Author: Abhishek Shukla

Owner of Sports India Live.
by Abhishek Shukla

Harmeet loses cushion and PQF match

Rajkot, October 15: Consistency is a problem which PSPB’s Harmeet Desai has not been able to surmount despite being on the circuit for a long time. The Gujarat paddler, who recaptured the national ranking title at Indore—his last title win came at Guwahati in the previous season—went down 3-4 to West Bengal’s Arjun Ghosh in the men’s singles pre-quarterfinals of 11Even Sports National Ranking Table Tennis Championships at the Veer Savarkar Municipal Corporation Stadium here today.

Harmeet lost a 3-1 cushion, his form and rhythm as Arjun Ghosh raised the level of his game a notch higher to win the match 8-11, 11-8, 6-11, 8-11, 11-9, 11-8, 11-9 and march into the quarters. No doubt, credit should go to the West Bengal youngster who showed a lot of verve and kept prodding himself despite being down and out.

He upped the ante in the fifth game, winning it by minimal points and gradually kept himself floating to take the issue to the decider. In the decider, it seemed a touch-and-go affair as the two matched each other with great strokes, using the flanks well. A few blunders, especially when he netted the ball as Arjun was serving for the match and a service error just before that, cost Harmeet dear.

But Manav Thakkar and Devesh Karia fought well to keep the hosts’ flag high when the former outlasted AAI’s Sarthak Gandhi 4-2 and Karia rolled over PSPB’s Sourav Saha 4-1 to advance to the quarterfinals. Manav played a controlled and yet aggressive game despite Sarthak giving him a good fight.

In other matches, top seed G. Sathiyan beat Soumyadeep Roy 4-0, AAI’s Vivek Bhargava downed Rohit Chakraborth of LIC 4-1 and another AAI boy Ronit Bhanja outplayed PSPB’s Birdie Boro to win 4-2. For Santil Shetty, it was a cakewalk as he beat Nitin Thuruvengadam of Canara Bank 4-1 and Jubin Kumar repeated the score against Telangana’s Aman Balgu.

VARUNI SLAYS SHAMINI

Earlier, Varuni Jaiswal of Telangana made another giant killing when she humbled former national champion K. Shamini with a 4-3 verdict in women’s singles pre-quarterfinals. Down 0-5 and then 3-6 in the decider, Varuni never lost hope against a seasoned Shamini who is normally good in end games.

Varuni narrowed down the lead with the execution of her backhand drives and nice placements to go 7-6 up and then inched towards writing history. At 10-8 she missed a match point but recovered soon, when Shamini served, to shut her rival out at 10-9 as the 15-year-old eventually wrapped it up 11-9, 6-11, 11-6,8-11, 9-11,11-6, 11-9.

In other pre-quarters, fourth-seeded Manika beat Divya Deshpande 4-2, Ankita Das beat Nikhat Banu 4-0, Madhurika Patkar won 4-0 against Shruti Amrute, but in another upset Amrutha Pushpak of Tamil Nadu downed third seed Pooja Sahasrabudde 11-9, 11-8, 6-11, 11-6, 8-11, 11-9. In a clash of veterans, Mouma Das defeated Poulomi Ghatak 4-3, after the latter led 3-2. Mouma had to win the last two games to stay in contention.

UNLUCKY KRITTWIKA

PSPB’s Krittwika Sinha Roy was unlucky to bow out in the pre-quarters as the change of bat did her in when she was leading 2-1. The damaged rubber of her bat had to be changed midway through and it came as a blessing in disguise to her opponent Mousumi Paul who went on to lead 3-2. Yet it was really brave of her to level and in the decider lost a match point as Mousumi won 6-11, 11-13, 11-9, 11-6, 11-3, 10-12, 12-10.

A visibly upset Krittwika said: “I couldn’t get the ply of my choice (in India) though I have the rubbers. If only I had the right ply, I would have carried an additional bat which I normally do. The borrowed bat didn’t suit my style of play.”

All the quarterfinals are slated for later tonight.

by Abhishek Shukla

Easy for Madhurika; Manika, Poulomi struggle

Rajkot, October 14: Top-seeded Madhurika Patkar made a short work of Shweta Parte to sail into the women’s singles pre-quarterfinals of the 11Even Sports National Ranking Table Tennis Championships at the Veer Savarkar Municipal Corporation Stadium here today.

The PSPB paddler defeated her RBI rival 8-11, 11-5, 11-5, 11-8, 11-9. Madhurika will next take on Maharashtra’s Shruti Amrute, who accounted for West Bengal’s Moumita Datta 11-5, 5-11, 11-9, 13-11, 11-7 in the round of 16.

For fourth-seeded Manika Batra, who won the singles crown at Indore, it was a setback or sorts as the Tamil Nadu girl Vidya Narasimhan took two games off her before the PSPB girl won 11-4, 5-11, 9-11, 11-4, 11-7, 11-8 to go through. Former national champions Mouma Das and Poulomi Ghatak, too advanced, but Ghatak struggled against Haryana’s Sanya Sehgal. The PSPB woman won 11-6, 9-11, 6-11, 11-3, 8-11, 11-3, 11-6. For Mouma it was an easy 4-1 win against RBI’s Pallabi Kundu.

Madhurika was rusty to begin with and it was showing in her first game as Shweta didn’t have to labour much to win it. Nevertheless, the top seed soon settled down and started unleashing her combination strokes which proved to Shweta’s undoing. Unable to contend even with innocuous blocks, the RBI woman lost her grip. She, however, put up some resistance in the fourth and fifth games but it was too late for a comeback.

Moumita, who axed Archana Kamath in group stages yesterday, was found wanting against the left-handed Shruti. Despite restoring parity, the West Bengal girl was unable to cope with the Maharashtra paddlers steady but crisp forehands.

Nikhat Banu, who survived a good scare from Tanisi Kirtani of Goa on the opening day, moved into the pre-quarters after some initial hiccups when she defeated AAI’s Chipia Frenaz 7-11, 14-12, 11-5, 11-6, 11-9. The girls from Gujarat not only took the first game but also managed to extend Nikhat in the second. But the Telangana girl won the second after three deuces which propelled her to the next round. She will run into PSPB’s Ankita Das who blanked Delhi’s Garima Goyal.

Though Mouusumi Paul struggled against RSPB’s Ashlesha Trehan in hter 4-2 win, she will have to contend with PSPB’s Krittwika Sinha Roy in the pre-quarters. Krittwika rolled over Rajasthan’s Priyanka Pareek 4-0.

BORO FIGHTS BACK

The men’s singles draw, which is of 64 players, saw a liberal spread of byes but among the ones that had failed to go past the first round included AAI’s Anirban Ghosh, who was outwitted by West Bengal’s Surajit Das. He played brilliantly and pinned Anirban to a distance from the table which enabled the West Bengal boy stage a fine recovery after being 1-2 down and win 4-2.

Maharashtra’s Anish Ambekar, too, entered the second round of the main draw beating Delhi’s Peeyush Prasad 11-4, 16-14, 11-6, 10-12, 11-9. The young paddler from Mumbai outlasted his Delhi opponent, particularly in the second game, which saw several deuces and both squandering three game points each.

Promising Birdie Boro from PSPB really struggled against State Bank of Patiala’s Vineet Chopra before subduing him 9-11, 5-11, 11-12, 6-11, 11-9, 11-5, 11-7. No doubt, Boro had to bring in all his experience to the table but the marathon match certainly enhanced Chopra’s reputation from a non-entity to something special.

In Youth Boys and Youth Girls, the second stage matches of which will starttomorrow, 24 qualifiers from each section made the cut. Manav Thakkar and Archana Girish Kamath have been given the top seeding slots as they lead the ranking table with highest points. Besides, the two had won the titles in the Central Zone events held at Indore just a fortnight ago.

Ronit Bhanja, Arjun Ghosh and Jeet Chandra follow Manav in the Youth Boys seeding list while Sreeja Akula, Manushree Patil and Priyanka Pareek in the You Girls chart.

by Abhishek Shukla

Moumita gains pre-eminence as Archana cedes

Rajkot, October 13: Archana Girish Kamath, the Youth Girls Singles champion in the last zonal at Indore, went down fighting 2-3 (12-14, 7-11, 11-9, 11-6, 4-11) to the Junior Singles title-winner Moumita Datta as the Bengaluru girl failed to make the main-draw cut in the 11Even Sports National Ranking Table Tennis Championships at the Veer Savarkar Municipal Corporation Stadium here today.

This was the most shocking aspect of the women’s qualification round as 24 qualifiers emerged winners from as many groups to join the eight top-ranked players in the second stage play tomorrow.

The match proved decisive for both Archana and Moumita Datta from West Bengal after they had posted two wins each in group 17. After a prolonged play and a few deuces, Moumita won the first game on extended points. Upset as she was, Archana was unable to come to terms even in the next which she lost without a fight. However, the AAI girl fought back nicely to wrest the initiative from the West Bengal paddler to level scores. But in the decider, Moumita simply outplayed her rival with an attacking game which booked no challenge from Archana.

Telangana’s Shailu Noorbasha had good, fighting outings against all the three girls in the same group—Archana, Moumita Datta and Simin Atodaria (Gujarat)—but lost two matches 2-3.

But for these anomalies, most other groups threw the group leaders as winners while in some the second-placed player grabbed the top slot to enter stage 2. All top group players, as expected, had easy passage while in group 14 there was a three-way tie. Krittika Malik of Delhi took the appointed place while surprisingly Sagarika Mukherjee of Railways lost out despite winning against the Delhi girl 3-2 (9-11, 11-4, 11-8, 13-15, 11-5). What cost her place in the second stage was the loss to Telangana’s Naina who beat the RSPB girl 11-9, 11-7, 11-5.

Former national champion K. Shamini did not have to enter the arena and yet she made it to the main draw from group 1 after her group companions from Telangana and Madhya Pradesh failed to turn up after entering. Even Shruti Amrute of Maharashtra had to just play one match against Puja Paul of North Bengal and the 3-2 win was good enough to see her through. The other player in the group from RBI was absent.

Similarly, there were quite a few dropouts in men’s singles group matches, too, making the contests in group 1 and 2 a two-horse race. Sourav Saha of PSPB looks the candidate to make the grade from group 1 while it should be Sougata Sarkar of LIC from the other.

With one more round to go in the men’s event, a clear picture about the 40 group qualifiers will be known only later tonight. Meanwhile, the Youth events in both the sections will get underway. The Youth Girls and Youth Boys have been divided into 16 and 24 groups with the group winner qualifying for the next stage. They will be joined by the eight top ranked players from each section.

by Abhishek Shukla

Indian superstar basketballer Amjyot Singh to try out for NBA D-League

Chandigarh/Bengaluru/New York, 12th October, 2016: India’s most talented international basketball player Amjyot Singh Gill is all set to soar higher. After dominating in the Asian circuit over the last two years, the power forward from Chandigarh has signed the standard NBA Development League player contract making him eligible to get drafted into the D-League. The ‘D League’ or ‘Development League’ is a key stepping stone towards making a cut to the NBA itself, the most gruelling, competitive and popular professional basketball league in the world.

If Amjyot gets drafted he will have to report to the team within a day or two for an 8-10 day training camp. All players, including Amjyot will be assessed on various physical (such as strength and conditioning) and game parameters (individual and team based basketball skills such as shooting, defence, rebounding, special awareness, passing etc.). If Amjyot suitably impresses then he has a chance to become an official D-League player in any of the 22 D-League teams currently affiliated to their parent franchise in the NBA. From thereon, the sky is the limit for Amjyot, who could then be “Called-Up” to the parent NBA franchise anytime in the upcoming season on short 10-day contracts or for longer durations. Apart from being a stepping stone to the NBA, playing in the D-League in the long term also opens up opportunities in other elite leagues in Europe, Australia, South America or China.

Amjyot expressed confidence and excitement at flying out to New York for the draft. “I’m both nervous and excited. I am motivated with the desire to do whatever it takes to make it to the NBA. Whatever happens, this is an opportunity for me to get exposure and understand the workings of the League.”

Over the last three seasons around 15% of NBA D-League athletes (or an average of 39 players per season) have received a Call-Up to the NBA.

“This is a big step forward for both Amjyot as well as Indian basketball. He has earned the right to be in the D-League draft based purely on his performances with the Indian national team and professionally in Japan. If called up, we have no doubt he can make a splash in the D-League, which would in turn open a world of opportunity for him,” said Vishnu Ravi Shankar, Amjyot’s manager and Business Head at Pursuit, the talent management entity that represents him.

About Amjyot Singh Gill

The 6ft 9inch Gill made the entire Indian sports fraternity take notice when he slammed home a powerful two handed alley-oop dunk during India’s historic win over China in the 2014 FIBA Asia Cup. Since then, the 24-year-old “Sultan of Swat” has grown from strength to strength. As a “stretch four” Amjyot is a matchup nightmare, able to post up, rebound, block shots, handle the ball and score from the outside.

The versatile power forward went on a scoring spree during India’s memorable quarterfinal run in the 2015 FIBA Asia Championship for Men, proving himself to be among Asia’s finest hoopsters. 2016 proved to be an equally significant year, as he, along with fellow Punjab baller, Amritpal Singh, made the brave decision of moving to Japan. The duo led their Tokyo Excellence team to the National Basketball Development League (NBDL) Championship. Amjyot in particular, averaged 13.7 points and 8.1 rebounds per game over 35 games, playing 21 minutes per game.

Most recently, Amjyot had starred at the FIBA Asia Challenge, posting tournament high numbers in various key statistical categories. Amjyot was number 1 overall in freethrow shooting (90.3%) hitting 28/31 freethrows. His 8.3 rpg was 3rd among forwards and 8th overall. His 2 double doubles (i.e. when a player crossed double digits in any two statistical categories in a single game) was 3rd among forwards and 7th overall. His 12.8 ppg was 6th best among forwards. His .6 blocks per game is 3rd best among forwards. His +14.1 effpg is 6th best among forwards. His 2.4 apg is 5th best among forwards. His 37% from the field is 10th among forwards.

Interestingly, Amjyot is also part of a 3×3 side from Japan (Team Hamamatsu), comprising Indian origin players, that has qualified to the FIBA 3×3 World Tour finals to be held in Abu Dhabi, UAE on 27-28 October. The 3×3 World Tour Finals is a very prestigious event that is the equivalent of a World Cup for 3×3 basketball. Amjyot will be competing in this event before flying to the US for the D-League draft.

by Abhishek Shukla

National Ranking Table Tennis Championships (West Zone) from tomorrow

Rajkot, October 12: We may be into the third 11Even Sports National Ranking Table Tennis Championships this season, but are yet to witness the star casts of Indian table tennis up close in a national event of significance, barring the Institutional at Jaipur in July.

The West Zone meet, beginning at the Veer Savarkar Municipal Corporation Stadium here from tomorrow, will be no different. Engaged as they are with their club assignments abroad, A.Sharath Kamal, Soumyajit Ghosh and Anthony Amalraj have decided to shut themselves off from the domestic circuit for a while now.

They may have their own reasons for doing so. However, with Italian coach Massimo Costantini—he assumed charge as national coach early this month—in place and the Table Tennis Federation of India designing a road map for long-term preparations with him, the loss is that of the players.

No doubt, their absence can be well utilized by the rest in fray to build some reputation but it certainly takes the sting out of the tail as organizers and the TTFI suffer when they look for the glamour quotient. The sooner the players realize this, the better it would be for all.

The return of G. Sathiyan for the West Zone—he skipped Central Zone—augurs well for all concerned, including Harmeet Desai who won the Central Zone title beating Subhajit Saha 4-0. He should get a good competition here. Though Ravindra Kotiyan of RSCB has pulled out, players like Jubin Kumar, Utkarsh Gupta and others will add to the competitive edge in men’s singles.

Similarly, National women’s singles champion Manika Batra, also the winner at Indore, and Mouma Das along with K. Shamini, Pooja Sahasrabuddhe, Madhurika Patkar, Divya Deshpande, Suthirtha Mukkherjee and Archana Kamath, not to forget former national champion Paulomi Ghatak, will all lend balance to the women power.

Apart from Harmeet, an icon for hosts, Vadodara boy Manav Thakkar, with his recent performances, has become a household name in this part of the world. His double crown at Indore was a treat and the locals will be eager to watch him perform equally well at ‘home’. Manav, who was selected to represent Indian at the World Juniors later this year in South Africa, along with Ananth Devarajan and the rest of juniors, will enter the field on the third day itself following the men and women and Youth qualification events. Their showing in the domestic events will launch them on to bigger stages like 2022 and 2026 Asian and Commonwealth Games.

Constantini and Arup Basak, one of the national selectors, will be keenly watching them and making mental notes before ticking the eligibility boxes on which of these boys and girls can be a part of the long-term investment plans of the TTFI. Bigger opportunities are knocking at the doors of Cadet and Sub-Junior players and on the last two days of the championships they get the chance to prove themselves. After all, they are the future and the TTFI has chalked out concrete programmes for them until 2028.

In addition, good finish will also fetch top eight players in each category cash incentives from the Rs. 6 lakh prize money and, of course, sizeable ranking points.

Competition Manager Ganeshan Neelakanta Iyer said Anil Dubey will be the chief referee for the event here with assistance coming from a team 40 technical officials which include Blue Badge, International and National umpires.

Ganeshan also said that Stiga tables and GKI Premium balls will be for the championships which are organized by the Rajkot District Table Tennis Association and conducted by the Gujarat State Table Tennis Association. On entries, the competition manager said the TTTFI has received over 800 entries from 600 odd players.

by Abhishek Shukla

ONGC Lost against Iran’s Petrochimi in first match of FIBA Asia Champions Cup 2016

Petrochimi opened Day 2 at the FIBA Asia Champions Cup 2016 in style by crushing ONGC of India, 95-51. The Iranians notched their second win in a row and handed the Indians their first defeat of the tournament.

James White and Gerald Robinson, Jr. did well for Petrochimi again, but it was Mehrad Atashi and Oshin Sahakian who stepped up big time, recording a combined 26 points. ONGC, meanwhile, was paced by the combined 27 points of Vishesh Bhriguvanshi and Amritpal Singh.

ONGC had good size, but they just didn’t have the depth to match up well with Petrochimi. The Iranians outrebounded the Indians, 56-29, and limited them to 34% field goal shooting. It was as lopsided as it could get in favor of Petrochimi.

ONGC will play Al-Rayyan (Qatar) tomorrow.

credits: Fiba.com

by Abhishek Shukla

India Juniors go down to NSW Waratahs in Bronze medal play-off

Perth, Australia, 9 October 2016: India’s Junior Men’s team went down 1-5 to the NSW Waratahs in the Australian Hockey League Bronze medal match today.

The game started off at a fast pace, and India, playing a bit defensively were caught out early by NSW’s quick movement and sharp passing, going to a Lachlan Sharp goal in the 6th minute. As the game settled down, India were the ones who discovered their rhythm and started rotating the ball more fluidly within their ranks. Despite that, the Waratahs’ defence held strong to take them into the first break with the lead.

In a fast and exciting second quarter, the Waratahs hit India with goals in the 16th minute (Tom Craig) and then in the 23rd minute (Landon Morley). India also suffered with Varun Kumar getting a green card immediately after and conceding the numerical advantage. It wouldn’t matter though as Gurjant Singh pegged back NSW’s dominance with a PC conversion in the 25th minute to bring the deficit down to two as they went into halftime.

India had already scripted a miraculous turnaround yesterday in the semi final, and came out of halftime raring to go. Perhaps aware of this late surging ability, NSW played cautiously, defending deep and holding the ball for long periods when they did effect turnovers. India rushed hard and were constantly creating circle penetrations but were unable to find the final pass. Right at the end of the quarter NSW’s Landon Morley converted from a PC to take them into the final break leading 4-1.

India came out in the final quarter looking for the comeback but, NSW’s deep lying defensive structure denied them any width and opportunity to do so. The Waratahs capitalised on India’s attacking intent to add another goal to their tally with a counter attack in the final minute of the game via Tom Craig.

Speaking after the game Coach Harender Singh said, “We use the AHL as a preparatory tournament for the Junior World Cup later this year and its is quite heartening to see that the boys have held their own against the teams in the league. At crucial times we have made some small mistakes, but we’d rather make them now and learn and correct them, than in Lucknow in December.”

by Abhishek Shukla

ONGC to represent India at FIBA Asia Champions Cup 2016

ONGC will represent India at FIBA Asia Champions Cup 2016 which will be commencing from tomorrow (8th October 2016).  ONGC is pooled along with Petrochimi (Iran), Al Riyadi (Libanon) , Al Rayyan (Qatar), and  Pauian (Taipei). 

ONGC will play its first match against Petrochimi on 9th October 2016, Al Rayyan on 10th October 2016, Al Riyadi on 11th October 2016 and Pauian on 12th October 2016.

ONGC will be represented by TOP Indian players

 

india

by Abhishek Shukla

India Junior Men Team go down to Victorian Vikings in AHL Semi Final

Perth, Australia, 7 October 2016: India went down 4-3 in a penalty shoot out to the Victoria Vikings in their Semi Final match at the AHL today. The juniors had stormed back from a 3-0 deficit courtesy of a Varun Kumar hat trick to take the game to a shootout after regulation time.

The two teams were the ones with the strongest defences in the pool stages, India conceding 7 goals, and Victoria 9. The first quarter was played out to their strengths, both teams organising themselves tightly in the defensive areas, and controlling and cancelling each others midfields.

Locked in the stalemate after the first quarter, the Vikings were the ones to score through, Chris Ciriello converting a PC in the 20th minute to take the lead. Two minutes later Aaron Kleinschmidt took advantage of a goalmouth melee to double the lead.

India had a PC in the quarter but Varun Kumar’s flick was smartly parried away by Durst Johan in the Vikings goal. The chance gave the Indian Juniors confidence, and they stormed back into the game, taking control and creating a lot of penetrations into the Victoria circle. They lacked the final pass though as Victoria’s defence held firm to deny them an opening.

In the final minutes of the quarter, Ciriello scored his second PC of the game to give Victoria a 3-0 lead heading into halftime.

India had several chances to pull a goal back in the third quarter, attacking and controlling the game in the midfield. A brilliant passing move at the top of the Victorian circle saw Ajit Pandey drag his shot high. Minutes later Durst was in action again, Pulling off a smart save from Anand Lakra’s bursting run and shot from the top of the circle. Off the rebound, Durst smothered Parvinder Singh’s shot illegally. India had a PC. Victoria saved the first PC, but were penalised with another. Varun Kumar missed his drag flick but improvised with the loose ball to score and open India’s account in the game.

The teams went into the final break trailing 3-1.

Simranjeet Singh’s green card early in the final quarter handed India a disadvantage, but it didn’t matter as they pushed forward in search of goals to get back in the game. Armaan Qureshi came closest picking up a pass from Dipsan Tirkey inside the circle and turning to shoot wide.

With six minutes of the game left, India won a PC and this time Varun didn’t need a second invitation, dragging his shot perfectly into the bottom left corner, to reduce the margin to one goal.

With the momentum having shifted, India started pushing for the equaliser and won another PC in the 56th minute. Varun made no mistake, slotting it into the bottom corner again to drag India level. The game was for the taking.

Victoria went a man down in the final minutes courtesy Tim Cross’s yellow card and the juniors made the most of the numerical advantage, constantly attacking the Vikings circle. With a minute to go, Harjeet Singh had a shot from the top of the box, but Durst parried it away. It was to be the final bit of action as the two teams went into a shootout for a place in the finals.

In the shootout, the Vikings held strong missing a single chance of their five, and winning by the narrowest of margins to take their place in the finals.

India will be playing for the Bronze medal on 9 October 2016 at 07.30 hrs IST.

by Abhishek Shukla

Amandeep clinches her fourth title in Hero Women’s Professional Golf Tour

Gurgaon, 07th October 2016: Amandeep Drall carded 1 under 71 on the final day to win the 15th leg of the Hero Women’s Professional Golf Tour at DLF Golf and Country Club here on Friday. Amandeep claimed her fourth title of the season with a huge margin of seven strokes. Gaurika Bishnoi finished second with a total score of 220. The INR 6,00,000 event culminated today.

Panchkula’s Amandeep Drall played yet another under par round to claim the title with a total score of 213 after 54 holes. She carded a bogey and birdie apiece on the 4th and 5th holes respectively, in her front nine. She dropped a shot on the 10th hole but regained her composure and carded birdies on the 16th and 17th holes to finish the round with a score of 1 under 71.

Rookie Gaurika Bishnoi had impressed in her first outing as a professional in the last event with a fourth place finish. She continued with the good work and secured her second place finish with a score of 2 under 70 on the final day. She started impressively, carding a birdie on the very first hole.She went on to card a birdie on the 4th hole, while dropping a shot on the 6th in her front nine. Her back nine followed a similar script, as she carded a bogey on the 14th hole and birdies on the 13th and 16th, finishing her day with a total score of 220.

Delhi’s Vani Kapoor and Kolkata’s Neha Tripathi finished tied third with identical scores of 222 after the final round. Vani had an indifferent start, playing a birdie less front nine. She started with a bogey on the very first hole and carded a double on the 6th. She controlled the damage in her back nine, carding birdies on the 11th and 17th holes, while dropping shots on the 15th and 16th to finish with a score of 3 over 75. Neha would have hoped for a better start as she carded a bogey on the 8th hole along with a double on the 5th and a triple on the 6th. She also carded two birdies on the 3rd and 9th holes in her front nine. She added two more birdies on the 10th and 11th holes while dropping shots on the 13th, 16th and 17th to finish with a score of 5 over 77.

Amateur Diksha Dagar carded 2 over 74 on the final day to take the fifth position. She played a bogey free front nine, carding a birdie on the 1st hole. However, she could not sustain the momentum and carded bogeys on the 12th, 13th and 14th holes along with a double on the 17th. Birdies on the 10th and 18th holes helped her to recover and finish with a total score of 230.

Pune’s Shweta Galande carded 2 over 74 to take the sixth position, carding birdies on the 7th, 14th and 16th holes, while dropping shots on the 2nd, 3rd, 8th, 10th and 13th to finish with a total score of 233. She was followed by Chandigarh’s Saaniya Sharma at seventh position with a total score 234 after the final round.

This was a warm up event for the players before the Hero Women Indian Open 2016, to be played at the same venue from 11th to 13th November.

golf

by Abhishek Shukla

Chhattisghar girls and BFI-MP boys wins titles

Hyderabad, 7th October 2016: The finals of the 43rd Arise Steel Sub-Junior National Basketball Championship 2016 concluded a short while ago at the SATS Indoor Stadium, Saroornagar in the city.

Chhattisgarh girls and BFI-Madhya Pradesh* defended their titles from last year, beating Kerala and Rajasthan respectively.

Mr P Niranjan Reddy, Vice Chairman, Telangana Government Planning Commission distributed the winning boys’ medals and trophy. Mr Aadhav Arjuna, Managing Director of Arise Steel Industries, the title sponsors of this championship, was the special guest for the second day running. Also seen distributing the trophies and medals were Mr Chander Mukhi Sharma, Secretary-General of Basketball Federation of India, Mr M Rajender Reddy, President, Telangana Basketball Association, Mr R Sridhar Reddy, President, Organising Committee (& also President of the Hyderabad District Basketball Association) and other dignitaries.

Chhattisgarh girls bt Kerala 57-48

The winners of the last two sub-junior national championships, Kerala girls and defending champions Chhattisgarh squared off in the final today morning. The game lived up to its billing with both teams sticking close to each other till the final minutes. Chhattisgarh followed their game plan of ball movement and finding the open man against Kerala’s zone defence. Kerala’s go-to player, centre Ann Mary Zachariah, struggled in the early going being unable to knock down freethrows. She was frequently double-teamed which opened up the lane for her teammate, Aleena Antony, who kept making tough layups to keep her side within a couple of possessions of Chhattisgarh.

Chhattisgarh, however, went on an 8-3 run to close the first half and held a 37 to 31 lead entering the third quarter. Kerala’s Ann Mary found her touch in the third quarter, creating second chance opportunities for her team. But Chhattisgarh still held the advantage entering the fourth period leading by 3 points.

In the final quarter, Chhattisgarh were the more accurate team from the field and found easy scoring opportunities in transition. Kirti (20 points) and Urvashi Baghel (16 points) led the way for their team as Chhattisgarh pulled away from Kerala in the final minutes. Coach Rajesh Patel guided his team admirably in this game resulting in a 57-48 win and a repeat championship run.

“This is my 100th medal at the national level,” an ecstatic Chhattisgarh Head Coach Rajesh Patel said post the win.

BFI-MP* bt Rajasthan 69-66

Defending champions BFI-Madhya Pradesh* boys were gunning for a three-peat as they entered their final against Rajasthan. Both teams were unbeaten so far in the tournament. The game began slowly with the teams feeling each other out in the first quarter. Rajasthan managed to put up only 6 points in the first period, but went on a scoring run in the second taking full advantage and poured in 37 points in the second quarter. Rajasthan regained the lead with the halftime score at 43 to 31.

In the second half BFI-Madhya Pradesh* showcased their quality offense, led by big man Virat Dhakad (19 points). Both teams followed a run-and-gun style of play, but BFI-MP* had more accuracy from the field in the second period and pulled their way back into the contest.

Leading by one point entering the fourth period, BFI-MP* kept their poise and held off a furious Rajasthan comeback attempt. Rajasthan’s most consistent player in the tournament, Mahaveer Banjara, led the way for his team once again with 29 points. But it wasn’t enough, as BFI-MP* pulled off a 3-point victory and were crowned 3-time champions.

Final Standings

Girls Boys
1. Chhattisgarh 1. BFI-Madhya Pradesh
2. Kerala 2. Rajasthan
3. Tamil Nadu 3. Haryana
4. Maharashtra 4. Andhra Pradesh
5. Rajasthan 5. Telangana
6. Uttar Pradesh 6. Chhattisgarh
7. Karnataka 7. Uttar Pradesh
8. BFI-Madhya Pradesh* 8. Punjab
9. Delhi 9. Maharashtra
10. Punjab 10. Odisha

 

RESULTS FROM Day 7 (7th October 2016)

Girls:

Finals

  1. Chhattisgarh (Kirti 20, Urvashi Baghel 16) bt Kerala (Ann Mary Zachariah 19, Aleena Antony 8) 57-48 (18-16, 19-15, 8-11, 12-6)

3-4 Classification Match

  1. Tamil Nadu (Nitika A 19, Sathya K 19, Sree Varshini J 18) btMaharashtra (Siya Deodhar 18, Chaitaali Bafna 14) 70-50 (16-14, 14-7, 27-16, 13-13)

Boys:

Level 1

Finals

  1. BFI-Madhya Pradesh (Virat Dhakad 19, Aman Negi 13) bt Rajasthan(Mahaveer Banjara 29, Kamal Singh 10) 69-66 (14-6, 17-37, 24-11, 14-12)

3-4 Classification Match

  1. Haryana (Gourav 19, Depender 11, Sahil 11, Vikas 10) bt Andhra Pradesh (Shaik Ahmed 12, Nayeem Pranav 8) 73-42 (17-6, 25-10, 12-19, 19-7)
by Abhishek Shukla

Defending Champs Chhattisgarh girls and MP boys return to finale where they will meet Kerala & Rajasthan

Hyderabad, 6th October 2016: The semifinal games of the 43rd Arise Steel Sub-Junior National Basketball Championship 2016 concluded today at the SATS Indoor Stadium, Saroornagar in the city.

Mr Aadhav Arjuna, Managing Director of Arise Steel Industries, the title sponsors of this championship, was the chief guest of the evening. He shook hands with both the Telangana and Rajasthan boys squads accompanied by Mr R Sridhar Reddy, President of the Organising Committee & Hyderabad District Basketball Association and Mr M Rajender Reddy, President, Telangana Basketball Association.

In the girls section, Chhattisgarh beat Maharashtra in a closely fought 51-45 game. Khushboo Gupta top scored for the defending champions with 19 points. In the second semifinals, southern rivals Tamil Nadu and Kerala battled hard before Kerala prevailed 66-62.

In the two boys semifinals, defending champions BFI-Madhya Pradesh* and Rajasthan separated themselves in the second half against Haryana and Andhra Pradesh respectively, to set up their summit clash.

Tomorrow’s final day schedule is as follows:

3rd & 4th Place Matches

8.00 am Haryana vs Andhra Pradesh – Boys (Court 1)

8.00 am Maharashtra vs Tamil Nadu – Girls (Court 2)

Finals

10.00 am Chhattisgarh vs Kerala – Girls (Court 1)

11.30 am Madhya Pradesh vs Rajasthan – Boys (Court 1)

 

RESULTS FROM Day 6 (6th October 2016)

Girls:

Level 1

Semifinals

  1. Chhattisgarh (Khushboo Gupta 19, Urvashi 14) bt Maharashtra (Siya Deodhar 12, Sanskruti Pawar 7) 51-45 (20-6, 12-14, 9-14, 10-11)
  2. Kerala (Jayasree 21, Gouri 17) bt Tamil Nadu (Sathya K 29, Nitika 14)66-62 (18-24, 20-6, 15-14, 13-18)

5-6 Classification Match

  1. Rajasthan (Rashi Kothani 17, Uma Bairna 8) bt Uttar Pradesh (Chaitali Rajesh 16, Kirti Nigam 8) 46-40 (16-11, 9-3, 6-10, 15-16)

7-8 Classification Match

  1. Karnataka (Harini MS 14, Janani N 10) bt Madhya Pradesh (Sania Pal 5)35-22 (6-2, 9-7, 8-8, 12-3)

First round of 5-8 Classification Matches

  1. Uttar Pradesh (Ananya 8, Chitali 7) bt Madhya Pradesh (Manvi Agarwal 10) 33-21 (9-3, 7-2, 6-5, 11-11)
  2. Rajasthan (Rashi Kothani 16) bt Karnataka (Harini MS 8) 41-25 (7-5, 3-8, 8-13, 7-15)

9-10 Classification Match

  1. Delhi (Trishala 17, Kritika D 13) bt Punjab (Rupali 5, Manroop K 5) 42-13(16-11, 11-0, 11-0, 42-2)

Level 2 Losers Knockout Finals:

  1. Gujarat (Naomi Lakhanpal 18, Jenisha Avari 11) bt Himachal Pradesh(Gagneet Kaur 10)  42-35 (13-4, 2-11, 16-12, 11-8)

Boys:

Level 1

Semifinals

  1. BFI-Madhya Pradesh* (Sachindra Sharma 23, Brijesh Tiwari 12, Virat Dhakad 11) bt Haryana (Depender 17, Sahil 14, Gourav 13) 66-54 (9-18, 16-8, 20-9, 21-19)
  2. Rajasthan (Seikh Saifali 32, Mahaveer Banjara 24, Digvijay Singh 12) btAndhra Pradesh (Shaik Ahmed Alisha 20, S Nayeem Basha 12) 94-65 (12-12, 26-18, 24-19, 32-16)

5-6 Classification Match

  1. Telangana (Harsh Hooda 17, Shaik Khaja Vali 12, Shoib Khan 12) btChhattisgarh (Shivam Dubey 20, Rishab Jaiswar 9) 49-48 (10-8, 9-10, 13-14, 17-16)

7-8 Classification Match

  1. Uttar Pradesh (Robin Banerjee 10, Suraj Sonkar 8) bt Punjab (Gurdeep Singh 13) 43-28 (11-9, 18-11, 8-5, 6-3)

First round of 5-8 Classification Matches

  1. Telangana (Shankar 12, Ritvik Inamala 11, Khaja Vali 10) bt Uttar Pradesh (Yash Vardhan 15, Mayank Pal 14) 59-54 (7-12, 15-7, 20-14, 17-21)
  2. Chhattisgarh (Md Farhan Raza 14, R Deepak 11, Rishab Jaiswar 10) btPunjab (Gurdeep Singh 14) 55-31 (9-7, 15-10, 22-9, 19-15)

9-10 Classification Match

  1. Maharashtra (Imran Khan 18, Usman Khan 18, Huzaifa Qureshi 15) btOdisha (Manoj Kumar 24, Brahmanda Behe 13) 67-60 (14-15, 9-17, 26-14)

Level 2 Losers Knockout Finals:

  1. Tamil Nadu (J Yogeswaran 18, S Harish 10, R Harish 10) bt Delhi(Saurabh 15, Ashwani 12, Tushar 9) 54-48 (12-12, 8-13, 18-12, 16-11)
by Abhishek Shukla

Amandeep fires 4 under to grab lead at 15th Leg of the Hero Women’s Professional Golf Tour

Gurgaon, 06th October 2016: Amandeep Drall carded an impressive round of 4 under 68 to take the sole lead on day two of the 15th Leg of the Hero Women’s Professional Golf Tour at the DLF Golf and Country Club here on Thursday. Trailing her in second position is Neha Tripathi with a total score of 145 after 36 holes. The INR 6,00,000 event will culminate tomorrow.

Overnight joint leader Amandeep Drall had an indifferent start, carding a bogey on the very first hole. The professional from Panchkula, however, quickly regained her composure and fired three consecutive birdies on the 4th, 5th and 6th holes in her front nine. She got better as the day progressed and played a bogey free back nine, carding two more birdies on the 11th and 18th holes to finish with a total score of 142. In the process, she took a three stroke lead over Neha Tripathi going into the final round.

Kolkata’s Neha Tripathi carded the only other under par score of the round. Her card of 1 under 71 included a birdie and bogey apiece on the 6th and 8th holes respectively, in her front nine. She added three more birdies on the 14th, 15th and 17th holes, while dropping shots on the 13th and 18th in her back nine to finish with a total score of 145. Delhi’s Vani Kapoor carded 1 over 73 in the second round to take the third position. She carded birdies on the 5th and 8th holes while dropping a shot on the 3rd in her front nine. However, she struggled in the latter half, carding a bogey on the 18th along with a double on the 10th. She carded the lone birdie of her back nine on the 13th hole to finish with a total score of 147.

Rookie Gaurika Bishnoi would have hoped for a better start as she carded bogeys on the 1st and 7th holes and a double on the 9th, while her lone birdie came on the 4th. She played a birdie less back nine with a bogey on the 17th hole to finish the round in the fourth position with a score of 150. Chandigarh’s Saaniya Sharma is placed fifth with a total score of 151 after the penultimate round. She carded birdies on the 2nd, 12th and 18th holes, while dropping shots on the 4th, 9th and 10th. She also carded double bogeys on the 11th and 17th holes to finish the round with a score of 4 over 76.

Jaipur’s Afshan Fatima is placed sixth with a total score of 154, followed by amateur Diksha Dagar in seventh position at 156.

by Abhishek Shukla

Hockey India announces squad for Men’s Asian Champions Trophy 2016

Bengaluru, 6 October 2016: Hockey India today announced the squad for the fourth edition of the Asian Champions Trophy organized by the Asian Hockey Federation which will be held in Kuantan, Malaysia, starting 20 October 2016.

The 18-member squad will be led by goalkeeper P.R Sreejesh while 24-year-old midfielder Manpreet Singh will be his deputy for the tournament.

Defender Jasjit Singh Kular, from India’s hockey hub Sansarpur, finds himself in the squad and will be expected to double-up as drag flicker in place of V R Raghunath who is rested for the tournament. Making a strong comeback after a long lay-off due to injury is Birendra Lakra, who showed his prowess in the recently held Obaidullah Khan Heritage Hockey Cup in Bhopal and the MCC-Murugappa Cup in Chennai. He will form India’s defence along with the experienced Rupinder Pal Singh, Kothajit Singh, Surender Kumar and Pardeep Mor.

While the midfield line-up remains unchanged, the forwardline will miss Akashdeep Singh and Ramandeep Singh. The duo will be replaced by Talwinder Singh and Lalit Kumar Upadhyay.

Scheduled two months after the Olympic Games, the men’s Asian Champions Trophy will see India, Korea, Japan, China and hosts Malaysia challenge defending champions Pakistan. “The Asian Champions Trophy is an important tournament for us and going by the world rankings, India will go in as favourites to win the title. The team has been upbeat since their return to the camp after the Olympic Games and are eager to start the season on a winning note,” expressed Roelant Oltmans, Chief Coach India Men Hockey Team and Director High Performance.

Meanwhile, Captain P.R Sreejesh emphasised on playing with caution. “We may be the top ranked team in Asia right now but no team can be taken lightly. The defending Champions (Pakistan) are known to spring a surprise and Korea too will be a team to watch out for as they have been playing good quality hockey lately,” stated the goalkeeper.


Squad: 
Goalkeepers
1. P.R Sreejesh (Captain)
2. Akash Chikte

Defenders
3. Rupinder Pal Singh
4. Pardeep Mor
5. Jasjit Singh Kular
6. Birendra Lakra
7. Kothajit Singh
8. Surender Kumar

Midfielders
9. Chinglensana Singh Kangujam
10. Manpreet Singh (Vice Captain)
11. Sardar Singh
12. S.K Uthappa
13. Devindar Walmiki

Forwards
14. Talwinder Singh
15. S.V Sunil
16. Lalit Kumar Upadhyay
17. Nikkin Thimmaiah
18. Affan Yousuf
by Abhishek Shukla

43rd Arise Steel Sub-Junior Nationals 2016 – Semifinal teams confirmed

Hyderabad, 5th October 2016: The key knockout stages of the 43rd Arise Steel Sub-Junior National Basketball Championship 2016 began today at the SATS Indoor Stadium, Saroornagar in the city.

From the girls section, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra entered the semifinals, while in the boys section, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Haryana also progressed to the final four.

In the most anticipated quarterfinal matchup of the day, hosts Telangana took on two time defending champions Madhya Pradesh.  After a close first half where Telangana stayed within striking distance, the hosts ultimately fell quite tamely 42-63.

Tomorrow first half will witness 5-8 classification matches, followed by the semifinals from 2pm onwards.

In lower Level 2’s Loser’s Knockout tournament, Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat (girls) and Delhi and Tamil Nadu boys progressed to the finals.

 

RESULTS FROM Day 5 (5th October 2016)

Girls:

Level 1

Quarterfinals

  1. Kerala (Ann Mary Zachariah 23, Aleena Antony 14) bt Rajasthan (Rashi Kothani 19, Diksha Pareek 10) 50-41 (19-9, 12-5, 13-16, 16-9)
  2. Tamil Nadu (Sree Varshini J 25, Sathya K 21) bt Karnataka (Harini MS 8, Aishwarya Panalkar 8) 67-41 (18-10, 6-10, 22-11, 21-10)
  3. Maharashtra (Sara Ali Ahemad 13, Siya Deodhar 12, Danka A Pereira 9) bt Madhya Pradesh (Asmat Kaur Tanque 9, Ishita Navya Sharma 7) 48-30 (7-9, 19-2, 10-6, 12-13)
  4. Chhattisgarh (D Kirti 14, Akanksha Singh 12, Jyoti Prajapati 10) bt Uttar Pradesh (Chaitali Rajesh 9, Tanvi Suri 6, Kirti Nigam 6) 49-35 (16-8, 8-9, 11-3, 14-15)

Pre-quarterfinals

  1. Uttar Pradesh (Chaitali Rajesh 15, Kirti Nigam 11) bt Delhi (Yakshita Jain 14, Kritika Dhingra 9) 56-39 (16-11, 8-13, 15-10, 17-15)
  2. Karnataka (Harini MS 10, Janani N 10, Jeshtnavi Gudimani 9) bt Punjab(Isha 6) 45-27 (17-7, 10-12, 5-4, 13-4)

Level 1 to Level 2 (For Next Year)

*Both these teams have already been relegated to Level 2 for next year and this match is played in order to decide which of the lower level groups these team will go to next year.

  1. Haryana (Sameeksha 25, Kiran 9) bt Telangana (Yannam Swathi 8) 49-32 (12-12, 13-8, 15-10, 9-2)

Level 2 Loser Knockout Semifinals:

  1. Himachal Pradesh (Anshika 11, Vamshika Nirala 11) bt Odisha (Sweta Pradhan 3) 49-10 (19-3, 15-4, 6-3, 9-0)
  2. Gujarat (Niyati Malini 8) bt Chandigarh (Anjali Negi 12) 35-29 (10-10, 10-9, 13-2, 2-9)

Boys:

Level 1

Quarterfinals

  1. Andhra Pradesh (Shaik Ahmed Alisha 27, M Bhargav 11, Sreetam Tripathy 10) bt Chhattisgarh (Rishab Jaiswar 15, Pranav Sharma 10) 63-58 (4-12, 20-16, 20-14, 19-16)
  2. Haryana (Robin Banerjee 20, Vinay Pawar 12) bt Uttar Pradesh (Gourav 24, Sahil 20, Akshay 10) 76-54 (24-14, 16-20, 16-10, 20-10)
  3. Rajasthan (Mahaveer Banjara 24, Sheikh Shaifali 15, Digvijay Singh S 14, Shivam Kumawat 11) bt Punjab (Rohan 17, Deepak Kumar 13, Tanvir Singh 12) 82-60 (16-20, 18-13, 30-14, 18-13)
  4. Madhya Pradesh (Virat Kakkar 33, Sachindra Sharma 16) bt Telangana(Rohit 10, Shaik Khaja Vali 9) 63-42 (13-9, 11-14, 17-10, 22-19)

Pre-quarterfinals

  1. Telangana (Shaik Khaja 17, M Shankar 10) bt Maharashtra (Imran Khan 16, H Qureshi 15, Usman 12) 68-50 (18-13, 21-8, 17-19, 12-10)
  2. Punjab (Rohan 26, Gurdeep Singh 22, Deepak Kumar 15, Prince Kumar 10) bt Odisha (SK Fayazuddin 26, Brahmananda B 26) 83-74 (18-15, 17-16, 18-18, 30-25)

Level 1 to Level 2 (For Next Year)

*Both these teams have already been relegated to Level 2 for next year and this match is played in order to decide which of the lower level groups these team will go to next year.

  1. Karnataka (Achintya Krishna 21, Shivakumar R 21) bt Kerala (Pranav Prince 17, Sachin Cherian 8) 48-38 (3-17, 13-14, 19-19, 13-8)

Level 2 Loser Knockout Semifinals:

  1. Delhi (Saurabh 13, Alpansh Makker 11) bt Jammu & Kashmir (Rinku Singh 12, Rajat Bhardwaj 8) 51-33 (10-6, 16-8, 14-5, 11, 14)
  2. Tamil Nadu (R Harish 23, S Harish 15) bt Himachal Pradesh (Prabhjot Singh 11, Kunga Negi 10, Churchill Bhardwaj 9) 63-53 (9-15, 16-8, 18-17, 20-13)
by Abhishek Shukla

India remain unbeaten with stirring comeback win over Western Australia Thundersticks

Perth, 5 October 2016: An inspired second half performance saw India outgun Western Australia Thundersticks 3-1 in their final Pool B encounter today. The win keeps India unbeaten in the tournament and puts them at the top of Pool B.

A composed first quarter saw both sides cancel each other out in a midfield battle. India were the ones who were pushed to the back foot early on, conceding a PC, but Vikas Dahiya’s smart save ensured both teams went into the first break locked in a stalemate.

Early in the second quarter, the Thundersticks captain Chris Bausor converted his team’s second PC of the game giving them the lead. Western Australia kept up the pressure, with another PC but were again denied by Dahiya, ensuring India would go into halftime down by the single goal.

India stormed out of the blocks in the second half, and soon enough Sumit scored the goal to draw them level. It was the inspiration the Juniors needed. With the teams level, India were suddenly on the front foot, crowding the midfield and pushing Western Australia deep into defence.

With their first PC of the game, Varun Kumar found the net, giving India the lead in the 39th minute. A minute later, he had his second with another PC. From being a goal down, India had stormed to a two-goal lead within 10 minutes of the second half. It was a lead they held on to going into the final break.

India played out the final quarter smartly and cautiously, avoiding needless fouls and turnovers to take a well deserved victory.

India will now take on Victorian Vikings in the first semi final of the AHL on Oct 7 at 1530hrs IST.

by Abhishek Shukla

Vani,Neha,Amandeep and Gaurika in joint lead at 15th leg of golf tour

Gurgaon, 05th October 2016: Vani Kapoor, Neha Tripathi, Amandeep Drall and Gaurika Bishnoi carded identical scores of 2 over 74 to share the lead on the first day of the 15th Leg of the Hero Women’s Professional Golf Tour at the DLF Golf and Country Club here on Wednesday. Trailing them by a single stroke in fifth position is Chandigarh’s Saaniya Sharma at 3 over 75. The INR 6,00,000 event will culminate on 07th October 2016.

Hero Order of Merit leader Vani Kapoor had an indifferent start to her round, carding bogeys on the 1st, 5th and 8th holes, with a lone birdie on the 9th in her front nine. She played with much more control in the latter half, carding two birdies on the 15th and 16th holes, while dropping shots on the 10th and 13th. Kolkata’s Neha Tripathi played an even par front nine with a bogey and a birdie apiece on the 6th and 9th holes respectively. She dropped two more shots in her back nine on the 11th and 17th holes.

Panchkula’s Amandeep Drall started impressively, carding birdies on the 2nd and 5th holes, while dropping the lone shot on the 4th in her front nine. However, on the return journey she failed to stitch together a series of consistent shots, playing a birdie less back nine with a bogey on the 11th hole and a double on the 13th. Local girl Gaurika Bishnoi had a good start to her day, carding a birdie on the 2nd hole. Thereafter, she lost  momentum and dropped shots on the 7th, 9th and 15th holes, and also carded a double on the 8th. However, two late birdies on the 16th and 17th holes helped her to repair the damage and finish among the leaders after the first round.

Chandigarh’s Saaniya Sharma played a round of 3 over 75 on the day to take the fifth position. Her round included two birdies on the 8th and 12th holes along with bogeys on the 3rd, 13th, 14th, 17th and 18th holes. Jaipur’s Afshan Fatima is placed 6th with a score of 4 over 76 after the first round. She carded a birdie on the 15th while dropping shots on the 6th, 10th and 12th along with a double on the 9th.

Pune’s Shweta Galande and Delhi’s Ankita Tiwana were tied 7th with identical scores of 5 over 77, followed by Kolkata’s Siddhi Kapoor and the Bengaluru duo of Nikki Ponappa and Trisha Sunil in the 9th position with identical scores of 7 over 79.

by Abhishek Shukla

Emily Pedersen to defend her title at the Hero Women’s Indian Open ‘16

New Delhi, October 4, 2016: The Hero Women’s India Open 2016was announced today to tee off at the picturesque DLF Golf and Country Club, Gurgaon from 7th to 13th November 2016.

The US $400,000 event, now in its 10th year, will see the likes of Emily Kristine Pedersen (Defending Champion + LET Rookie of the year 2015), Gwladys Nocera (Winner – Hero Women’s Indian Open 2014 + 14 LET victories), Beth Allen (#2 – LET OOM 2016 + Winner – ISPS Handa Ladies European Masters 2015) and Isabelle Boineau (#4 – LET OOM 2016 + Winner – Ladies Scottish Open 2016).

The flagship event, co-sanctioned by the Ladies European Tour (LET) and the Women’s Golf Association of India (WGAI) will also see LPGA star and world number 33, Brittany Lincicome in action for the first time in India. The professional from U.S.A. has two Majors Championships to her credit and has been a regular at the Solheim Cup since 2007. She will be keen to make an impact at the event and will seek to make her maiden trip to India a memorable one.

Commenting on Hero’s association with the Hero Women’s Indian Open for the seventh consecutive year, Mr. Pawan Munjal, Chairman, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer, Hero MotoCorp Ltd, said “At Hero, we are committed to the cause of women’s golf in the country. The tournament offers an opportunity to talented young Indian golfers to test their skills against the best in the world. The Hero Women’s Indian Open has established itself as an important stop in the Ladies European Tour and the presence of top players speak of its growing stature in the world of Golf. We would also like to congratulate the Women’s

Golf Association of India for hosting the tournament for the past 10 years and look forward to another spectacular edition of the Hero Women’s Indian Open this year.”

The highly competitive and star-studded field will also include Indian Olympian Aditi Ashok, Vani Kapoor and Hero MotoCorp sponsored Sharmila Nicollet.  Aditi, playing as a rookie on the LET has had a dream year. She became the first Indian golfer to secure a top 10 finish on the tour, when she secured tied ninth position at the ISPS Handa Ladies European Masters and then bettered it with a sixth place finish at the Andalucia Costa Del Sol Open De Espana Femenino. She turned heads with her performance at the Rio Olympics where she was also the youngest golfer in the fray. She is currently placed third in the LET Rookie of the Year ranking and will be keen to move up the table with a strong performance at the tournament.

 

Another player who will be shouldering Indian hopes will be Vani Kapoor. She finished tied fifth at the Hong Kong Ladies Open and is currently leading the Hero Order of Merit with total earnings of INR 9, 49,150 and six victories. She will be playing on her home turf at the DLF Golf and Country Club and will lead the charge of a strong Indian contingent along with Hero MotoCorp sponsored Sharmila Nicollet and Amandeep Drall.

Speaking on the ocassion, Mrs. Kavita Singh, President of the WGAI, said, “This year marks the landmark 10th edition of the Hero Women’s Indian Open and it has been an incredible journey to witness the development of this marquee event. It has carved a niche for itself in the world of golf and the presence of some of the top players bear testimony to this. I would like to thank our title sponsors, Hero MotoCorp Ltd. for their continued support to women’s professional golf in the country. On behalf of the Women’s Golf Association of India, I would also like to thank the Ladies European Tour for their support to the event.”

Defending champion Emily Pedersen claimed her maiden LET title here last year. She is currently placed ninth in the LET Order of Merit with total earnings of € 94,256.59 in 11 appearances. She will be eager for an encore at the only Gary Player designed golf course in India. However, it won’t be easy for the Dane as she will have to face a strong challenge from some of the best golfers from around the globe.

Ivan Khodabaksh, CEO of the Ladies European Tour, said “The Ladies European Tour is thrilled to be returning to DLF Golf and Country Club for the 10th anniversary edition of the Hero Women’s Indian Open. Over the last decade, the tournament has inspired a new generation of Indian golfers to walk alongside the giants of the professional women’s game and to follow their dreams to succeed at the highest level. This year, we were all extremely proud to see an Indian woman golfer, Aditi Ashok, qualify for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games and, alongside our strong partners, Hero MotoCorp Ltd. and the WGAI, we are determined to continue creating a strong legacy for women’s golf in India for years to come.”

The coveted tournament will be played at the DLF Golf and Country Club, India’s only Gary Player course located in Gurgaon.  The challenging signature ‘Black Knight’ course tested the best in the business last year with its dramatic land forms, rock quarries, large lakes and extensive landscaping. It is now all set to play host to another memorable Hero Women’s Indian Open.

by Abhishek Shukla

Delhi girls and Telangana boys progress to pre-quarterfinals with perfect records

Hyderabad, 4th October 2016: Four days into the 43rd Arise Steel Sub-Junior National Basketball Championship 2016 and things are looking clearer with the knockout stages around the corner. There was joy for the home crowd today morning as the Telangana boys advanced to Level 1 of the tournament after beating Chandigarh 66-32. Centre Harsh Hooda top scored again for Telangana with 13 points. The Punjab girls and boys also moved up to the Level 1, both defeating their West Bengal counterparts by comfortable margins.

Mr Kanna Phaneendra, Chairman of Suneendra Sports Corporation and owner of one of the top three horse polo clubs in Asia was the special guest invitee this morning.

Later in the evening, Mr Chander Mukhi Sharma, Secretary-General, Basketball Federation of India was witness to the final Level 2 qualifying match between Telangana and Punjab boys.

The Delhi girls fought a close battle against Andhra Pradesh, who recovered from a poor first quarter showing and fought their way back into the contest. But Delhi held on and advanced to level 1 with a 41-38 win, on the back of Trishala’s consistent scoring (21 pts) throughout the game. In Group A of Level 1, Rajasthan girls pulled away late for a 26-23 win against BFI-Madhya Pradesh.

In the second half of the day, the Tamil Nadu girls won a thriller against Kerala that was decided in the final minutes. Despite Kerala’s size, Tamil Nadu stuck to their strategy of team rebounding and running the breaks. TN executed calmly down the stretch and pulled off a 61-57 victory. In other level 1 boys’ games, Chhattisgarh blew out Maharashtra 60 to 33, while Uttar Pradesh knocked out Kerala from the tournament with a 60-16 win.

RESULTS FROM Day 4 (4th October 2016) till end of day

Girls:

Final Qualifying match (Level 2 to Level 1)

Both these teams have qualified to the prequarterfinals already. This match is played so that the winning team gets to decide their prequarterfinal opponent.

  1. Delhi (Kritika Dhingra 28, Trishala 16) bt Punjab (Harsimran Kaur 8) 63-30 (24-7, 9-10, 11-9, 19-4)

Qualifying matches (Level 2 to Level 1):

  1. Delhi (Trishala 21, Kritika Dhingra 10) bt Andhra Pradesh (V. Venkata Lakshmi 12, N. Anjali 8) 41-38 (16-2, 10-14, 11-9, 4-13)
  2. Punjab (Manroop Kaur 13, Isha 10) bt West Bengal (Priyanka Ghosh 11, Shreya Nath 8, Ratri Dey 7) 47-38 (8-13, 6-6, 15-4, 18-15)

Level 1:

Group A:

  1. Rajasthan (Rashi Khotani 7) bt BFI-Madhya Pradesh (Asmat Kaur Taunque 13) 26-23 (7-7, 7-3, 6-11, 6-2)
  2. Chhattisgarh (Akansha Singh 17, Khusbhoo Gupta 12, D Kirti 11) bt BFI-Madhya Pradesh (Asmat Kaur Taunque 23, Nancy Mishra 9) 65-44 (19-16, 16-2, 12-17, 18-9)

Group B:

  1. Maharashtra (S. Pawar 12, Danica Pereira 12) bt Telangana (Y. Swathi 8) 41-16 (8-6, 10-0, 6-1, 17-9)
  2. Tamil Nadu (Sathya K 19, Sree Varshini J 11, Nikita A 8) bt Kerala (Ann Mary Zachariah 15, Sarangi Santosh 9) 61-57 (18-8, 11-14, 12-22, 20-13)

Loser Knockout Quarterfinals:

  1. Odisha (Akankshya Das 9, Swetha Pradhan 6) bt Goa (Casey Sancia Nunes 2, Brigitte Albuquerque 2, Asmita Simran PK 2) 17-6 (2-0, 7-2, 8-2, 0-2)
  2. Chandigarh (Anjali Negi 14, Kiranjeet Kaur 10) bt Jammu and Kashmir(Pranati Raj Tashu 4) 30-4 (8-0, 6-0, 6-2, 10-2)
  3. Gujarat (Twinkle Kandar 10, Vishva Panchal 10) bt Bihar (Shubhra Dutt 2) 39-2 (11-0, 8-0, 9-0, 11-2)
  4. Himachal Pradesh (Supreet Kaur 8, Gagneet Kaur 7) bt Jharkhand(Ashisom Kujur 9, Supriya Kumari 8) 43-29 (11-15, 13-9, 13-3, 6-2)

Boys:

Final Qualifying match (Level 2 to Level 1)

Both these teams have qualified to the prequarterfinals already. This match is played so that the winning team gets to decide their prequarterfinal opponent.

  1. Telangana (Shaikh Khaja Vali 20, Paul Ritvik Inamala 18, Shoaib Khan 13) bt Punjab (Rohan 16, Deepak Kumar 13) 84-54 (30-8, 22-12, 24-17, 8-17)

Qualifying matches (Level 2 to Level 1):

  1. Punjab (Gurdeep Singh 18, Prince Kumar 11, Rohan 10) bt West Bengal(Robiuddin Fakir 12, Kaushik Mondal 11) 53-41 (15-11, 14-16, 10-4, 14-10)
  2. Telangana (Harsh Hooda 13, Shaik Khaja Vali 12, Paul Ritvik 10) btChandigarh (Sahil 14, Ramjaan Khan 13) 66-32 (17-15, 21-2, 14-4, 14-11)

Level 1:

Group A:

  1. Uttar Pradesh (Vinay Pawar 14, Robin Banerjee 12, Yash Vardhan 11) btKerala (Pranav Prince 7) 60-16 (22-4, 16-1, 12-4, 16-7)
  2. Andhra Pradesh (Shaik Ahmed Alisha 13, S. Nayeem Basha 13) btOdisha (Brahmandanda Behera 17, SK Fayazuddin 12) 54-49 (14-6, 12-6, 17-15, 11-22)

Group B:

  1. Chhattisgarh (S. Sudhir 20, Md. Farhan Raza 12, Pranav Sharma 10) btMaharashtra (Imran Khan 9, Usman Khan 8) 60-33 (10-9, 12-8, 18-10, 20-6)
  2. Rajasthan (Mahaveer Banjara 19, Sheikh Saif Ali 17) bt Karnataka (Shiva Kumar R 14, Achintya Krishna 14) 63-38 (18-10, 14-14, 19-6, 12-8)

Loser Knockout Quarterfinals:

  1. Jammu & Kashmir (Rinku Singh 13, Aslam Khan 7) bt Uttarakhand (Ritik Kumar 11, Amanveer Singh 10) 33-32 (8-7, 0-7, 7-11, 18-7)
  2. Himachal Pradesh (Sukhwinder Singh 16, Prabhjot Singh 15) btPuducherry (Shaan Deepan M 7) 64-37 (13-5, 16-18, 12-5, 23-9)
  3. Delhi (Tushar 15, Ashwani 13, Alpansh Makker 10) bt Jharkhand (Ashish Verma 8, Abhishek Chhetry 8) 48-30 (15-11, 3-6, 19-10, 11-3)
  4. Tamil Nadu (R. Harish 25, S. Harish 24) bt Gujarat (Paramveer Singh Tak 16, Karan Mahadik 13) 70-34 (14-4, 13-4, 23-9, 20-13)
by Abhishek Shukla

Matias Defederico’s goal help Mumbai edge past Pune

PUNE: Mumbai City FC tasted a rare away win after putting it across FC Pune City 1-0 in their opening match of the Hero Indian Super League (HISL) at Balewadi Stadium, Pune, on Monday.

 
Matias Defederico’s goal in the 69th minute was the difference between the two sides in an engrossing Maharashtra Derby that saw Pune take control early in the game and Mumbai have the last laugh in the second session.
The teams showed plenty of promise at the start and provided glimpses of their attacking intents. It were the hosts, however, who enjoyed the lion’s share of the possession and had clearer chances in the first 45 minutes.
 
Pune City had the first look at the rival goal early in the game when a mistimed free-kick saw the ball fall nicely at the feet of Jonatan Lucca but the Italian midfielder’s left-footer lacked the zing to trouble Mumbai goalkeeper Roberto Neto.
Lucca turned provider for Pune in the 10th minute when his cross at the far post saw Izumi Arata rise high to head the ball but under pressure from Mumbai defender Aibor Khongjee, the former international could not beat Roberto under the Mumbai bar.

Mumbai City were playing second fiddle to the hosts in the first quarter and had to wait till the 23rd minute to test goalkeeper Edel Bete. It was defensive midfielder Pronay Halder who did that with a half-volley from just outside the box but Bete was well-positioned to collect the ball safely.
The best chance of the half fell for Gustavo Oberman in the 38th minute. A delightful through ball from the centre saw Oberman beat the off-side trap. It seemed like the goal drought would end for the hosts only for the Mumbai goalkeeper to leave his charge and make a stunning save.
 
All eyes prior to the start of this clash were focused on Diego Forlan. The Mumbai marquee and joint top scorer at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa had little to contribute in the first session, although he showed glimpses of the touches that has made him such a renowned striker.
 
One such touch in the 45th minute saw him find Leo Costa inside the goalmouth but Pune defender Gouramangi Singh made a timely tackle  to deflect the shot for an abortive corner-kick.
 
The deadlock was finally broken in the 69th minute and it was Forlan’s magical touch that made it happen. Aibor’s cross from the right saw Forlan flick the ball towards Defederico, and even before anyone could realize what happened, the Argentine controlled the ball and fired in a low shot which sailed into the net.
 
Pune had a chance to draw level in the 73rd minute when Lucca intercepted a pass and found Jesus Tato but the Spanish forward could not beat the goalkeeper at the first post. Another clear chance was wasted when Tato chose to go for glory rather than find an unmarked teammate just ahead of him.
by Abhishek Shukla

43rd Arise Steel Sub-Junior Nationals 2016 – Telangana boys emerge Group F toppers

Hyderabad, 3rd October 2016: The league stages of the 43rd Arise Steel Sub-Junior National Basketball Championship for boys and girls 2016 entered its third day today at Saroornagar Indoor Stadium.

During the day, former Member of Parliament from Secunderabad Constituency, Mr Anjan Kumar Yadav witnessed the match between Himachal Pradesh and Delhi girls.

After losing both their games thus far, Karnataka girls got the better of Haryana (47-33), who were handed their second loss today morning. The Uttar Pradesh girls put up solid team effort but could not close out their game against Kerala, who edged ahead for a 40-38 victory.

The Delhi girls team continued their good run with a comfortable 49-25 victory against Himachal Pradesh. Point guard Kritika Dhingra led from the front once again with 19 points. In the other level 2 girls’ games thus far today, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh held their opponents to single digits in victories against Jammu and Kashmir and Odisha respectively. Anjali led her Chandigarh team with 19 points in the 37-18 win against Uttarakhand.

Defending champions BFI-Madhya Pradesh boys routed Andhra Pradesh 61-32 with BFI-MP’s Brijesh Tiwari contributing 20 points. Odisha boys looked good in their game against Kerala, trouncing them 64 to 26, while Uttarakhand sprinted past Puducherry for a 51-20 win. The Maharashtra and Karnataka boys’ game, however, was a real contest with Maharashtra holding off the Karnataka team for a 67-59 victory.

Later in the day, the Kerala girls won their second game of day 3 defeating home team Telangana 52-32. Kerala centre Ann Mary Zachariah put up a stellar performance with 24 points. Punjab girls also picked up a win today against Jharkhand (34-20).

Telangana boys, on the other hand, gave the home crowd something to cheer for as they dictated the game against Tamil Nadu that ended with a whopping 76-37 victory. Centre Harsh Hooda led the way for Telangana with 20 points. The defending champions BFI-Madhya Pradesh boys seemed tireless in their second game of the day with a 77-51 win over Uttar Pradesh. BFI-MP’s Virat Dhakad scored a game-high 27 points.

The girls’ defending champions, Chhattisgarh, are yet to lose in the tournament. Today, they showcased a classic team effort against the fatigued Karnataka girls with a 52-40 win. Fellow Group A team BFI-Madhya Pradesh girls came from behind for a brave win against Haryana (29-23).

RESULTS FROM DAY 3 (3rd October 2016) up to 6.30 pm

Girls:

Level 1:

Group A:

  1. Karnataka (Harini MS 14, Janani N 11, Simran Agarwal 8) bt Haryana(Sameeksha 10, Ritika 8) 47-33 (18-8, 9-11, 14-7, 6-7)
  2. Chhattisgarh (D. Kirti 12, Urvashi Baghel 12, Jyoti Prajapati 10, Akansha Singh 10) bt Karnataka (Harini MS 15) 52-40 (13-7, 11-12, 16-4, 12-17)
  3. BFI-Madhya Pradesh* (Prachiti Suri 13, Asmat Kaur Tanque 8) btHaryana (Sameeksha 11) 29-23 (2-14, 4-2, 9-0, 14-7)

Group B:

  1. Kerala (Gouri VS 10, Ann Mary Zachariah 10) bt Uttar Pradesh (Kirti Nigam 4, Shreya Rani 4, Pratima Chauhan 4, Ananya Gupta 4, Chaitali Rajesh 4, Tanvi Suri 4) 40-38 (9-6, 12-14, 7-5, 12-13)
  2. Kerala (Ann Mary Zachariah 24, Gouri VS 12) bt Telangana (A Jayanthi, G Sandhya 11) 52-32 (21-7, 10-4, 13-10, 8-11)

Level 2:

Group C:

  1. Delhi (Kritika Dhingra 19, Trishala 11, Yakshita Jain 9) bt HimachalPradesh (Vanshika Nirala 10, Gagneet Kaur 7) 49-25 (9-6, 16-4, 11-7, 13-8)

Group D:

  1. West Bengal (Shreya Nath 12, Ankita Mohanta 6) bt Jammu andKashmir (Pranati Raj Tashu 1) 29-1 (12-0, 1-0, 8-0, 8-1)

Group E:

  1. Punjab (Manroop Kaur 10, Isha 8, Harsimran Kaur 8) bt Jharkhand(Supriya Kumari 5) 34-20 (6-4, 9-7, 8-2, 11-7)

Group F:

  1. Andhra Pradesh (V. Venkatalakshmi 17) bt Odisha (Akankshya Das 4)44-8 (22-2, 15-0, 5-4, 2-2)
  2. Chandigarh (Anjali 19, Payal 8) bt Uttarakhand (Samya Ansare 8, M. Mansoor Wari 6) 37-18 (10-5, 2-0, 6-4, 9-0)

Boys:

Level 1:

Group A:

  1. BFI-Madhya Pradesh* (Brijesh Tiwari 20, Virat Dhakad 11, Sachin Thapa 10) bt Andhra Pradesh (Shaik Ahmed Alisha 8, KVV Ramana 6) 61-32 (19-12, 12-11, 17-3, 3-6)
  2. Odisha (Brahmananda Behera 21, SK Fayazuddin 19, Rohit Bilung 14) btKerala (Pranav Prince 8) 64-26 (18-11, 11-9, 23-2, 12-4)
  3. BFI-Madhya Pradesh* (Virat Dhakad 27, Brijesh Tiwari 19) bt Uttar Pradesh (Robin Banerjee 16, Vinay Pawar 13) 77-51 (12-18, 14-15, 26-4, 25-14)

Group B:

  1. Maharashtra (Imran Khan 18, Usman Khan 18) bt Karnataka (A. Krishna 20, Shiva Kumar R. 16) 67-59 (18-13, 15-11, 16-17, 18-18)
  2. Haryana (Gourav 15, Depender 8) bt Chhattisgarh (Pranav Sharma 9) 48-25 (20-6, 8-6, 12-8, 8-5)

Level 2:

Group C:

  1. Chandigarh (Sahil 23, Ramjaan Khan 13, Sunny 11) bt HimachalPradesh (C. Bhardwaj 16, Prabhjot Singh 12, Sukhvinder Singh 11) 58-50 (11-11, 15-10, 10-15, 22-14)

Group D:

  1. West Bengal (Robiuddin Fakir 11, Kaushik Mondal 10) bt Gujarat(Paramveer Singh 20, Aryaman Singh 10) 50-48 (18-13, 12-12, 9-18, 11-15)

Group E:

  1. Uttarakhand (Vinayak Kumar 17, Ritik Kumar 10) bt Puducherry(Jagathesh S 7) 51-20 (16-3, 10-9, 10-6, 15-2)
  2. Punjab (Gurdeep Singh 12, Prabhsimran 10) bt Goa (Jonathan G 5) 55-10(15-3, 16-5, 10-0, 14-2)

Group F:

  1. Delhi (Ashwani 22, Alpansh Makker 16, Tushar 12) bt Bihar (Shivam Singh 19, Sohail Alam 13, Abhishek Kumar 12) 71-63 (16-11, 16-5, 14-27, 26-20)
  2. Telangana (Harsh Hooda 20, Shoaib Khan 10, D. Prashank 8) bt TamilNadu (R. Harish 14, S. Harish 12) 76-37 (16-5, 18-8, 20-12, 22-12)
by Abhishek Shukla

Vani eager to return to winning ways in Women’s Professional Golf Tour

Gurgaon, 03rd October 2016: After having lost by a whisker in the last leg at the Delhi Golf Club,Vani Kapoor will look to equalise the record of most wins in a season at the DLF Golf & Country Club in the 15th leg of the Hero Women’s Professional Golf Tour 2016.The INR 6,00,000 event featuring 15 professionals and lone amateur Diksha Dagar, will commence on 05th October 2016.
Delhi’s Vani Kapoor has been in incredible form, winning six titles in ten appearances. She will be keen to equalise the record of most wins in a season currently held by Smriti Mehra. She currently leads the Hero Order of Merit with total earnings of INR 9,49,150 and will look to consolidate her position.
Panchkula’s Amandeep Drall will be hoping to put forth a strong display and move up the Hero Order of Merit. She is currently placed second in the money list with total earnings of INR 9,41,534, winning three titles in eleven appearances. Rookie Siddhi Kapoor won her maiden professional title in the last event and will be a force to reckon with. She  showed great composure and held her nerve to claim the title at DGC and will be keen for an encore.
Kolkata’s Neha Tripathi is currently placed third in the Hero Order of Merit with total earnings of 9,25,383 and will be hoping to move up the ladder. She hasn’t been at her best in the last couple of events and will seek to make amends. Another strong contender for the title is Kapurthala’s Gursimar Badwal. She is currently placed fourth in the Hero Order of Merit with total earnings of 8,44,800. Having won her maiden professional title this season she would look to add another title to her tally.
Other players to look out for are Chandigarh’s Saaniya Sharma,the Delhi duo of Ankita Tiwana and Meher Atwal, and Pune’s Shweta Galande. Players will seek to get some match practice before the all important Hero Women’s Indian Open which will take place at the same venue next month.
DLF Golf and Country Club, the only Gary Player course in the country, is one of the most picturesque and challenging courses on the Tour and is all set to test some of the best women professionals in the country.
by Abhishek Shukla

Indian Juniors and Canberra Lakers play out 1-1 draw in AHL

Perth, 2 October 2016: India’s Junior team and Canberra Lakers played a tough 1-1 draw in their Pool B game of the AHL today.

In a fairly slow start, the two teams interchanged possession in midfield without giving each other any real chances for goal. India came closest with a PC in the 8thminute, which was saved. In the final minute of the first quarter, Ajit Pandey scored to give the Juniors the lead.

Canberra Lakers came out quick at the start of the second quarter, and soon enough had a PC, converted by Stuart Shepherd in the 17th minute to draw them level. The teams went into halftime level at 1-1.

In the third quarter India were the ones who played with greater urgency, controlling the midfield and shuttling the ball across the flanks much better. Almost at the end of the quarter, they had their opportunity with a second PC, saved by Brendan Hill in the Lakers goal.

Coming out into the final quarter on level terms, India were the ones looking for the win, Canberra happy to sit back, soak the pressure and work on the counter. The Juniors had a PC early in the quarter but were denied by Hill in goal, again.

With less than two minutes to play, India had another PC, but were denied this time by the first runner. It was to be the final bit of goalmouth action from either side as the game ended with them splitting the points.

India play Tassie Tigers in their next Pool B encounter onOct 3 at 1230hrs IST.

by Abhishek Shukla

Defending champions Chhattisgarh girls looking good in Sub-Junior National Basketball Championship

Hyderabad, 2nd October 2016: The second day of the 43rd Arise Steel Sub-Junior National Basketball Championship 2016 saw the players, coaches, referees and organisers working hard on Gandhi Jayanti at the Saroornagar Indoor Stadium.

The defending champions Chhattisgarh girls got off to a resounding start, with a close victory against Rajasthan late yesterday evening (32-31) and by defeating Haryana handily today morning 94-39. Chhattisgarh’s Jyoti Prajapati led all scorers with 32 points. The Rajasthan girls bounced back from the close loss yesterday to defeat Karnataka 35-31.

Maharashtra girls registered their first victory today morning, defeating Kerala 35-27, after the Tamil Nadu girls handed them a loss in their opening game late last evening.

The defending champions in the boys’ category, BFI-Madhya Pradesh, continued their winning ways with a comfortable victory against Odisha 57-18. Neighbours and traditional basketball hubs Punjab and Haryana also picked up wins against Puducherry and Maharashtra respectively. The Andhra Pradesh boys blew out Kerala with a 62-21 victory, while Goa suffered their second loss against Uttarakhand 28 to 13.

RESULTS FROM DAY 2 (2nd Oct 2016) upto 2 pm

Girls:

Level 1:

Group A:

  1. Rajasthan (Rashi Khotani 11, Manasvi Bhadana 9) bt Karnataka (Harini MS 10, Srishti Ranjan 8) 35-31 (4-10, 9-7, 13-8, 9-6)
  2. Chhattisgarh (Jyoti Prajapati 32, Akansha Singh 17, D. Kirti 16) btHaryana (Sameeksha 12) 94-39 (15-5, 27-9, 28-10, 24-15)

Group B:

  1. Maharashtra (Siya Deodhar 13, Chaitaali Bafna 10) bt Kerala (Ann Mary Zahariah 9, Gouri VS 6) 35-27 (8-10, 7-4, 10-2, 10-11)

Level 2:

Group D:

  1. Goa (Vaishnavi Chirve 6) bt Jammu and Kashmir (Pranati Raj Tashu 5)15-6 (0-0, 4-0, 1-5, 9-1)

Boys:

Level 1:

Group A:

  1. Andhra Pradesh (KVV Ramana 17, Shaik Ahmed Alisha 12, Sreetam Tripathy 10) bt Kerala (Pranav Prince 8) 62-21 (17-6, 14-11, 19-2, 12-2)
  2. Madhya Pradesh (Virat Dhakad 16) bt Odisha (Brahamananda Behera 10) 57-18 (18-7, 23-1, 10-5, 6-5)

Group B:

  1. Haryana (Gourav 19, Vikas 18, Sahil 10) bt Maharashtra (Usman Khan 12, Danish Shaikh 10) 76-41 (28-4, 16-7, 18-15, 14-15)

Level 2:

Group D:

  1. West Bengal (Robi Uddin Fakir 14, Amarendra Nayak 14) bt Jharkhand(Ashik Tamang 17, Goutam Kumar 14) 47-42 (10-8, 7-10, 12-14, 18-10)

Group E:

  1. Punjab (Gurdeep Singh 24, Rohan 14, Prince Kumar 9) bt Puducherry(Shaan Deepan M 5) 69-17 (26-5, 23-6, 10-2, 10-4)
  2. Uttarakhand (Jotish Kumar 8, Ritik Kumar 7) bt Goa (Jonathan Gomes 6)28-13 (11-3, 7-1, 4-1, 6-8)

Day 1 after opening ceremony

Girls:

Level 1:

Group A:

  1. Chhattisgarh (Urvashi Baghel 8, Akansha Singh 6) bt Rajasthan (Rashi Khotani 14, Chelsi 6) 32-31 (9-8, 7-9, 6-9, 10-5)

Group B:

  1. Tamil Nadu (Shree Varshini J 14, Nitika A 14, Harithra S 10) btMaharashtra (C Maitali Bafna 10, Siya Deodmar 8) 56-29 (14-9, 12-2, 16-10, 14-8)
by Abhishek Shukla

India kicks-off its biggest ever football extravaganza as Hero Indian Super League enters its 3rd season

The Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium at Guwahati on the evening of 1st October 2016 was the shining light in the country. And for a reason.

The opening ceremony of Hero Indian Super League 2016 raised a toast to the passionate footballing community of the North East.

The electrical charge of over 500 performers, the passionate cheers of local supporters from the North East region, the bedecked stadium, the galaxy of stars – John Abraham, Sachin Tendulkar, Abhishek Bachchan, M.S. Dhoni, Aalia Bhatt, Varun Dhawan, Jacqueline Fernande and Ranbir Kapoor in the presence of the Chef Minister of Assam Sarbananda Sonowal  all metamorphosed magically to orchestrate the Grand Opening Ceremony for the country’s most high profile footballing event – Hero Indian Super League 2016.

Kicking off the football festivities, ISL Founder and Chairperson Mrs Nita Ambani recognised the region’s contribution to India’s sporting landscape.

“North East has been the epicentre of sports in India and I have always cherished coming here. North East has produced great sports personalities like Mary Kom, Baichung Bhutia and no, our latest sensation Dipa Karmakar. The region has shown immense passion and love for football. It’s encouraging to see such a support for the sport here.”

“I am pleased to inform you that the ISL grassroots initiative has reached 1.3 million children over the last two years. It’s a significant progress and we are committed to continue investing in India’s grassroots football development”, added Mrs. Nita Ambani who has recently been appointed as a member of the International Olympic Committee.”

NorthEast United owner John Abraham arrived into the stadium in his signature style riding at the head of a motorcade. Over 500 artists joined Alia Bhatt, Jacqueline Fernandes and Varun Dhawan as they exhibited a spell-binding performance on some of their most popular tracks.

In order to give the audience a feel of the ethnic vibrancy of the North East, the famed Shillong Chamber Choir performed to a packed audience.

India’s only Olympic silver medallist PV Sindhu who brought glory to India at the Summer Olympics 2016 was the star attraction at the grand sports event.

Hero Indian Super League is being shown live on Star Sports 1, Star Sports HD1, Star Sports 2, Star Sports HD2, Star Gold, Star Gold HD, Star Jalsha Movies, Star Jalsha Movies HD, Asia Net Movies, Vijay Super