Md. Mostafa to cut down the lead for his team as he faced Vanlalawmpuia from the Delhi Gladiators in the Welter Weight category. Both the boxers started Round 1 cautiously as they waited patiently to work out each other’s strategy. However, Round 2 saw Vanlalawmpuia get the better of his opponent as he hit Mostafa with some beautiful combinations. The latter looked to have slowed down as he lost some composure. Gladiators’ Vanlalawmpuia, on the other hand, took advantage of the slowness of his opponent and smashed some strong right punches on Terminators’ Mostafa in Round 3. The Gladiators’ man kept his shape in the fourth Round, as he struck some aggressive combinations on Mostafa to seal the victory by Unanimous Decision to extend his team’s lead to 6 points.

 

The situation was looking bleak for the UP Terminators as the next bout was between the experienced Shivani Dahiya from the Delhi Gladiators and their own debutant boxer Lalruatfeli in the Super Fly category. The latter started the fight brightly as she impressed with some barging blows on Dahiya to get the Round 1 underway. But Delhi Gladiators’ Shivani Dahiya utilized her experience in Round 2 as she dodged Lalruatfeli’s punches to hit her on the counter. 21-year-old Dahiya was accompanied by her father during the fight, and she did not disappoint him as she came into her own in Round 3 & 4 to hit Lalruatfeli with strong jabs and combinations. The fight was very well matched though between the two fighters, but it was Shivani who got the better hits, which resulted in her being awarded the victory by Unanimous Decision to further extend Delhi Gladiators’ lead to 9 points.

 

It was now upto UP Terminators’ Deepak Kumar to turn around the situation for his team as Delhi seemed to walk away with the match. But it was a very difficult task for the Terminators’ man as Delhi Gladiators’ captain Pawan Maan was the opponent who Deepak had to face in the Middle Weight category. The Gladiators’ skipper proved why he is so dangerous in such matches as he started Round 1 with a flurry of punches on Kumar to put him on the defence. Round 2 saw a similar story as Terminators’ Kumar seemed to have slowed down as a result of getting hit and Gladiators’ Maan made the most of it to hit him with some clean and strong combinations. It was a strange bout as Kumar also got into his own in Round 3 to give Maan some competition, therefore Round 4 became important for both the boxers. Kumar got the better hits in the last Round but it proved to be too little, too late for the Terminators’ boxer as Pawan Maan was awarded with the victory by Unanimous Decision which meant that the Gladiators lead by 12-0.

 

Delhi Gladiators seemed to have secured the victory on the night as it looked improbable for the UP Terminators to win the next two bouts through Knock Out, which would only just have put the two teams level on points. The next bout was between Gaganpreet Sharma of the Delhi Gladiators and Sunil Olla of the UP Terminators in the Super Middle Weight category. The latter started the first Round with some strong punches on Sharma but the Delhi boxer turned it around in Round 2 as he knocked the composure out of Olla with some amazing combinations. Sharma looked to have found the mojo on the night as he took advantage of Olla’s weakness and hit him until the referee had to call off the bout by awarding a Technical Knock Out to Gaganpreet Sharma of the Delhi Gladiators. The win meant that the Gladiators had made sure of the victory as they lead by 16-0 on the night with one bout to go.

 

The last bout of the night was between Delhi Gladiators’ Deepak Malik and UP Terminators’ Naveen Parashar in the Heavy Weight category. The two boxers started the first Round slowly as they looked to maintain their shape. It was an important fight for Parashar as he had to win the bout as a consolation victory for his team. Round 2 saw a similar story as they kept their guard up but it was Gladiators’ Malik who started to break the defense of Parashar. But the latter was not too far behind in his hits as he also hit Malik on the counter. Round 3 saw Malik take the most points as his accurate punching saw him take the lead. In the last Round between the two boxers, it all came down to who could Hit Harder to secure a win for their team. Gladiators’ Malik kept the momentum going for his team as he won the bout by Unanimous Decision to give his side an impressive 19-0 win.

by Abhishek Shukla

DHFL Maharashtra United beat Oilmax Stag Yoddhas 15-12 in a thriller

Chennai, July 15, 2017: DHFL Maharashtra United made a winning start to their campaign in CEAT Ultimate Table Tennis as they beat Oilmax Stag Yoddas 15-12 in a thrilling contest at a packed Nehru Indoor Stadium in Chennai on Saturday.

Harmeet Desai of DHFL Maharashtra United pulled off a stunning 3-0 (11-6, 11-10, 11-9) win over Greek world No. 19 Panagiotis Gionis (Oilmax Stag Yoddhas) in the men’s singles (Foreign v Indian) to set the pace for an edge-of-the-seat weekend action.

Desai, ranked 79 in the world, hit form early to take the opening game with ease. The second game saw Gionis, strong in defense, hustle the Indian for every point before the local star pulled through on the final point. The third game ran equally close, but the 24-year-old Desai held his nerves for a sensational win to hand his team three full points.

World No. 22 Liu Jia extended the lead to 5-1 for DHFL Maharashtra United with a 2-1 (11-6, 5-11, 11-7) win over Oilmax Stag Yoddhas’ Manika Batra in the women’s singles (Indian v Foreign).

Delhi’s Manika, ranked 104, bounced back to win the second game in style to win a point for her team before the experienced Austrian took control of the final game.

Oilmax Stag Yoddhas came back strongly in mixed doubles (Foreign/Indian pair) as Aruna Quadri (Nigeria)/ Manika Batra thumped DHFL Maharashtra United’s Joao Monteiro (Portugal)/ Pooja Sahasrabudhe 3-0 (11-1, 11-4, 11-7) to cut their points deficit to 4-5.

Highly-rated Gionis (Oilmax Stag Yoddhas) lost for a second time in the night’s proceedings, with Portuguese world No. 48 Joao Monteiro emerging 3-0 (11-10, 11-3, 11-4) winner in the men’s singles (foreign player category) to hand DHFL Maharashtra United a 8-4 lead on points going into the game 5.

Doo Hoi Kem of Oilmax Stag Yoddhas beat Liu Jia (DHFL Maharashtra United) 2-1 (11-5, 11-7, 10-11) in the women’s singles (foreign player category) to bring Oilmax Stag Yoddhas back in contention. After five matches, DHFL Maharashtra United led 9-6.

Hong Kong’s Wong Chun Ting extended DHFL Maharashtra United’s lead to 11-7 with a 2-1 (11-7, 8-11, 11-4) over Jubin Kumar (Oilmax Stag Yoddhas) in the men’s singles (Indian v Foreign).

World No 28 Doo Hoi Kem then brushed aside Krittwika Sinha Roy of DHFL Maharashtra United 3-0 (11-9, 11-5, 11-8) in the women’s singles (foreign v Indian) to reduce the difference to just one point. (DHFL Maharashtra United 11, Oilmax Stag Yoddhas 10).

It was left for DHFL Maharashtra United’s Wong Chun to edge out Quadri 2-1 (11-7, 11-10, 9-11) in the men’s singles (foreign player category) to help DHFL Maharashtra United stay ahead 13-11 on points, going into the evening’s final match.

Veteran Fu Yu helped DHFL Maharashtra United seal the deal (15-12) with a 2-1 (11-9, 7-11, 11-9) win over Russian Polina Mikhailova (Oilmax Stag Yoddhas) in the women’s singles (foreign player category).

On Sunday, Dabang Smashers T.T.C. will meet Falcons TTC in what is the second outing for both teams.

Oilmax Stag Yoddhas 12-15 DHFL Maharashtra United

 

MS – Panagiotis Gionis vs Harmeet Desai (0-3) (6-11, 10-11, 9-11)

WS – Manika Batra vs Liu Jia (1-2) (6-11, 11-5, 7-11)

MD – Aruna Quadri/ Manika Batra vs Joao Monteiro/ Pooja Sahasrabudhe (3-0) (11-1, 11-4, 11-7)

MS – Panagiotis Gionis vs Joao Monteiro (0-3) (10-11, 3-11, 4-11)

WS – Doo Hoi Kem vs Liu Jia (2-1) (11-5, 11-7, 10-11)

MS – Jubin Kumar vs Wong Chun Ting (1-2) (7-11, 11-8, 4-11)

WS – Doo Hoi Kem vs Krittwika Sinha Roy (3-0) (11-9, 11-5, 11-8)

MS – Aruna Quadri vs Wong Chun Ting (1-2) (7-11, 10-11, 11-10)

WS – Polina Mikhailova vs Fu Yu (1-2) (9-11, 11-7, 9-11)

by Abhishek Shukla

Harinder Pal Sandhu stormed into the final of the Victorian Open Squash

Melbourne: A winner of a PSA title a week back, India’s Harinder Pal Sandhu is at the doorsteps of another success having reached the final of the Victorian Open, a PSA world tour event here on Saturday. In the semi-final he defeated the second seed Piedro Schweertman of Netherlands 11-5, 11-8, 11-8

The third seed Harinder, who has been in good touch has not dropped a game enroute to the final where he will now meet the top seed Rex Hedrick of Australia. As in the earlier matches, fluency marked the Indian’s show as he took just 35 minutes to complete the task for a passage to the title-round. He had in comparison beaten Piedro with a degree of difficulty in the previous tournament in Adelaide at the semi-final stage.

by Abhishek Shukla

William Jones Cup: Indian men shoot well against Iraq

Bengaluru, 15th July 2017:  The Indian men’s basketball team lost to Iraq’s National Team 68-86 on the first day of the William Jones Cup, but there were many positives to draw from the performance. The Indians raced to an early lead after the end of the first quarter, but relinquished it after being outscored 28-13 in the second quarter.

 

Forward Amjyot Singh Gill continued his good form from the BRICS Games, with 22 points and 6 rebounds. He was also money from downtown making 4 of 6 from beyond the arc.

 

There were also enthusing displays from youngsters Gurvinder Singh Gill (10 points and 5 rebounds) and Ambati Prudhvishwar Reddy (11 points and 4 assists). Collectively, the Indian team’s shooting from three point range was very impressive, as they made 12 three pointers on a 55% conversion rate.

 

India though will need to work on reducing its turnovers (33) as it takes on South Korea’s National Team on 16th July at 1100 hrs CST (0830 IST).

 

Iraq (Demaro Aquan Mayfield 19 pts, Ali Hamad 17 pts, Omar Alazawi 15 pts) bt India (Amjyot Singh Gill 22 pts, Ambati Prudhvishwar Reddy 11 pts, Gurvinder Singh Gill 10 pts) 86–68 [11-19, 28-13, 32-24, 15-12]

by Abhishek Shukla

Shazè Challengers edge out Dabang Smashers TTC 15-12 in a thriller

Chennai, July 14, 2017: Shazè Challengers edged out Dabang Smashers TTC 15-12 in a thrilling tie on Day 2 of the CEAT Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) at the Nehru Indoor Stadium in Chennai on Friday.

Portuguese world No. 14 Marcos Freitas put Dabang Smashers TTC ahead with a 2-1 victory (11-3, 11-6, 10-11) over Indian Soumyajit Ghosh in the men’s singles (Foreign vs Indian) clash.

Left-handed Freitas jumped to a 5-2 lead in the opening game before closing it out in aggressive style. Ghosh came back strongly in the second game and he even led 4-3 before Freitas beat back the Indian’s challenge to race to a 9-6 lead before sealing the game.

Freitas broke away to a 5-3 lead in the third game but Ghosh clawed back to 9-9 and held his nerve to earn a point for his team, Shazè Challengers, by winning the third game.

Women’s world No. 9 Han Ying brushed aside an error-prone Madhurika Patkar of Dabang Smashers TTC 3-0 (11-6, 11-4, 11-6) to give Shazè Challengers a slight edge on points (4-2).

Ying, a China-born German, was at her defensive best while Madhurika lapsed into a series of unforced errors in the first two games and didn’t quite recover thereafter.

The pairing of Petrissa Solja & Soumyajit Ghosh of Shazè Challengers beat Kou Lei & Madhurika Patkar of Dabang Smashers TTC 3-0 (11-9, 11-8, 11-4) in the mixed doubles (Foreign-Indian pair) to further extend their side’s grip on the tie by taking a 7-2 lead on points.

Kou Lei of Dabang Smashers TTC beat Andrej Gacina of Shazè Challengers 2-1 (11-9, 11-9, 9-11) to bring Dabang Smashers TTC back into the contest in the fourth match, men’s singles (Foreign player category).

World No. 9 Han Ying won her second match of the day for Shazè Challengers. After dropping the opening game to North Korean world No. 19 Kim Song I, Ying won the next two in the women’s singles for foreign players for a 6-11, 11-9, 11-10 in what was a nail-biting finish in the decider to extend Challengers’s overall lead to 10-5.

Andrej Gacina, a top-50 player, was stretched by Smashers’ Anthony Amalraj before the Croat pulled through 2-1 (10-11, 11-2, 11-9) in a tight men’s singles (India v Foreign) encounter to extend Challengers’s lead to 12-6.

But Kim Song I, in her second match, thrashed her opponent Mouma Das 3-0 (11-8, 11-8, 11-6) in women’s singles (Foreign v Indian) to help Smashers stage a late recovery, reducing Challengers’ lead to 12-9.

It was then for skipper Freitas to beat China-born Qatari Li Ping 2-1 (7-11, 11-6, 11-5) in the men’s singles for foreign players to bring his team right back into the contest by reducing their deficit to 11-13 going into the day’s final match.

However, Challengers’ Petrissa Solja won her opening game 11-5 against Ukrainian Tetyana Bilenko in the women’s singles for foreigners. Bilenko won the next 11-6 but Solja won the final game 11-10 to hand Challengers a victorious 15-12 verdict.

On Saturday, Oilmax-Stag Yoddas will take on DHFL Maharashtra United.

Teams
Matches Category Dabang Smashers TTC Points Won Shaze Challengers
1 Men’s Singles Marcos Freitas 2-1 Soumyajit Ghosh
2 Women’s Singles Madhurika Patkar 0-3 Han Ying
3 Mixed  Doubles Kou Lei/ Madhurika Patkar 0-3 Petrissa Solja/ Soumyajit Ghosh
4 Men’s Singles Kou Lei 2-1 Andrej Gacina
5 Women’s Singles Kim Song I 1-2 Han Ying
6 Men’s Singles Amalraj Anthony 1-2 Andrej Gacina
7 Women’s Singles Kim Song I 3-0 Mouma Das
8 Men’s Singles Marcos Freitas 2-1 Li Ping
9 Women’s Singles Tetyana Bilenko 1-2 Petrissa Solja
FINAL SCORE 12-15  

 

by Abhishek Shukla

Maratha Yoddhas make a stunning comeback to beat Mumbai Assassins 10-9 in Super Boxing League

New Delhi, 14 July 2017: With the tagline of Hit Harder, the Super Boxing League returned to action this weekend as the final two teams from Group B started their campaign here at the Siri Fort Squash & Badminton Stadium. In what turned out to be a roller-coaster ride for both the teams, Maratha Yoddhas overcame a 0-9 deficit to beat the Mumbai Assassins 10-9 to claim their maiden victory of the Super Boxing League.

 

It was Mumbai Assassins’ Asif Asad Khan, Pawan Goyat and Manjit Kolekar who gave their side a 9-0 lead after three bouts, in the presence of Bollywood actors Angad Bedi and Kirti Kulhari. Also present on the occasion was Bollywood producer-director Madhur Bhandarkar who witnessed the Maratha Yoddhas produce a stunning fight back into the match through skipper Deepak Tanwar, Vivek Jangra and Sandeep Chhikara as the latter got the all-important victory over his opponent by a Technical Knock Out.

 

The first bout of the night was between debutant Satnam Singh from the Maratha Yoddhas and Asif Asad Khan from the Mumbai Assassins 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. Maratha Yoddhas’ Satnam Singh was not too behind and was looking to hit Khan on the counter. 20-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 fight 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 the Delhi-boy, Maratha Yoddhas’ Vikas Lohan to cut down the lead for his team as he faced Pawan Goyat from the Mumbai Assassins in the Welter Weight category. Vikas Lohan 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 Lohan. Round 2 was equally spread between the two pugilists as they both hit each other with some beautiful uppercuts and jabs. In the third Round, Goyat got some good jabs as Lohan focused on quality instead of quantity. Pawan, however, got the better of Lohan as he sealed the Round with some great combination. 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 Lohan as the latter lost momentum. It was Pawan Goyat of the Mumbai Assassins who was awarded the victory by Unanimous Decision as he helped his side take a 6-0 lead after two bouts.

 

Mumbai Assassins seemed to be in a perfect position as the next bout saw the experienced Manjit Kolekar take on Maratha Yoddhas’ Luxmi in the Super Fly Weight category. Both the boxers started Round 1 slowly as Manjit stayed patient to land some clear punches, but Yoddhas’ Luxmi was not going to disappoint her team as she kept her composure and rhythm. The latter started Round 2 with a good combination as both the boxers started to exchange some hefty punches. The strategy used by Luxmi did not work for her in the second Round as she was forced back into the counter by Assassins’ Manjit Kolekar. The 26-year-old Kolekar started to up the ante as she smacked some hooks and jabs at her opponent to come out on top in Round 3 which saw Luxmi lose her shape as she looked fatigued and exhausted. Manjit landed some great body shots throughout the bout as she did enough to win the fight by Unanimous Decision to extend her team’s lead to 9-0.

 

It became immensely important for the Maratha Yoddhas to make a comeback into the match as the difference between the teams had already gone to nine points. Yoddhas’ skipper Deepak Tanwar was given the responsibility of cutting short the lead for his team as he faced Gurwinder Singh Chahal in the Middle Weight category. Before the match, Deepak had expressed he wasn’t scared to face anyone in the Super Boxing League and he proved it through his bout as he went for the kill from Round 1. He was eager to get the much-needed 6 points for his team through a Knock Out, but Assassins’ Chahal kept his shape through Round 2. The action continued in Round 3 as both boxers understood the situation – Tanwar needed a Knock Out, Chahal just had to keep his opponent out to give his side the victory. Neither boxer could reciprocate their aim into actions as they held onto their composure, hitting each other on some occasions. Round 4 saw Chahal doing all things right to keep his shape, and hit Tanwar on the counter to see the match through as the latter did enough to seal the victory through Split Decision to give his side the maiden 3 points of SBL. It meant that at the end of four bouts, the Maratha Yoddhas trailed the Mumbai Assassins 3-9.

 

The fifth match saw a Super Middle Weight category bout between Maratha Yoddhas’ Vivek Jangra and Mumbai Assassins’ Satish Dhull where both the boxers were expected to Hit Harder, given their weight category. Maratha Yoddhas’ hopes were now on Jangra as they had to win this bout in order to cut down the points’ difference. Round 1 & 2 saw both the boxers produce somemarvelous combinations to in order to seek the upper hand in the initial phase of the bout. However, it was Assassins’ Satish Dhull who came out on top in Round 3 as he hit Jangra with a flurry of punches to grab the bout by the scruff of its neck. Round 4 saw a similar story as both the men came out swinging initially, but Jangra landed some unorthodox body and face punches to seal the victory by Split Decision which meant that the scores became 9-6 in Mumbai Assassins’ favour.

 

Maratha Yoddhas’ Sandeep Chhikara was assigned with the difficult task of getting a victory in the last bout of the day to make the scores level or give his side the win, against a very strong opponent in Mumbai Assassins’ skipper Ram Singh. The Heavy Weight category bout became the most interesting and important one of the night as both teams were locking horns to seal the victory in their first match of the SBL. Yoddhas’ Chhikara started the match with great strength and aggression, which he maintained throughout the first two Rounds. Chhikara smacked Ram Singh with some good combinations which included some precise jabs and hooks. The latter began to feel agitated by the inability to cope up with Chhikara’s onslaught, which led to him being disqualified as he seemed to have head-butted his opponent during the match. The referee had to intervene and stop the fight, after which Yoddhas’ Sandeep Chhikara was awarded the victory by a Technical Knock Out, meaning that the Maratha Yoddhas won the match 10-9.

by Abhishek Shukla

FIFA U-17 World Cup India 2017 ticket sales crosses 100,000 mark

100,000 of the 139,760 sales put up on sale so far have been snapped up for FIFA U-17 World Cup India 2017, confirming the country’s huge interest in the first FIFA tournament in India.

 

“The fact that we have already sold 100,000 tickets for the World Cup when we are still 84 days from it, speaks volumes of the interest from fans into coming and watch the Tournament. Ever since we opened the sales, it has defied the usual pattern for events here, where people wake up at the last minute and get the tickets then. We already have 100,000 fans that want to come to the stadiums, and it is very exciting. We are on the right track to show the whole world, full stadiums for the World Cup,” commented Tournament Director of the Local Organising Committee, Javier Ceppi.

 

FIFA U-17 World Cup India 2017 got its 100,000th ticket holder when Arjun Sachdeva purchased his tickets for Group A matches in New Delhi. The LOC will reward Sachdeva with World Cup memorabilia for holding the 100,000th ticket and booking his place in history.

 

Phase II of the ticket sales began immediately after the Official Draw took place on July 7th. The available inventory for this phase in Kochi and Kolkata was sold out on 10th July 2017. Guwahati too, is edging closer to exhausting its inventory in this phase.

 

The tournament is scheduled to be held between 6th and 28th October. Tickets for the tournament can be booked on www.fifa.com/india2017/ticketing.

by Abhishek Shukla

Harinder Pal Sandhu continues to impress, reaches semis in Victoria Open

Melbourne: India’s Harinder Pal Sandhu continues to make waves. The in-form Indian inched his way into the semi-final of the Victoria Open, a PSA World Tour event here on Friday with another superb display of all round abilities.

In the last eight the fourth seed Harinder defeated Australian Rhys Dowling, seventh seed, in straight games 11-4, 11-8, 11-5. Incidentally he had defeated the same Australian with a similar felicity only a week back in the South Australian Open final.

In the last four tomorrow, Harinder will play the second seed Piedro Schweertman of Netherlands.

by Abhishek Shukla

DHFL Maharashtra United to face Oilmax-Stag Yoddhas in battle of equals

Chennai, 14 July 2017: After two days of sheer thrill that kept the Table Tennis buffs in Chennai city glued to their seats, the third day of CEAT Ultimate Table Tennis will witness a battle of equals in DHFL Maharashtra United vs Oilmax-Stag Yoddhas in July 15, 2017.

While DHFL Maharashtra United boasts of top foreign draw and World No. 8 Wong Chun Ting in their ranks alongside Liu Jia. The other foreign players Joao Monteiro and Yu Fu are both part of the top 50 in the men’s and women’s category respectively.

Their Indian contingent features a youthful brigade in Harmeet Desai, Ronit Bhanja, Krittwika Sinha Roy and Pooja Sahasrabudhe. Desai brings a great sense of eagerness to win as his own rise has been rather meteoric considering he broke into the top 100 in the world rankings at a very early stage in his career. He will look to showcase his attacking brand of table tennis in the competition.

Ronit Bhanja is another hot prospect who has to his credit a 5th place finish at World Junior Circuit finals. Their 23-year-old Krittwika Roy is a Fajr Cup champion and is well known for her all-round game. Rounding off the group of home talents is Pooja Sahasrabudhe, the 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games Silver medallist and World TT Championships Gold medallist in the 2nd division. “We do have a strong team with vibrant set of youthful players. But going by how the League has begun, with some predictable and not so predictable results, I think a lot will depend on how we plan against our opponents,” expressed Coach Arup Basak who helped team India win 13 medals at the Commonwealth Championships 2013 and secure a promotion for his team to the first division in the World Team Championships. He will be joined by foreign coach Ferenc Karsai who is one of the best European coaches.

The Oilmax-Stag Yoddhas, on the other hand, possess the right balance in terms of experience and youth. In Abhishek Yadav and Jubin Kumar, the Yoddhas have two highly talented players who love to attack. Abhishek is only 21 but he has been turning heads in the country with his prowess that includes a bronze in the Asian Youth Games 2013. He is also one of the few players who prefers to employ the pen hold grip. On the other hand, Jubin will be eager to make his mark. The lad from Chandigarh had bagged gold in the men’s category in World Youth Table Tennis Festival (2002-03) held in Hungary,.

Manika Batra and Selena Selvakumar complete the set of Indian talent. Manika is currently the highest placed Indian player as per the ITTF World Ranking in the women’s category. It’s of little surprise since she has bagged medals at the Asian and international level and even managed to qualify for the 2016 Olympics in Rio. The youngest player in the team, Selena Selvakumar, at the age of 17 has already tasted success in various levels. She won three gold medals in the 2016 Qatar World Junior Circuit and bagged 2 gold, 1 silver and 1 bronze in the National Championships 2016.

With a perfect blend of attacking and defensive styles of play, Panagiotis Gionis and Aruna Quadri, — ranked 19th and 29th respectively — will bring their vast international experience to the table. Panagiotis is the most experienced player in the squad at the age of 37 and has represented his country in four consecutive Olympics from 2004 to 2016. His experience will come in handy in crucial moments.

As for the international women, Doo Hoi Kem of Hong Kong has bagged gold in the ITTF World Tour Croatia Open 2016 and she will be a very tough opponent to beat. Partnering the world No. 28 Hoi Kem is Polina Mikhailova of Russia, currently ranked 64th in the world. “Our team players complement each other. While we have players who possess great defensive skill, we also have those with fierce attacking abilities that makes us a perfect mix. The versatility of our youth and experience gives us confidence for a positive start,” expressed coach Sandeep Gupta. He will be joined by Vesna Ojstersek, who was the head coach of Slovenia’s national women team for 6 years.

CEAT UTT will be shown live from 7:30 PM on Star Sports Select 2 HD, Star Sports Select 2 and will be live streamed on Hotstar and Jio TV.

by Abhishek Shukla

India will take part in the WSF-World junior squash in New Zealand

Chennai: India is sending a 12-player team (boys and girls) for the WSF- World junior squash championship to be held in Tauranga city in New Zealand from July 19 to 29. The Indian team is leaving on Sunday.

The Championship this year will witness individual competition for boys and girls followed by the team event for girls only. At the last championship held in Bielska-Biala, Poland, Pakistan had won the boys’ title and Eain Yow Nq of Malaysia was the individual boys winner. The girls winner was Egypt’s Nouran Gohar. From India’s point of view, Velavan Senthilkumar’s quarterfinal finish was the highlight. He also helped India finish 6th overall in the team event. India’s best in the junior championship has been a third place finish by the girls in 2009 in Chennai.

This time the preparation for this mega event turned a little high end with SRFI deciding to send ten members of the side to Egypt for a two-week specialised training. Accordingly six boys _Abhay Singh, Aditya Raghavan, Aryaman Adik, Tushar Shahani, Veer Chotrani, Yash Fadte (all boys), Akanksha Salunkhe, Sunayna Kuruvilla, Aishwarya Bhattacharya and Ashita Pranaya Bhengra (all girls who play both team and individuals) were the benificiaries. “Truly enriching and intensive training,” formed the reaction from Abhay and Sunayna, the two leading figures in the team. Two other girls, Samita Shekar and Sanya Vats are also members of the Indian side to play only in the individual competitions.

A feature of this side, said National Coach Cyrus Poncha was that there were three players _ Tushar, Veer and Yash_ who were still U-17 players and showed the pluck and skill to get selected to the next higher-age category. “The significance is the reflection of the depth of talent and also the fact that these three players will still be around for the next edition of the Championship scheduled in Chennai next year,” said Poncha.

The officials who will be with the team are Coaches Achraf El Karargui, Deepak Mishra and Ms Surbhi Misra.

by Abhishek Shukla

RP-SG Mavericks lead Falcons TTC 7-5 after four matches

Chennai, 13th July, 2017: RP-SG Mavericks led Falcon TTC 7-5 on points after four matches out of nine in the inaugural tie of the CEAT Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT), the country’s newest franchise sports league, which kicked off at the Nehru Indoor Stadium in Chennai on Thursday.
In the clash of captains, Par Gerell drew first blood for Falcons TTC as he beat RP-SG’s Sharath Kamal 11-6, 8-11, 11-9 in the opening encounter to put his team up 2-1 on points.
Kamal, the face of Indian table tennis for well over a decade, was outpaced in the opening game but came back strongly to take the next as a full-house crowd rooted for the local star.  Kamal took a 5-3 lead in the decider but faltered as Gerell clawed back and took control.
According to the UTT points system, in each game, whichever individual/pair scores 11 points first shall be the winner and the team shall receive one Team Point. Each tie will have 9 matches and each match will have 3 games so each tie will have 27 games.
The winner of a tie shall be decided by total games i.e. total points won, meaning a team that wins 14 or more games of the 27 games shall be the winner of that tie.
In League ties, teams shall play all 27 games even if one team has secured the winning 14 points. In Playoff ties, teams will play only up to such time that one team is the winner, having secured 14 points.
RP-SG Maverick’s Sabine Winter clean swept Sutirtha Mukherjee 3-0 (11-8, 11-7, 11-6) while Falcons TTC won the mixed doubles match 2-1 as Lee Ho Ching (Hong Kong) and Sanil Shetty put it past Sofia Polcanova and Kamal 11-8, 8-11, 11-5.
Austrian Stefan Fegerl helped RP-SG Mavericks register another 2-1 win (11-6, 11-9, 9-11) over Englishman Liam Pitchford to help his side lead at the end of four matches.
by Abhishek Shukla

Viswanathan Anand inaugurates CEAT Ultimate Table Tennis

Chennai, July 13, 2017: Chess legend Viswanathan Anand was the chief guest of the launch of the CEAT Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT), the country’s newest franchise sports league, which kicked off later on Thursday with the first tie between RP-SG Mavericks and Falcons TTC at the Nehru Indoor Stadium in Chennai.
“This is the biggest league to happen in India for table tennis and I think it will be a great boost to the sport in the country,” Anand said at the sidelines of the inauguration event.
Also present at the inauguration was Vita Dani, chairperson of 11 Even Sports Pvt. Ltd. and League Owner, Niraj Bajaj, Promoter-Director, Bajaj Group of Companies and Co-Promoter of the CEAT UTT.
Twenty-four foreign players and an equal number of Indian players (both men and women) feature in the six franchises. Apart from RP-SG Mavericks and Falcons TTC, the other four franchises are Dabang Smashers TTC, DHFL Maharashtra United, Oilmax Stag Yoddas and Shazè Challengers.
CEAT UTT will be played in Chennai (July 13-20), Delhi (July 21-25) with the final leg including semifinals and finals played in Mumbai (July 26-30).
The matches will be shown live from 7:30 PM on Star Sports Select 2 HD, Star Sports Select 2 and will be live streamed on Hotstar and Jio TV.
by Abhishek Shukla

Mumbai Assassins & Maratha Yoddhas to start their campaign as Super Boxing League enters second week

New Delhi, July 13, 2017: After a fascinating round of matches in the first week of the Super Boxing League, the action continues this weekend at the Siri Fort Squash & Badminton Stadium here in New Delhi. The first match of this weekend will be between two teams co-owned by Bollywood actors Sohail Khan and Riteish Deshmukh. Sohail Khan-owned Mumbai Assassins and Riteish Deshmukh-owned Maratha Yoddhas will start their campaign against each other in Group B on Friday night.

Mumbai Assassins will have their hopes fixed on their captain Ram Singh to lead from the front as he takes on Maratha Yoddhas’ Sandeep Chhikara in the Heavy Weight category. 34-year-old Ram Singh seemed very confident of his team’s success in the Super Boxing League. He said, “We have a good set of boxers in our team who are ready to take on boxers from other teams. I am very confident of topping our Group, and making it through to the final match eventually. But in order to achieve that, our first step is to beat the Maratha Yoddhas fair and square.”

The Assassins will also be depending on their star boxer Manjit Kolekar who will be facing Yoddhas’ Luxmi in the Female Fly category. The former has previously been a part of Bill Dosanjh’s brainchild, Super Fight League, and has also fought in different MMA tournaments around the world. The 26-year old boxer is known as one of the fiercest competitors in India, and she will be a crowd favourite when she takes to the ring on Friday.

However, Maratha Yoddhas’ skipper Deepak Tanwar has other ideas as he seemed optimistic about his team’s chances in the opening match in which the 23-year-old faces off against Assassins’ Gurwinder Singh Chahal in the Middle Weight category. Tanwar said, “It is important for us to start the campaign on a high. The first match is always the most important, and I am sure we will give our supporters a reason to rejoice.”

The Super Boxing League action will also continue for Group A teams as they play their second round of league matches on Saturday and Sunday. UP Terminators did not have a good start to the tournament as they lost to OPM Punjab Sultans 6-15 in their opening game last weekend, but the Sandeep Dahiya-led franchise will aim to bounce back as they take on Pawan Maan-led Delhi Gladiators on Saturday night. The Gladiators, on the other hand, had opened their account in the league with a comprehensive 12-6 win over Haryana Warriors.

Sunday night will see the Haryana Warriors take on OPM Punjab Sultans in a match which will be important for the Warriors if they are to overcome their loss in the opening match. Whereas, OPM Punjab Sultans earned the three points in their first match of Super Boxing League, and will look to repeat their heroics on Sunday to maintain a 100% record.

by Abhishek Shukla

India U23 lost to Singapore U23 by 1-0 in friendly match

NEW DELHI: The two-match International Friendly series between India U-23 and Singapore U-23 ended 1-1 when India U-23 boys went down narrowly to Singapore U-23 by a solitary goal in the second International Friendly played at the Choa Chu Kan Stadium in Singapore on Wednesday (July 12, 2017).

India had beaten Singapore 1-0 in the first match on July 9, a German Germanpreet Singh left-footed curler making the difference between the two sides.

The Indian contingent next travel to Doha on July 15 where they have been clubbed with hosts Qatar, Turkmenistan and Syria in Group C of the AFC U-23 Qualifiers which kick-off on July 19.

I am disappointed with the result. I thought the boys fought very hard but we lacked a bit of quality in the final third and it cost us in the end,” Constantine said from Singapore. “However, I can say that we didn’t deserve to lose the game,” he added.

“The objective is to find players for the Senior Team and there are certainly some players who if they continue the manner they are doing now have a serious chance to push for the Senior National Team,” he stated.

Meanwhile, defender Salam Ranjan Singh who faced a nasty challenge in his face was rushed to the hospital for a cut under his lip wherein he had three stitches.

Both the teams opted for a slow but cautious start as they tried to consolidate the attacks from the midfield. The hosts almost found the back of the net within first five minutes but Vishal Kaith gloved the long ball with much ease.

In next two minutes, the Himachal Pradesh-born goalkeeper showed his character once again when he threw himself to save a point-blank range effort which was followed by a deadly goal line save by Lalruatthara.

After the clock ticked off the 10-minute mark, Germanpreet Singh, who scored the winner two days back, swivelled a long-ranger from the middle of the pitch but Nikhil Poojari couldn’t reach it on time.

Manvir Singh, Nikhil Poojari and skipper Daniel Lalhlimpuia started to press the hosts hard but the opening goal stayed elusive for Stephen Constantine’s boys in the first 45 minutes.

Indians had quite a few half-chances in the first half but the sole attack on the target was from Mumbai-based Nikhil Poojari whose feeble header was saved by the opposing goalkeeper in the 38th minute.

After the changeover, Indians came very close to scoring the opener but Nikhil’s left-footer missed the target by a whisker.

However, Ikhsan Fandi put the hosts in the driving seat from the penalty spot after Salam Ranjan Singh brought him down inside the box.

With the clock ticking, Manvir took on his own to outrun the Singaporean defender before hitting the side-netting in the 76th minute.

Seven minutes to the end of the regulation time, Alen Deory could’ve found the elusive equaliser for us but he mistimed his jump and failed to make a contact with the ball.

Manvir continued to impose threats towards the final minutes of the match but his inch-perfect pass in the 87th minute got wasted as Nikhil Poojari caught offside.

INDIA: Vishal Kaith, Salam Ranjan Singh (Sairuatkima 75′), Nishu Kumar (Davinder Singh 46′), Lalruatthara, Jerry Lalrinzuala, Nikhil Poojari, Anirudh Thapa, Germanpreet Singh, Lallianzuala Chhangte (Hitesh Sharma 46′), Daniel Lalhlimpuia (C) (Alen Deory 75′), Manvir Singh

by Abhishek Shukla

Indian men’s basketball team set to depart for William Jones Cup

Bengaluru, 12th July 2017:  The Indian men’s basketball team is all set to depart for the 39th William Jones Cup International Basketball Tournament, which will be held from 15th to 23rd July 2017 in Taipei, Chinese Taipei.

The team is led by centre Rikin Pethani, and comprises Amjyot Singh Gill, Anil Kumar Gowda, Arjun Singh, Pratham Singh, Basil Philip, Jeevanantham Pandi, Ambati Prudhvishwar Reddy, P Baladhaneshwar, Gurvinder Singh Gill, Prasanna Sivakumar and Muin Bek Hafeez. The teams coaching staff includes S Baskar and Sebastian P J.

 

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. There are ten teams competing in the tournament this year. The tournament will be played in a single round-robin format, and the final points tally will determine the placing of the teams.

 

The men’s team will depart on 13th July from New Delhi and their schedule is as follows:

  • 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, 1700 hrs CST (or 1430 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

All the games will be played at the Basketball Stadium of Heping Elementary School, Taipei City. The William Jones Cup will serve 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, Phillipines’ 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.

 

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 Prasanna Venkatesh SIVAKUMAR SF 25/09/92 Tamil Nadu/IOB
12 Muin Bek 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 Santhosh Divaker 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

FC GOA signs Spanish midfielder Manuel Arana

Panaji, 12th July 2017: FC Goa have confirmed the signing of winger Manuel Arana on a one year contract. Arana, who largely operates from the right wing last played for Brisbane Roar in the A-League & Asian Champions League last season where he racked up 5 assists and made 24 appearances.

The Spaniard comes with plenty of experience in the top two divisions of Spain where he has turned out for a host of clubs with a combined total of over 230 appearances and 40 goals to his name.

The Seville native was product of the Betis youth system before moving to Castellon where his impressive performances in the second tier of Spanish football led to a move to Racing Santander. He spent 3 seasons in the top division as a regular starter where he played 78 games. Following spells at Recreativo Huelva, RCD Mallorca and Rayo Vallecano, Arana moved to Brisbane Roar last year.

Speaking of the prospect of coming to India, the 32-year-old midfielder said: “I’m pleased to have signed for FC Goa. The league in India is getting a lot of attention and I cant wait to come and experience it for myself. I have heard a lot of good things about FC Goa and with Sergio Lobera as the head coach, I’m sure we can mount a very strong challenge for the top honours. I thank the club for placing their faith in me and will do my utmost to ensure we can achieve the desired results.”

by Abhishek Shukla

Indian Women’s Hockey Team beat Chile 1-0 to seal Quarter-Final berth

Johannesburg, 12 July 2017: A gritty Indian Women’s Hockey team scored a 1-0 win against Chile to make the knockout stage here at the Women’s Hockey World League Semi Final on Wednesday.

 

Preeti Dubey’s 38th minute goal ensured India earned their first win in the tournament after a goalless draw against South Africa and 1-4 loss against USA in their previous matches.

 

Both teams traded PC in the first quarter with Chile winning the first in the 4th minute of the match while India earned their first PC in the 12th minute but nothing came off the opportunity for both teams. Though it seemed like India had scored off the rebound when they earned another PC in the 12th minute through a successful video referral, the goal was denied as it came off the body and not the stick. Both teams went into the first break in a stalemate.

 

In the second quarter, Chile came up with high press but that didn’t stop India from creating opportunities to score. One such chance came in the 19th minute when Anupa Barla brilliantly stole the ball from a Chilean player, setting up a counter attack, to find Rani in the striking circle. Rani, however, missed the post by inches. The following minutes saw Indian defenders deny Chile from making forays into the striking circle.

 

After both teams went into the halftime goalless, India finally made a breakthrough when Rani and Preeti Dubey worked in tandem as they drove into the striking circle, Dubey giving it a finishing touch with a quick nick on the ball to put the ball past the Chilean keeper. The much-needed 1-0 lead came in the 38th minute. India mounted pressure on Chile, with the attackers creating chances. Though Rani made yet another shot on goal, the Chilean keeper did well to defend. Soon after, Renuka Yadav found herself on the bench with a yellow card forcing India to start the fourth quarter with 10 players.

 

Chile thus far had made zero attempts on goal despite 17 circle penetrations while India made 16 penetrations with 5 shots on goal. The final 15 minutes saw some tense moments with Chile making desperate attempts to break the Indian defence. Barla, meanwhile, did well to beat the first defender and then find a Chilean foot to win the team a PC in the 54th minute of the match. A different variation didn’t fetch anything though with India’s score remaining 1-0. Chile, on the other hand, won back-to-back PCs in the 55th minute but India did well to defend on both occasions and walk away with the winning points.

India will take on Argentina on July 16 at 21.30 hours IST. Matches will be shown live on Star Sports 1, HD1 as well as live streamed on Hotstar.com

by Abhishek Shukla

Bengaluru FC sign Spanish midfielder Dimas Delgado

Bengaluru: Strengthening their squad ahead of the 2017-18 season, Bengaluru FC have completed the signing of experienced Spanish midfielder Dimas Delgado, the club announced on Tuesday. The 34-year-old Catalan joins the Blues after skippering Western Sydney Wanderers in the Australian A-League and the AFC Champions League.

The midfielder becomes the Blues’ fourth foreigner and joins fellow countryman Juanan Gonzalez, along with John Johnson and recently signed Erik Paartalu in the side.

Santa Coloma-born Dimas, who began his career at Catalonia-based Spanish lower league side Gramenet in 2002, made the move to FC Barcelona in 2006. He represented FC Barcelona Reserves for two seasons, before joining newly promoted La Liga side Numancia in 2008. He was a mainstay in his side’s midfield, racking up 20 top-flight appearances in the club’s third La Liga stint post-2000.

A three-year stint at Numancia was followed by spells at Cartagena (2011-12) and Recreativo Huelva (2012-15) in the Segunda Division. Having played over 400 games in Spanish football, Dimas made his first overseas move joining Western Sydney Wanderers.

His experience proved vital for the team as they finished runners-up in the 2015-16 season after being placed ninth in the previous campaign. The following year, Dimas was named captain of the side and led them to the finals series as well as in the AFC Champions League. Over two seasons, Dimas made a total of 59 appearances, while netting six goals in all competitions for the Sydney-side.

“I’m very excited to join Bengaluru FC and it will be a fantastic experience for me and my family in India. I can’t wait to start and get to know everyone at the club along with my teammates and staff,” said Dimas having put pen to paper on a one-year deal.

 

“I will give my best every single day to help my team and all the players, and hope to take the club to even bigger heights,” he added.

Coach Albert Roca, who was assistant at Barcelona when Delgado was with the B side, said he was aware of the quality that the midfielder will bring to Bengaluru. “I’ve seen Dimas from close quarters and have no doubt about his quality and experience. He is a hardworking and good professional and we’re confident this stint will be a successful one.”

by Abhishek Shukla

Neel Joshi wins prestigious Cologne Junior Squash Cup 2017

Cologne: Bright young Indian talent, Neel Joshi showed sensational touch in the U-15 category by winning the title in the prestigious Cologne Junior Cup 2017 which concluded here on Monday. The Maharashtra boy defeated the top seed Marek Panacek of Czech republic 9-11, 11-3, 11-6, 11-3.

In a draw of 128, Joshi was placed in the bottom half with seeding of 33/64. After a bye in the first round , he downed seed 9/16 Karim Farrag of Czech in straight games 11-2, 11-6, 11-4. Another fluent 11-2, 11-6, 11-3 win over Baptiste Bouin of France brought into the fourth round. Joshi’s good touch was clear as he grew in strength to beat Miguel Mathis of Switzerland 11-5, 11-7, 11-6 for a quarterfinal berth. An impressive 11-4, 11-4, 11-6 effort over Auggie Bhavsar, the 17/32 seed from USA saw him sail into the semi-final. His next victim was the ¾ seed Thimi Christiaens (Belgium) to whom be conceded one game but won 11-2, 7-11, 11-9, 11-5 to storm into the title-round.

In all 18 Indians had taken part in this important German event where some of the best talents from the world over participated. Aside from Joshi, the other highlights of the Indian show was the runner up finish of three othere _Rutva Samant in the U-13 boys section, Yuvna Gupta in the girls section and Aishwarya Khubchandani in the U-15 girls section. Yuvna, who was the top seed had fluent wins enroute until the final where against Lojayn Gohary of Egypt she faltered. The Egyptian won 11-7, 8-11, 11-7, 11-7. Rutva looked confident right through before in a fighting final, Egyptian Abdallah Amr overcame him 8-11, 14-12, 13-11, 14-12. As for Aishwarya, the Maharashtra girl lived on fight with the semi-final effort over Orla Young (Scotland) going five games. In the final, Aishwarya lost to a US girl Serena Daniel after being two games up. The american won 14-16, 7-11, 11-9, 11-9, 11-8.

Final standings of others: Boys: U-13: Jaiveer Dhillon (33 rd place) ; U-15: Kanhav Nanavati (17th ), Shreemann (34th), Arnav Sareen(34th ); U-17: Rahul Baiha (5th), Saksham Choudhary (33rd), Inderjit Singh (34th), Raunak Advani (39th), Araash Mehta (43rd); U-19: Aryan Parekh( 18th), Vikas Mehra (19th).

Girls: U-15: Yoshna Singh (5th); Ananya Dabke (9th); U-17: Jannia Singh (17th).