Author: Abhishek Shukla

Owner of Sports India Live.
by Abhishek Shukla

TTFI sings 16-year pact with HVR Sports Inc.

Indore, October 1: Closely on the heels of signing a long-term agreement with 11Even Sports, the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) has inked an all-compassing partnership pact with HVR Sports Inc., here today.

The agreement signed between TTFI president Prabhat Chandra Chaturvedi and Harshavardhan Reddy, chairman of HVR, takes immediate effect and is for a period of 16 years. Incidentally, the arrangement covers all major Games up to December 31, 2032.

Addressing the media persons soon after, the TTFI chief called it a momentous occasion in the annals of the federation and was proud to be a party to the two back-to-back agreements.

“Now that we have two big agreements—the latest one with a minimum guarantee of Rs. 2 crore per annum—our sport can really look up at par with some other disciplines. We can now have a larger pool of players to train and make moves towards achieving greater results. The agreement has come a shot in the arm for us to further the cause of table tennis in the country,” said Chaturvedi.

Reddy called it a “360 degree” agreement, meaning thereby that it covered all aspects of promotion and development of the sport. “Our agreement is meant to improve the lot of sportspersons, especially the table tennis players. Love and live off the sport is our motto. Towards that end, we’re starting from where it has to be started—at the grassroots. Sportspersons need not look for a job as his or her livelihood will be taken care of by the sport itself,” said Reddy.

In fact, Reddy said he was not merely looking at sponsoring events alone. “HVR’s idea is to create ideal conditions, including creating infrastructure, training players and coaches and lending support to technical officials. We want to slowly bring in players into the mainstream. We will start from block, panchyat, tehsil levels and finally districts so that more and more players are inducted. Our funding to states through TTFI is to take care of all these aspects,” he added.

There is an allocation of fund for nurturing young talent and train them abroad so that Cadet and Sub-Junior boys and girls become the beneficiary. “TTFI and we feel that these are the boys and girls who will go on to participate in 2028 or 2032 Olympics. So our concentration will be entirely on them, with all facilities provided to reach the height needed to win Olympic medals,” said Reddy.

Secretary-general Dhanraj Choudhary echoed his views saying that with Italian Massimo Costantini in place, TTFI will entrust him with the job identifying and training Junior and Youth Boys who can be targeted for 2024 Games, if not for the Tokyo Olympics, four years from now. “TTFI is also hiring two North Korean coaches along with two sparring partners who will be sent to states to take camps. We already have some requests from states and we are planning how well to use their services,” said Choudhary.

On the agreement with HVR, he said that it was the best thing to happen. “With funds coming from HVR, we can have special programmes for the players to help improve our standards,” he added.

by Abhishek Shukla

Encore for Chinmaya, Anusha, Preyesh and Suhana in Table Tennis Championships

Indore, October 1: It was a repeat performance for Chinmaya Kapil Somaiya of PSPB Academy and Anusha Kutumbale of Madhya Pradesh in the Sub-Junior Boys and Girls titles as for both Preyesh Suresh Raj of Tamil Nadu and Suhana Saini of Haryana who did an encore in the Cadet Boys and Girls sections in the 11Even Sports National Ranking (Central Zone) Table Tennis Championships which concluded at the Abhay Prashal here today.

All these winners had claimed trophies in the North Zone championships at Chandigarh this June and have thus maintained straight records in two back-to-back zonal events.

In a tough fight between Chinmaya and Payas, the PSPBA boy proved a notch better than the Delhi youngster in spite of the latter levelling score. But Payas made far too many mistakes in the fifth that really let him down. So much so, Chinmaya closed him out rather early in the next for 4-2 win and putting the issue beyond Payas.

For Anusha, however, it was a cakewalk as the local girl proved too hot for Delhi’s Vanshika Bhargava who lost 0-4. The two had met in the final at Chandigarh, too, where the MP girl had come out winners.

As for Suhana, she surged ahead with a 2-0 lead but Kavyashree Baskar pulled one back to put some kind of resistance. Even before the Tamil Nadu girl could think of staging any recovery, Suhana won the next on extended points and then the fifth without any inhibition, though closely, win the final 4-1.

Jash Modi had everything going for him in the decider as he has had a sizeable lead but let the Tamil Nadu boy Preyesh off the hook as the latter won all the three games with great determination despite trailing 1-3 until then. In the decider, especially, he gathered himself up from a worst situation to overcome Jash for 4-3 victory.

In the semifinals, if Payas won without a swat against PSPBA’s Jeho, Kapil Chinmaya had to really put up a fight to finish against Dev. It was courageous of the latter that despite being down 1-3 he regrouped himself and playing a calm but effective attacking game won the fifth three points adrift of his opponent. Jeho had claimed the North Zone title at Chandigarh.

Rattled as he was Kapil lost the next rather very badly when he was stopped at just three points as Dev ran off with a great lead. Yet, Kapil showed great anticipation in the decider and turned the tables against Dev for what looked an easy win in the end.

Local girl Anusha Kutumbale had a comfortable 2-0 lead before the Mumbai girl Diya launched an all-out attack winning the next two games closely but the MP girl wrested the intiative to go up once again. Having gained a rhythm in the previous game, Anusha shut out Diya without giving semblance of a chance.  Delhi’s Vanshika had no such problems against Goa’s Tanisi Kirtani. Even though Vanshika lost a game, she had a complete control of the semifinal.

Except for Jash Modi who struggled against Rudra Narayan Ghosh, all other semifinal matches in Cadet Boys and Girls were a one-sided affair. Rudra fought well to keep himself in the match but the Jash proved too good when it came to clinching crucial points.

Results:

Sub-Junior Boys: Final: Chinmaya Kapil Somaiya (PSPBA) bt Payas Jain (Del) 11-9, 3-11, 11-3, 6-11, 11-9, 11-2; Semifinals: Kapil Chinmaya bt Dev Shroff 4-3, Payas Jain bt Jeho. H 4-0; Quarterfinals: Jeho. H bt Siddhant Sur Roy 3-0, Payas Jain bt Jayabrata Bhattacharya 3-1, Kapil Chin maya Somaiya bt Yashansh Malik 3-1, Dev Shroff bt Shreyaans Goel 3-1.

Sub-Junior Girls: Final: Anusha Kutumbale (MP) bt Vanshika Bhargava (Del) 11-6, 13-11, 11-4, 11-4; Semifinals: Anusha Kutumbale bt Diya Chitale 4-2, Vanshika Bhargava bt Tanisi Kirtani 4-1; Quarterfinals: Anusha Kutumbale bt Swastika Ghosh 3-1, Diya Chitale bt Sharmitha Srinivasan 3-1, Tanisi Kirtani bt Tisha Kohli 3-0, Vanshika Bhargava bt Vaishnavi Vijayakumar 3-2.

Cadet Boys: Final: Preyesh Suresh Raj (TN) bt Jash Modi (Mah) 8-11, 11-13, 12-10,8-11, 11-8, 11-7, 11-7; Semifinals: Preyesh Suresh Raj bt Tarun Shanmugam 3-0, Jash Modi bt Rudra Narayan Ghosh 3-2; Quarterfinals: Preyesh Suresh bt harsh Patel 3-0, Tharun Shanmugam bt Nagesh Verenker 3-0, Jash Modi bt Sujan Bharadwaj 3-2, Rudra Narayan Ghosh 3-1.

Cadet Girls: Final: Suhana Saini (Har) bt Kavyashree Baskar (TN) 11-9, 11-8, 10-12, 12-10, 11-9; Semifinals: Suhana Saini bt Lakshita Narang 3-1, Kavyashree Baskar bt Ambika Gupta 3-1; Quarterfinals: Lakshita Narang bt Pritha Vartikar 3-1, Suhana Saini bt Prithoki Chakraborti 3-1, Kavyashree Baskar bt Sucheta prosad 3-0, Ambita Gupta bt Tina Cathrin Dass 3-0.

by Abhishek Shukla

43rd Arise Steel Sub-Junior Nationals 2016 tips off in Hyderabad

Hyderabad, 1st October 2016: On a cloudy and pleasant Saturday morning in Hyderabad, the 43rd Sub-Junior National Championship for Boys and Girls 2016 tipped off at SATS Indoor Stadium here in Saroornagar. There was no dearth of energy on both the wooden courts in the stadium as the U-14 teams took to the court representing their respective states.

Hosts Telangana got off to a mixed start, with the boys team winning their Level 2, Group F game 42-21 over Bihar. The girls meanwhile got outclassed 46-29 by Uttar Pradesh in their Level 1 Group B game.

Union Minister Bandaru Dattatreya is chief guest for the inauguration ceremony

Union Minister for Labour and Employment Shri Bandaru Dattatreya, who is also a three-time Parliamentarian from Secunderabad constituency, was the chief guest for the inaugural ceremony. Also present as guests were Mr Ajay Sud and Mr Shafiq Shaikh, Vice Presidents of Basketball Federation of India.

Mr Rajender Reddy, President of Telangana Basketball Association thanked Basketball Federation of India and its president Shri K Govindaraj for their support, while Mr R Sridhar Reddy, President of Hyderabad District Basketball Association presented the welcome address. Mr Norman Isaac, BFI executive committee member and General Secretary of the Telangana Basketball Association, introduced all the guests.

“The raw material for sports is below the age of twelve, so unless it is made compulsory in school curriculum and we give marks for sports participation, we will not get the raw material,” said Mr Rajender Reddy. “Tug of war used to be an Olympic sport long back but because of lack of interest it was removed from the Olympics, but still it continues to be in the ‘A’ Group in our sports list. Whereas, basketball, even though it is such a popular sport, has been degraded to ‘B’ Group. As a result of this, in our own state of Telangana, we had so many basketball players getting employed with Railways, but now that has stopped. We have brought this to the attention of the Sports Minister and the sports authorities and I hope that with the confidence that the public have in you, you can bring this to the attention of the Parliament and get this rectified.”

Mr Dattatreya noted all the points raised by Mr Reddy, and added, “I will definitely talk to Sports Minister Mr Vijay Goel and see that every student should play some sport. India has a vast number of basketball players, but due to a lot of political interference, the right encouragement is not forthcoming. I definitely feel that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi we will see that political interference should go from sports. All Federations should be run by sportspersons.”

Delhi Girls & Rajasthan Boys impress on Day 1

The day began with the Himachal Pradesh boys defeating neighbours Jammu and Kashmir 47-35, led by Churchill Bhardwaj’s 15 points. Jharkhand boys got the better of Gujarat in a close encounter that ended 48-41. Tamil Nadu boys were also involved in a tight match against the Delhi, managing to pull away in the fourth quarter for a 60-52 victory. Tamil Nadu’s R. Harish was the day’s top scorer thus far with 23 points. In the other level 2 boys’ games, Punjab and Puducherry registered blowout wins against Uttarakhand and Goa respectively.

The level 1 boys games today morning were one-sided affairs as Madhya Pradesh dominated against Kerala with a 40-9 win, while Rajasthan put up a massive 74 points in their win against Maharashtra. Andhra Pradesh came from behind to clinch a 58-56 victory against Uttar Pradesh on the basis of a balanced scoring effort. S. Nayeem put up 16 points for AP.

In the girls’ matches, Odisha and Uttarakhand were involved in a low-scoring but tense encounter that ended with Odisha edging past Uttarakhand 19-18. The other girls’ games in the first half today were lopsided as West Bengal beat Goa by 44 points, Andhra Pradesh cruised past Chandigarh 41-16 and Punjab crushed Bihar 52-4.

The Delhi girls began their sub-junior campaign with a 49-25 victory against Gujarat led by point guard Karitika’s sublime 21 points. Centre Asmat Kaur (14 pts) led the Madhya Pradesh girls to a 28-27 triumph over Karnataka in their opening game.

RESULTS FROM DAY 1 (1st October 2016)

Girls:

Level 1:

Group A:

  1. Madhya Pradesh (Asmat Kaur Taunq 14) bt Karnataka (Harini 7, Janani 5) 28-27 (7-4, 6-6, 5-8, 10-9)

Level 2:

Group C:

  1. Delhi (Karitika 21, Trishala 11, Praki 11) bt Gujarat (Naomi Lakhanpal 8, Praasha Dabhi 8) 49-25 (14-7, 7-6, 16-6, 12-6)

Group D:

  1. West Bengal (Shreya Nath 9, Priyanka Ghosh 8) bt Goa (Sejal Chaubey 2, Riya Palkar 2) 48-4 (16-0, 9-4, 15-0, 6-0)

Group E:

  1. Punjab (Harsimran 12, Nitika 10, Manroop 9) bt Bihar (Pragya 2, F. Kumari 2) 52-4 (16-4, 17-0, 10-0, 9-0)

Group F:

  1. Andhra Pradesh (V. Venkatalakshmi 17, A. Jasmine 10, N. Anjali 8) btChandigarh (Anjali 7) 41-16 (11-5, 16-2, 5-1, 9-8)
  2. Odisha (Sarita Das 6) bt Uttarakhand (Sarveen Kaur 4, Chalsi Choudhary 4, Jacpreet Kaur 4) 19-18 (5-8, 6-2, 6-2, 2-6)

Boys:

Level 1:

Group A:

  1. Madhya Pradesh (Sachindra 6, Mayank 6, Virat 6) bt Kerala (Sreehari 3)40-9 (16-4, 9-1, 12-2, 3-2)
  2. Andhra Pradesh (S. Nayeem 16, D. Likith 12, SK Ahisha 12) bt Uttar Pradesh (Robin B. 16, Suraj 16) 58-56 (9-12, 16-15, 18-17, 15-12)

Group B:

  1. Rajasthan (Sheikh Saif Ali 22, Mahaveer 16, Kamal Singh 12) btMaharashtra (Imran Khan 6, Mohd. Faiz Sheikh 6) 74-25 (29-4, 18-0, 9-8, 18-13)
  2. Chhattisgarh (Pranav Sharma 12, R. Deepak 12) bt Karnataka(Achinthya 17) 45-26 (17-10, 5-1, 17-6, 6-9)

Level 2:

Group C:

  1. Himachal Pradesh (Churchill Bhardwaj 15, Prabhjot Singh 11) bt Jammu and Kashmir (Rishabh Wazler 11, Rinku Singh 8) 47-35 (12-4, 6-13, 13-4, 16-14)
  2. Jharkhand (Goutam Kumar 21) bt Gujarat (Rohan Khureshi 12, Paramveer Singh 10) 48-41 (17-8, 13-9, 11-14, 7-10)

Group E:

  1. Punjab (Rohan 12, Khushdeep Singh 12, Gurdeep Singh 11) btUttarakhand (Rijik Kumar 9, Aman Veer 8) 58-28 (19-9, 18-6, 15-4, 6-4)
  2. Puducherry (Shan Deepan 17, Nandhan Auro 15) bt Goa (Daniel D’silva 2) 54-2 (18-2, 6-0, 19-0, 11-0)

Group F:

  1. Tamil Nadu (R. Harish 23, S. Harish 16, P. Hari H. Sudan 10) bt Delhi(Ashwanj 19, Tushar 13) 60-52 (13-18, 17-14, 18-11, 12-9)
  2. Telangana (Harsh 15) bt Bihar (Sohail 6, Sagar 5) 42-21 (14-04, 8-6, 12-9, 8-2)
by Abhishek Shukla

Match Preview : Atletico de Kolkata vs Chennaiyin FC

KOLKATA, 1st OCTOBER : Atletico de Kolkata coach Jose Molina has downplayed suggestions that his side will be out to seek revenge against defending champions Chennaiyin FC in their opening match of the Hero Indian Super League (HISL) at Rabindra Sarobar stadium on Sunday.

Atletico de Kolkata surrendered their title to Chennaiyin FC in the semi-finals last season but a year later as the two teams square up again, the new Kolkata coach does not want to look at what happened last season.

“I think in football it’s not about revenge. They won last season and we can do nothing about that. If we win tomorrow against Chennaiyin FC, we will not play last season’s final. It’s already over. This is not a revenge match; it’s a new season,” the Spanish coach said in his pre-match interaction with the media.

Molina is new to the Indian Super League and takes over from another Spanish coach, Antonio Lopez Habas, who was successful in his first two seasons. The coach, however, is looking forward to his introduction to the ISL, although he has been left in no doubt that it will be a tough encounter.

“Of course, this is my first match in the ISL and I am happy about that. We had a good pre-season in Spain and now 10 days in Kolkata. I think we are ready. I have confidence in my players and the team. To start against the champions is also difficult. They are a strong team and it will be a tough match but like I told you before, I have absolute confidence in my team,” said Molina.

Atletico de Kolkata have retained a majority of their players from last season. There are however plenty of changes to the domestic players and all of them have impressed the coach so far.

“Absolutely happy with the Indian players. They are trying to improve and learn. Sometimes it’s a problem with the language but I told them to ask me if they have any doubt. Some of the Indian players couldn’t join us in Spain for pre-season but during the 10 days of training here, they have worked really well,” he said.

Defending champions Chennaiyin FC will start their campaign to defend the title without their talismanic striker Stiven Mendoza, who won the Golden Boot and Golden Ball last season. Brazilian striker Bruno Pelissari, who was with them for the first two seasons, is also not around but coach Marco Materazzi has snared foreign strikers, including Nigerian striker Dudu Omagbemi, and believes they can get the job done.

Much will also depend on star striker Jeje Lalpekhlua, who has taken Indian football by storm in the last 18 months, scoring heavily at both the domestic and international level.

by Abhishek Shukla

Payas, Diya move into pre-quarters in National Ranking (Central Zone) Table Tennis Championships

Indore, September 30: National champion in Cadet Boys, Vishwa Deenadayalan from Tamil Nadu, graduated to the next level this year and could feel the pressure straight as he exited in Sub-Junior Boys’ second round of the 11Even Sports National Ranking (Central Zone) Table Tennis Championships at the Abhay Prashal here today.

Normally a fluent player with excellent attacking strokes, the Chennai boy was ill at east when he took on Sahil Joshi of Maharashtra who, after some initial struggle, won 3-2 and move into the pre-quarterfinals. In contrast, Delhi’s Payas Jain, who finished the runner-up at the Kolkata Nationals, absorbed the higher category demands to move into the pre-quarterfinals beating Abhirup Paul Roy of North Bengal 3-1.

This exemplified the need for right exposure that one needs to get at this age and stage as did Payas, thanks to his participation in ITTF global circuit events earlier his season. Vishwa has to partly own the blame for, after having taken a 2-0 lead, he let his Maharashtra opponent off the hook. No doubt, he lost the third game very badly (5-11) but he had his chances in the next which he lost by minimal points and also the decider after being 5-5 at one time. Sahil won 6-11, 9-11, 11-5, 11-9, 11-8.

Payas, despite losing the third game, had hit the groove nicely to win 11-7, 12-10, 7-11, 11-3. In another interesting second round outing, Siddhant Sur Roy of North Bengal beat Delhi boy Krishna Jain 9-11, 8-11, 14-12, 14-12, 11-7. The North Bengal had the pass the muster in games third and fourth which saw a couple of deuces and dropping two match-points.

Anargya Manjunath, a promising paddler from Karnataka, is yet to live up to her reputation this season as she went down in the second round to Maharashtra’s Diya Chitale 2-3. Diya, a bronze medal winner at the ITTF’s World Hopes Week last year at Shanghai, had a distinct advange and with her clean stroke-making ability, outwitted Anargaya.

With players divided into 32 groups in respective events of the sub-junior boys and girls sections, as many players in each category qualified for Stage 2, the knockout phase. However, 24 byes in each section meant some players went through a further sifting with only the best among qualifiers moving into the second round of the main draw where they were joined by the eight top-ranked players who got direct Stage 2 entry.

With the Central Zone championships approaching the business end tomorrow, it was a little harsh on the players, some of whom had to play as many as five rounds on a single day. With number of Cadet and Sub-Junior paddlers growing, the competition department is equally puzzled without knowing how to make things easy for the young players.

These two being TTFI’s promotional events of national ranking championships, the tendency among players is to enter in both categories. The Cadet Boys and Girls are allowed to play in Sub-Junior events. This, in turn, helps the players get better exposure good competition when they play in a higher category.

Results:

Sub-Junior Boys: Round 1: Ahir Roy (WB) bt Varun Shankar (Telg) 3-2, Krishna Jain (Del) bt Rajveer Shah (Mah) 3-0, Sahil Joshi (Mah) bt Ritesh Thomas (Telg) 3-0, Darshil Jariwala (Guj) bt Jash Jobalia (Mah) 3-0, Preyesh Suresh Raj (TN) bt Soumyadeep Sarkar (NB) 3-1, Sourajit Halder (WB) bt Shriyash Bhosale (Mah) 3-2, Riswav Dey (WB) bt Aadarsh Om Cherti (Del) 3-0, Shounak Shinde (Mah) bt Abhilash Raval (Guj) 3-1.

Round 2: Yashansh Malik (Del) bt Preyesh Suresh Raj (TN) 3-1, Deepit Patel (Mah) bt Keshavan Kannan (Telg) 3-0, Harshil Kothari (Guj) bt Lalroluahpuia (Har) 3-1, Chinmaya Kapil (PSPBA) bt Sourajit Halder (WB) 3-0, Dev Shroff (Mah) bt Rishway Dey (WB) 3-1, Mainak Das (NB) bt Arka Kumar Gogoi (Asm) 3-0, Shreyans Goel (Del) bt Harish Kusel (TN) 3-1, Alberto Lrruata (PSPBA) bt Shounak Shinde (Mah) 3-0, Jeho H. bt Ahir Roy (WB) 3-0, Shivam Das (Mah) bt Rathim Kumar (KNT) 3-0, Ayaz Murad (Guj) bt Tamal Ballav (WB) 3-2, Siddhant Sur Roy (NB) bt Krishna Jain (Del) 3-2, Sahil Joshi (Mah) bt Vishwa Deenadayalan (TN) 3-2, Payas Jain (Del) bt Abhirup Paul Roy (NB) 3-1, Satyamgiri Gupta (PSPBA) bt Hrishikesh Malhotra (Mah) 3-1, Jayabrata Bhattacharjee (NB) bt Darshil Jariwal (Guj) 3-1.

Sub-Junior Girls: Round 1: Suhana Narjinary (UP) 3-0, Shreya Shiva Kumar (TN) bt Jheel Toshniwal (Raj) 3-0, Mouli Modak (WB) bt Anjali Naineni (Telg) 3-0, Anargya Manjunath (KNT) bt Radhapriya Goel (UP) 3-1, Vidhi Ameet Shah (Mah) bt Nithyashree Mani (TN) 3-2, Koushiki Dasgupta (WB) bt Malpani Sanskruti (Guj) 3-0, Vaishnavi Vijaya Kumar (TN) bt Srivalli Ramya Tadepalli (Telg) 3-2, Maria Ancy John (TN) bt Kheya Shah (Mah) 3-2.

Round 2 (Incomplete): Anusha Kutumbale (MP) bt Suhana Narjinany (UP) 3-1, Sataporni De (NB) bt Fatema Filzah Kadri (Guj) 3-1, Anubha Bajan (Del) bt Ananya Santra (WB) 3-1, Swatistika Ghosh (Mah) bt Shreya Shiva Kumar (TN) 3-0, Sharmistha Srinivasan (TN) bt Mouli Modak (WB) 3-1, Poymantee Baisya (WB) bt Lakshita Narang (Del) 3-0, Diya Chitale (Mah) bt Anargya Manjunath (KNT) 3-2.

by Abhishek Shukla

India beats Bangladesh to win the U18 Men’s Asia Cup

Dhaka, Bangladesh, 30 September 2016: Abhishek‘s last minute strike gave India a 5-4 victory in their final game against the hosts Bangladesh at the U18 Men’s Asia Cup.

In what was almost a replay of the opener, the two teams treat the fans to a thrilling nine-goal encounter, India triumphing in the end to be crowned Champions.

India were the ones with the quicker start, and rotating the ball patiently between themselves as they searched for an opening. Bangladesh had been devastating on the counter against India in their previous encounter, and perhaps keeping that in mind, India didn’t commit forward in numbers, instead building up play carefully, before penetrating the circle.

The approach paid off as they won their first PC in the 6th minute. After an initial error, India recovered and improvised to take a shot on goal, but the attempt ran wide.

The game dropped into a predictable rhythm, India holding the possession while Bangladesh waited for the counter. From a counter, Bangladesh won a PC, and after the initial save by Pankaj Kumar Rajak, M Roman Sarkar scored to give the hosts the lead.

Almost from the restart though India equalised. Shivam Anand picked up a pass on the edge of the circle and cut back in, running past two Bangladesh defenders to execute a perfect reverse flick into the net. India were level.14445140_1836863156559913_5443959324655422634_o

India had another PC in the final minute of play, but another error denied them a goal. From a counter Bangladesh ran through the midfield, before a cross from the left found Mohammad Mohsin who deflected the ball to give Bangladesh the lead. It was virtually the last play of the half, the hosts walking into the break with a 2-1 lead.

India hit back after half time to level the scores, via Hardik Singh’s PC before Dilpreet Singh scored to give them the lead. In a topsy turvy game, almost a copy of their opening game encounter Bangladesh equalised with Mohammed Ashraful Islam in the 60th minute.

With the scores tied and the threat of a shootout looming, Ibungo Singh Konjengbam fired India back in front. The hosts weren’t to be denied though, Mahabub Hossain levelling the score after a quick counter in the 64th minute.

India would break their hearts though, and in the process exact revenge with almost the final play of the tournament. A quick counter would see Abhishek in the box and his deflection with seconds to the hooter, took India to the title. Hardik Singh was named the Man of the Match. Pankaj Kumar Rajak was named the Best Goalkeeper of the Tournament.

by Abhishek Shukla

Harmeet, Manika reclaim singles crown at National Ranking (Central Zone) Table Tennis Championships

Indore, September 29: It was resurrection time for Harmeet Desai as the PSPB paddler defeated team mate Subhajit Saha 4-0 to lift the men’s singles trophy in the 11Even Sports National Ranking (Central Zone) Table Tennis Championships at the Abhay Prashal here today. National champion Manika Batra dethroned Madhurika Patkar to win the women’s singles 4-3.

The title-winning effort for the man from Gujarat has come after almost a year when he claimed the East Zone crown at Guwahati last season. Harmeet made most of the absence of country’s top four of paddlers and exploited it to the hilt in the final when veteran Saha was found wanting. Saha, who played brilliantly to beat Jubin Kumar 4-2 in the semifinal and who disposed of top-seed Sanil Shetty last evening, was out of sorts making the final a mere formality for the Gujarat lad, who had accounted for Delhi’s Utkarsh Gupta 4-2 in the semifinal.

The Manika-Madhuri final was a real thriller with Madhurika having an upper hand at the end of the third game as she led 2-1. But Manika bounced back by the next to level score. But this win did not restore Manika’s confidence any bit as she lost the fifth game rather badly before winning a game of fluctuating fortunes to level after a deuce. With the issue coming to the final game, it was anybody’s match.

But Manika ran away with a good lead in and sustained it throughout, not allowing Madhurika any leeway. In fact, Manika stroked well with her backhand and some brilliant execution of forehands completely kept Madhurika out of reach.

This was Manika’s first title this season as she had failed to impress both at Chandigarh and at Jaipur in the Institutional Championships, the two events she participated before leaving for Rio Olympics. Madhurika, on the other hand, had lifted the winner’s trophy in the North Zone championships.

Earlier, Manika defeated Divya Deshpande 4-1 while Madhurika downed Reeth Rishya 4-2 in the semifinals. Madhurika struggled against Reeth before overcoming Reeth who was nothing but patchy. But Manika had controlled her match well against Divya Deshpande who just managed to take a game off her PSPB rival.

Manav double

Manav Thakkar yet again managed a double when he blanked out West Bengal’s Ronit Bhanja in the Youth Boys final, while in Youth Girls Archana Kamath of AAI humbled Rajasthan’s Priyanka Pareek, who was the Junior Girls champion at Chandigarh. Both scored 4-0 wins, making the finals completely a one-sided affair.

For both Manav and Archana, it was a back-to-back title as they had claimed the crowns in the last national ranking event, North Zone, at Chandigarh in June.

For Manav and Archana, the semifinals were a routine affair but Archana had to produce a brilliant comeback win over Tamil Nadu’s Harshavardini in the quarterfinals, after being down and out at 0-3. The blame must go to the TN girl who, squandered all advantages in all the four games, including four match-points in the decider, to let Archana off the hook.

RESULTS:

Men’s Singles: Final: Harmeet Deasai (PSPB) bt Subhajit Saha (PSPB) 11-9, 11-8, 11-5, 11-9; Semi-finals: Subhajit Saha bt Jubin Kumar (PSPB) 5-11, 13-11, 11-7, 11-5, 9-11, 11-8,  Harmeet Desai bt Utkarsh Gupta (Del) 11-3, 8-11, 12-14,11-6, 11-3, 13-11.

Women’s Singles: Final: Manika Batra (PSPB) bt Madhurika Patkar (PSPB) 11-6, 8-11, 5-11,11-9, 7-11, 12-10, 11-8; Semifinals: Manika Batra bt Divya Deshpande (PSPB) 11-8, 11-8, 11-9, 9-11, 11-9, Madhurika Patkar  bt Reeth Rishya (PSPB) 9-11-11-6, 9-11, 11-9, 11-3, 11-8.

Youth Boys Singles: Final: Manav Thakkar (PSPB) bt Ronit Bhanja (AAI) 11-9, 11-8, 11-4, 11-5; Semifinals: Manav Thakkar bt Arjun Ghosh (WB) 11-6, 3-11, 5-11, 11-7, 11-9, 11-9, Ronit Bhanja bt Jeet Chandra (WB) 11-5, 5-11, 12-14, 13-11, 11-8, 11-4.

Youth Girls Singles: Final: Archana Kamath Girish (AAI) bt Priyanka Pareek (Raj) 11-7, 13-11, 11-3, 11-7; Semifinals: Archana Kamath bt Sagarika Mukherjee (RSPB) 11-9, 13-11, 12-10, 9-11, 11-9, Priyanka Pareek bt Sreeja Akula (AAI) 7-11,4-11, 11-8, 11-4, 11-7, 11-7.

by Abhishek Shukla

Armaan scores a double as India beat Malaysian Blues in AHL opener

Perth, Australia, 29 September 2016: India’s Junior Men team took on the Malaysian Blues in the Australian Hockey League today, beating them 4-2 in a high quality encounter.

It was the Malaysian Blues who were quicker off the blocks from the hooter, pressuring India into defensive positions. They won their first PC of the game in the fourth minute and were quick to score off it, Faizal Saari with the conversion to give them the lead.

India gathered momentum quickly enough after that though and had a shot on goal saved. A subsequent PC was also saved by Mohd Hafizuddin Othman in goal for the Malaysian team. Off the counter, Malaysian hit back with a quick counter, winning a PC. India defended the attempt strongly though to deny them another breakthrough. Despite several more turnovers, and another PC for India, it was Malaysia who went into the first break with a one-goal advantage.

India started off stronger in the second quarter, and were suddenly the ones dictating the tempo of the play. After a long spell of possession, a PC opportunity presented itself. Varun Kumar’s drag flick was saved on the line, but from the rebound Armaan Qureshi was the quickest to react, driving it into goal to draw India level.

The equaliser shifted the momentum completely, a greater urgency creeping into India’s game. Suddenly they were pressing high, and passing and moving faster, the Malaysian Blues rattled by the shift. The relentless pressure paid off within minutes as India created another PC. This time there was no denying Varun, whose high flick into the top corner beat the man at the post to give India the lead. The scores stayed the same for the rest of the quarter, India taking a 2-1 lead into halftime.

The break was supposed to be a breather for the Malaysian Blues to recuperate and recover. India banished any such notions immediately though, Gurjant Singh’s deflection extending the lead. India kept up the pressure through the quarter, with over committing themselves. With the Malaysians now the ones looking for a goal, India looked to attack on the counter and finish the game of. In the 42nd minute, they got the chance, Armaan the initiator and the finisher capped off a brilliant sweeping move, for his second and India’s fourth of the game. India went into the final break leading 4-1.

Malaysia scored through another PC conversion by Saari in the fourth quarter and were on the front foot for the final minutes of play. But the comeback was not to be as India held on strong to take the victory and their first points in the competition.

India play South Australia in their next Pool B encounter on30 September 2016 at 15.30hrs IST.

by Abhishek Shukla

Impressive India enter Final with a comfortable 3-1 victory over Pakistan

Dhaka, Bangladesh, 29 September 2016: India’s U18 Asia Cup Boys’ team beat Pakistan 3-1 in a high intensity Semi Final encounter today.

India were the first ones to dent the scoreboard Shivam Anand scoring in the 7th minute to give them the lead. Both teams had scored a high number of goals in the group stage so an attacking encounter was expected. The teams did not disappoint. Through the half they attacked each other furiously. It was India who were more clinical in front of the goal, and three minutes from the end of the half they doubled their lead with a PC goal by Dilpreet Singh.

The second half had a similar start to the first, India on the ascendancy, controlling possession and applying the pressure. Soon enough they won a PC, and from the flick, a foul gave them a stroke. Waqar in Pakistan’s goal saved the stroke to keep his side in the game. Within minutes though, the third goal arrived, Nilam Sanjeep Xess scoring another PC to give India a comfortable 3-0 lead.

Pakistan soon started capitulating under the pressure, and two of their players were penalised for technical fouls in the latter stages of the game. They managed to grab a goal back in the 63rd minute, but it proved to be too little too late as India held on to take a 3-1 victory.

Kunwardilraj Singh was adjudged the Man of the Match.

India will be in action in the Final of the U18 Men Asia Cup against Bangladesh tomorrow, 30 September 2016 at 14.30hrs IST.

by Abhishek Shukla

Siddhi Kapoor triumphs in 14th Leg of the Hero Women’s Professional Golf Tour

New Delhi, 29th September 2016: Rookie Siddhi Kapoor carded 1 over 73 in the final round to win the 14th Leg of the Hero Women’s Professional Golf Tour at the Delhi Golf Club here on Thursday. In a nail biting finish, Siddhi overcame a strong challenge from Amandeep Drall and Vani Kapoor, who finished second and third respectively, to claim her maiden professional title. The INR 7,00,000 event culminated today.

Kolkata’s Siddhi Kapoor had an indifferent start, carding three quick bogeys on the 1st, 3rd and 4th holes. She dropped three more shots on the 9th, 11thand 16th holes, but birdies on the 6th, 8th and 13th kept her in the hunt. She still needed something special on the final two holes and the 19 year old came good under pressure, carding birdies on the 17th and 18th holes to grab her first professional win. Her best performance before this event was an eighth place finish in the 10th Leg at KGA.

Overnight leader Amandeep Drall could not replicate her second round performance, carding 3 over 75 on the day to take the second position. She carded two birdies on the 1st and 6th holes with an equal number of bogeys on the 3rd and 7th in her front nine. The professional from Panchkula played a birdie less back nine, carding a double bogey on the 15th hole, followed by another dropped shot on the 16th, which ultimately proved to be costly. She finished with a total score of 221.

Delhi’s Vani Kapoor finished third with a total score of 222 after 54 holes. She started impressively, playing a bogey free front nine with a birdie on the 2ndhole. She carded two more birdies in the latter half on the 14th and 17th holes while dropping shots on the 10th, 13th and 16th to finish the round with a score of  even par 72. Delhi’s Gaurika Bishnoi impressed in her first professional event, taking the fourth position with a total score of 224. Her round of 1 over 73 on the day included four birdies on the 1st, 3rd, 6th and 8thholes along with bogeys on the 2nd, 4th, 13th, 15th and 16th.

Pune’s Shweta Galande and Delhi’s Mehar Atwal finished tied fifth with identical totals of 225. Shweta played a controlled round of even par 72 with a birdie and a bogey apiece on the 6th and 10th holes respectively. Mehar’s card of 4 over 76 included two birdies on the 9th and 12th holes along with six bogeys on the 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 6th, 15th and 17th.

Kolkata’s Neha Tripathi finished seventh with a total score of 227, followed by Kapurthala’s Gursimar Badwal and amateur Shreya Ghei in tied eighth position at 231.

The Tour now moves to the DLF Golf and Country Club, Gurgaon for the 15thLeg to be played on 3rd, 5th – 7th October.

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by Abhishek Shukla

43rd Arise Steel Sub-Junior National Basketball Championship to tip off in Hyderabad from 1st October

Hyderabad, 30th February 2016: The 43rd Arise Steel Sub-Junior National Basketball Championship for Boys and Girls 2016 is all set to tip off at the Sports Authority of Telangana (SATS) Indoor Stadium in Saroornagar in the city between 1st to 7th October. The championship is being organised by the Hyderabad District Basketball Association under the auspices of Telangana State Basketball Association (TBA) and the Basketball Federation of India (BFI).

The Sub-junior or ‘mini’ nationals is annually held for boys and girls of the age 13 or younger and is the premier national level tournament at this entry level age group. As many as 22 matches per day will be played on a league cum knockout basis inside the two indoor courts within the stadium complex.

While the Championship will tip off on the morning of 1st October itself, the opening ceremony will be held later in the afternoon from 4 pm onwards. Shri Bandaru Dattatraya, Honourable Union Minister for Labour and Employment will be the chief guest of the occasion. Other guests of honour will be Shri G Kishan Reddy (MLA and Floor Leader, BJLP Telangana), Shri A Dinakar Babu (IAS, Vice Chairman & Managing Director, Sports Authority of Telangana) and Shri Aadhav Arjuna, Managing Director, Arise Industries and Agency Private Ltd.

“I would like to thank our title sponsors Arise Steel for making this event possible, and for their continued patronage towards Indian basketball. The stadium is fully ready and we have arranged for accommodation, travel and food for all the participating teams and officials,” said Mr Norman Isaac, BFI executive committee member and General Secretary of the Telangana Basketball Association.

National level basketball is returning to the city of Hyderabad for the first time in 13 years, after the 2003 Senior National Basketball Championship. In fact, the last time a national level tournament was held in unified Andhra Pradesh was the junior national championship in Anantapur back in 2007.

Madhya Pradesh is the two time defending champions in the boys section while Chhattisgarh is the defending champion in the girls section from the 42nd edition held in Puducherry earlier this February. Andhra Pradesh and Telangana teams had finished 5th and 10th in the boys and girls sections respectively.

by Abhishek Shukla

Amandeep takes lead on Day 2 of Hero Women’s Professional Golf Tour 2016

New Delhi, 28th September 2016: Amandeep Drall carded 1 under 71 in the second round to jump into the lead in the 14thLeg of the Hero Women’s Professional Golf Tour at the Delhi Golf Club here on Wednesday. Overnight leader Siddhi Kapoor could not replicate her first round heroics and is placed second with a total score of 147 after the second round. The INR 7,00,000 event will culminate tomorrow.

After having finished overnight in tied fourth position, Panchkula’s Amandeep Drall played with purpose and put up a much improved performance. She started cautiously, playing a bogey free front nine with a birdie on the 3rd hole. She carded another birdie in the latter half on the 17th hole, while dropping the lone shot of her round on the 16th to finish with a total score of 146.

Kolkata professional and rookie Siddhi Kapoor, who grabbed eyeballs with her first round performance, struggled with the conditions today. Her error prone round of 5 over 77 included four bogeys on the 4th, 12th, 15th and 16th holes along with a double on the 9th. She carded the lone birdie of her round on the 10th hole.

Delhi’s Mehar Atwal carded an even par round of 72 to take the third position. She carded three birdies on the 1st, 8th and 12thholes with an equal number of bogeys on the 4th, 7th and 15thto finish with a total score of 149 after 36 holes. Vani Kapoor too had a much better outing today, and is placed fourth with a total score of 150 after the second round. Her card of 2 over 74 on the day included two birdies on the 5th and 11th holes along with four bogeys on the 4th, 6th, 10th and 16th.

Kolkata’s Neha Tripathi, Kapurthala’s Gursimar Badwal, Chandigarh’s Saaniya Sharma, and Delhi’s Gaurika Bishnoi are all tied for the fifth position with identical totals of 151 after the penultimate round. Neha Tripathi carded 4 over 76 with three bogeys on the 3rd, 15th and 17th holes along with a double on the 16th. She carded the lone birdie of her round on the 12thhole. Gursimar Badwal carded 5 over 77 in the second round with three birdies on the 1st, 11th and 14th holes along with an equal number of bogeys on the 7th, 13th and 16th. However, a triple bogey on the 2nd hole, along with a double on the 10thspoilt her scorecard and she had to settle for the tied fifth position. Gaurika came up with a much better performance to jump seven places with a round of even par 72. She carded three birdies on the 4th, 8th and 14th holes while dropping shots on the 2nd, 3rd and 9th. Saaniya’s round of 3 over 75 included two birdies on the 13th and 18th holes along with bogeys on the 2nd, 3rd, 10th, 14th and 17th.

Pune’s Shweta Galande and amateur Shreya Ghei are tied for the ninth position with identical totals of 153, followed by Delhi’s Ankita Tiwana in the 11th position.

With the top half of the draw within a shot or two of each other, the final round tomorrow is likely to witness keen competition among the contenders.

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by Abhishek Shukla

India take on Pakistan in the U-18 Asia Cup Semi Finals

Dhaka, Bangladesh, 28 September 2016: With a berth in the Final at stake, a traditional rivalry will take centre stage as India take on Pakistan in the Semi Finals of the U18 Asia Cup.
The two teams have success before in the competition, India having appeared in it twice—winners in 2001 and fifth in 2009. Pakistan have also twice been part of the tournament, winning it in 2009 and finishing with Bronze in 2011.
In the 2016 tournament, the two teams have had a contrasting set of results. Pakistan has brushed past a relatively inexperienced and easy pool with ease, beating Chinese-Taipei 6-1 in their opener and China 6-0 in the next game. They won their final game against Hong Kong 14-0 to top the group.
India faced a tough challenge against the hosts in the opening game of the tournament and went down 5-4 in what was arguably the most exciting match played yet. Brushing off that loss, they defeated Oman 11-0 to take their first points of the competition.
Indian forwards Ibungo Singh Konjengbam and Dilpreet Singh have been in sparkling form in the tournament with four goals each. At the back, despite the disappointment of the first game, Captain Nilam Sanjeep Xess and goalkeeper Pankaj Kumar Rajak have been standout performers.
Speaking about the encounter Coach BJ Kariappa said, “The traditional rivalry adds a unique flavour to the contest, but we expect that. The boys are focused on the task at hand. Pakistan have been prolific in front of goal, so obviously we will need to tighten up our defensive structure in the game. On the other hand, I don’t think they have had to face an attacking side like ours, with this depth of talent yet, so it will be a challenge for them too.”
India play Pakistan in the second Semi Final on 29 September 2016 at 14.30hours IST.
by Abhishek Shukla

Siddhi stuns seniors to grab lead in 14th Leg of the Hero Women’s Professional Golf Tour

New Delhi, 27th September 2016: On a day when seasoned professionals struggled with a narrow and tricky course, rookie Siddhi Kapoor showed glimpses of her immense talent and carded an impressive 2 under 70 to grab the lead in the first round of the 14th Leg of the Hero Women’s Professional Golf Tour at the Delhi Golf Club here on Tuesday. Following her in joint second position are Gursimar Badwal and amateur Shreya Ghei at 2 over 74. The INR 7,00,000 event will culminate on 29th September.

Kolkata’s Siddhi Kapoor had an indifferent start and carded a bogey on the very first hole. She added two more bogeys on the 3rd and 5th holes in her front nine. However, she turned things around in remarkable fashion and fired six birdies on the 6th, 7th, 9th, 12th, 14th and 17th while dropping a lone shot on the 18th. She finished the round with a score of 2 under 70 to take the pole position for the first time in her professional career.

Kapurthala’s Gursimar Badwal and amateur Shreya Ghei are tied for the second position with identical scores of 2 over 74. Gursimar played a birdie less round with bogeys on the 3rd and 11th holes to finish four strokes adrift of the leader. Shreya carded two birdies on the 2nd and 7th holes along with an equal number of bogeys on the 5th and 8th in her front nine. She played a birdie less back nine with bogeys on the 10th and 14th.

Kolkata’s Neha Tripathi and Panchkula’s Amandeep Drall finished the round in tied fourth position with identical scores of 3 over 75. Neha’s card on the day included a birdie on the 7th hole along with bogeys on the 5th, 11th, 15th and 16th. Amandeep’s round too followed a similar script, as she carded a birdie on the 7th hole, while dropping shots on the 3rd, 4th, 6th and 9th.

Delhi’s Vani Kapoor, Chandigarh’s Saaniya Sharma and Pune’s Shweta Galande are all tied for the sixth position with identical scores of 4 over 76. Vani had a rare off day in the park. She dropped five shots on the 1st, 4th, 9th, 10th and 16thholes, while carding the lone birdie of her round on the 7th. Saaniya started impressively and carded a birdie on the very first hole. However, she could not add any more birdies to her tally, and dropped shots on the 9th and 13th holes along with a triple on the 3rd. Shweta’s round included three birdies on the 6th, 7th and 12th holes, along with bogeys on the 3rd, 4th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 15th and 16th.

Delhi’s Mehar Atwal and Noida’s Vaishavi Sinha are tied for the ninth position at 5 over 77, followed by Ankita Tiwana at 6 over 78.

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by Abhishek Shukla

India U18 boys lost to Bangladesh in huge upset

India began their campaign in a dismal manner as they lost to Bangladesh 4-5 in ongoing 4th Boys’ Under-18 Asia Cup in Dhaka.

Drag flick specialist Ashraful Islam netted four goals for Bangladesh to give 3 vital points to the host in the first match of group A. India earned their first penalty corner in the 20th minute but Silpreet Singh’s shot couldn’t trouble Bangladesh defense. The Indians, who won the inaugural Asia Cup in 2001, equalized a minute later after Dharminder Singh calmly sent the ball into the net from a penalty stroke. But host rattles India every time as they won against higher ranked team.

In another match, Pakistan defeated Chinese Taipei by 6-1, and China triumphs over Hing Kong by 6-0 in Groupo B match.

Tomorrow India will be playing against Oman in a must-win encounter.

by Abhishek Shukla

Team shaping up well ahead of Junior Men World Cup 2016: Harendra

23 September 2016, Bangalore: With a little less than three months to go for the Uttar Pradesh FIH Junior Men World Cup to be held in Lucknow from 8 – 18 December 2016, the Indian Junior Men’s Hockey Team Coach Harendra Singh asserts that this team is the fittest bunch he has seen in over a decade. “We are in the final stages of our preparations and I can confidently say that we are on the right track. I have coached three junior World Cup teams and I can say that this team is the fittest and also mentally very tough,” stated Harendra Singh today ahead of the team’s departure to Perth, Australia where they will represent India for the first time in the Australian Hockey League (AHL).

According to Harendra Singh, the exposure at the AHL will help them assess where the team stands ahead of the World Cup and also give them enough time to fine tune in the areas they are lacking. “In the AHL, we are in Pool B which has Western Australia and they are a very strong team. We also play Tasmania who will be looking at using AHL as a platform to prove their might. Playing against these teams will show us where we stand and whether we are lacking in any areas. Malaysia and New Zealand is also playing in the AHL so I see this as a very important tournament in the lead up to the World Cup. We will have Director High Performance and Indian Men Hockey Team Chief Coach Roelant Oltmans traveling with us and we will closely monitor every player and his performance here,” Harendra Singh said.

After AHL, the team will play a 4-Nations Hockey Tournament in Valencia, Spain and Harendra Singh feels this will be the real test for the players who will be pitted against some of the best European teams. “From my assessment of watching these players over the past two-and-a-half years I feel this team has great capacity to beat the best teams in the world. We have used some rigorous training methods over the past two-and-a-half years and have emphasized on match preparations not just tactically and technically but also mentally. In Valencia we will get to see how the players cope with the pressure of playing the European teams,” he added.

Moving forward, Harendra Singh is confident that post the World Cup some of these junior players will push to earn a spot in the senior team, thus increasing the competition and also will help create the next pool of players. “I feel we are in the best phase of hockey in India. Both senior men’s and junior men’s teams have shown great potential. Post the World Cup in December, I feel there will be a handful of players who will be pushing for a spot in the senior team and the seniors will have to really show their worth to hold their current spot. I think this will ensure healthy competition in the future and there are already four players from the junior squad that have played in the senior team including Harmanpreet Singh, Mandeep Singh, Harjeet Singh and Vikas Dahiya,” Singh signed off on a positive note.

by Abhishek Shukla

Focus is on bringing variations in the midfield and forward line: Roelant Oltmans

Bengaluru, 22 September, 2016: Back in the national camp after a four-week break since the 2016 Rio Olympics, the Indian men’s hockey team is upbeat and have now shifted focus to the new season which starts with the Asian Champions Trophy in Malaysia where they will meet arch rivals Pakistan. “The mood in the team is very good and the players have moved on from their quarterfinal loss against Belgium. They don’t have bitter feelings about the Olympics because now they know they are on par with top teams in the world and they are often complimented by hockey lovers not just from India but around the globe for how they played at the Olympics. Though we were not happy with the result,” stated Roelant Oltmans, Chief Coach India Men Hockey Team and Director High Performance.

The selection trials to pick the team for Asian Champions Trophy and Australia Tour will be held on Friday at the SAI, South Centre in Bengaluru. The team will also be put through a rigorous fitness test. “For the senior team they have a busy schedule with the Asian Champions Trophy and Australia Tour then the Coal India Hockey India League, where as the juniors will play in the Australian Hockey League, Spain 4-Nations Tournament and then the Uttar Pradesh FIH Junior Men World Cup in Lucknow in December. It’s only in March that we will look at having a strong pool of probables which will have quite a few junior players who can be potential players for the 2020 Olympics and even the World Cup in 2018,” said Oltmans, who will join the junior team for the Australian Hockey League (AHL) starting 29 September 2016.

In his absence, the camp will be spearheaded by fellow Dutchman and Strategic Coach Roger van Gent who will be assisted by Tushar Khandker.

“The focus during this month-long camp will be to bring about variations in the midfield and forward line structure. Of course fitness too will be a priority. We have shown in the past one year that we are as good as any other top team in the world but we need to bring in consistency and create results that are in our favour. That’s the key and we need to work on it,” Oltmans added.

by Abhishek Shukla

BPCL hold off Railway to become Obaidullah Khan Heritage Hockey Cup 2016 Champions

Bhopal, 21 September 2016: In the Final of the Obaidullah Khan Heritage Hockey Cup, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. took on the Railway Sports Promotion Board and Air India Sports Promotion Board were up against the Oil Natural Gas Corporation in the third place match.
In the first match for the day Air India beat ONGC for third place. Air India took the lead in the 8th minute via Arjun Sharma and doubled it in the 17th with a goal by AB Cheeyanna. ONGC hit back with a goal in the 18th minute scored by Bikash Toppo to take the game into half time separated only by one. Despite several attempts on goal and circle penetrations by both teams, neither were able to add to the scoreboard. Heroics from Gurpreet Singh in Air India’s goal won him the Man of the Match award as Air India took the win to finish third in the tournament.
Railways and BPCL faced off in the Final, in a gritty encounter that went to a shootout. It took till the second half for the first goal of the game as Railways took the lead in the 40th minute via an Amit Rohidas PC conversion. Seven minutes later BPCL drew level. Tushar Khandker with another terrific performance for his team scoring the equaliser. With the scores level the game went into a shootout.
Both teams had already been through a shootout in the Semi Finals, one through with ease, the other through in nerve-wracking fashion. It was BPCL again, clinical in the shootout, despite an early miss who went on to win it 3-0 as Railways failed to score from a single one of their three attempts. Amit Rohidas was named the Man of the Match.
In the individual awards, Gurpreet Singh of Air India won the Best Goalkeeper of the Tournament Award. BPCL’s Manpreet Singh was adjudged the Best Defender of the Tournament. Railways’ Chinglensana Singh and Affan Yousuf won the Best Midfielder of the Tournament and Best Forward of the Tournament respectively. The Player of the Tournament was BPCL’s Tushar Khandker.
by Abhishek Shukla

India’s Junior Men Hockey team ready for challenge Down Under

New Delhi, 21st September 2016: The Indian Junior Men’s Hockey team is geared up to participate in the star-studded Australian Hockey League (AHL) starting September 29th in Perth.

The team will be led by Harjeet Singh and Dipsan Tirkey will shoulder the responsibility of the Vice Captain. Defender Vikas Dahiya, who was stand-by goalkeeper for PR Sreejesh at the Rio Olympics will also feature in the Team.

The strong defence line-up will include Varun Kumar, Gurinder Singh and Vikramjit Singh, while Nilakanta Sharma, Harjeet Singh, Santa Singh, Sumit and Manpreet will form the midfield. The forward line will be led by the talented Mandeep Singh whose performance at the FIH Champions Trophy earlier this year was lauded and will also include Armaan Qureshi, Gurjant Singh, Parvinder Singh, Simranjeet Singh and Ajit Kumar Pandey vying to get goals to their names.
This will be the first time international teams from India, Malaysia and New Zealand will be seen in the Australian Hockey League. There will be 12 teams in the tournament including defending champions Queensland, Northern Territory, South Australia, Western Australia, Australian Capital Territory, Victoria, New South Wales, Tasmania, Malaysian Tigers, Malaysian Blues and New Zealand Futures. As the country’s premier domestic hockey tournament, the AHL sees a wide range of top class athletes – including players from the Kookaburras take to the field to compete for their home State or Territory.

“Ahead of the upcoming Junior World Cup to be held in India in December 2016, this is will a very good exposure event for our boys. This is the first time we have been invited for the AHL and we hope to make the best use of the opportunity,” stated Harendra Singh, Indian Junior Men Hockey Team Coach.

Team:
Goalkeepers: Vikas Dahiya, Krishan B Pathak
Defenders: Varun Kumar, Dipsan Tirkey (Vice Captain), Gurinder Singh, Vikramjit Singh, Anand Lakra
Midfielders: Nilakanta Sharma, Harjeet Singh (Captain), Santa Singh, Sumit, Manpreet
Forwards: Armaan Qureshi, Gurjant Singh, Mandeep Singh, Parvinder Singh, Simranjeet Singh, Ajit Kumar Pandey

The open match of the tournament on 29 September 2016 will feature India Junior Men Hockey Team up against the Malaysian Blues. Attached is a copy of the match schedule. The matches can also be seen via live stream on www.Epicentre.tv  for two days of the competition – Friday 7th and Sunday 9th October – showing eight finals matches; the men’s and women’s semi-finals, bronze medal and goal medal games.

by Abhishek Shukla

BPCL to face Railway in the final of the Obaidullah Khan Heritage Hockey Cup

Bhopal, 21 September 2016: In the semi-finals of the Obaidullah Khan Heritage Cup, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) took on Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and Air India Sports Promotion Board were up against the Railway Sports Promotion Board.

The first semi-final, saw BPCL triumph over ONGC via a shootout. In a toughly contested game ONGC took the lead early on in the 9th minute via a PA Macheiah goal. Tushar Khandker rolled back the years with an equaliser for BPCL in the 34th minute.  A cagey second half saw both teams lock down their defences as the game dragged into a shootout.

ONGC opened the shootout, Diwakar Ram putting away his attempt with ease. SV Sunil then drew BPCL level with his goal. Gurjinder Singh and Lalit Kumar Upadhyay missed their attempts to keep the teams level. ONGC proceeded to miss their next one too, as Birender Lakra put BPCL in the lead. Mandeep Antil (ONGC) and Amir Khan (BPCL) both scored, leaving BPCL in the lead. ONGC’s final shooter, Gurwinder Singh’s miss handed BPCL a 3-2 victory and a place in the finals. Tushar Khandker was named the Man of the Match.

Railways took on Air India in the second semi-final. In a game which saw a flurry of goals in the first half, it was Air India who took the lead, early in the 4th minute via Mehkeet Singh. Railways rallied back with an equaliser within two minutes via an Amit Rohidas PC conversion. In the 22nd minute Pradeep Singh gave Railways the lead going in the break. Air India’s equaliser came in the 44th minute Gagandeep Singh’s successful conversion of the penalty stroke. The teams were level at 2-2 at full time to take the game into a shootout.

In a low scoring shootout, where only three players found the board, Railways ended up 2-1 winners, with Talwinder Singh and Gurpreet Singh as the scorers in the shootout. Pradeep Singh was adjudged the Man of the Match.

BPCL will take on Railways in the final today at 1830 hours. The earlier game at 1630 hours will see ONGC and Air India contest for the third place.

by Abhishek Shukla

Air India and Punjab & Sind Bank seal victories on Day 6 of the Obaidullah Khan Heritage Hockey Cup

Bhopal, 20 September 2016: Day 6 of the Obaidullah Khan Heritage Hockey Cup saw Air India take on Comptroller & Auditor General of India (CAG) in the final Group A encounter and Punjab & Sind Bank took on Madhya Pradesh Hockey Academy in Group D.

Contrary to expectations, CAG took a lead as early as the 9th minute via a PC conversion by Azam Baig. Playing a defensively strong game, they held out Air India for a majority of the period before Joga Singh’s 30th minute strike drew the two teams level going into the break. Air India came out much stronger in the second half, controlling the pace of the game and they soon took the lead via Arjun Sharma’s PC conversion in the 48th minute. Janma Majhi added a third for them in the 70th minute to guarantee them a victory and a place in the Semi-Finals. Air India’s Gurpreet Singh was adjudged the Man of the Match.

Punjab & Sind Bank beat Madhya Pradesh Hockey Academy 7-2 in the second encounter of the day. Sukhjeet Singh (31’, 51’) and Karamjit Singh (55’, 67’) scored a brace each for Punjab & Sind Bank. Madhya Pradesh Hockey Academy’s goal scorers were Akram Iqbal (38’) and Faisal Aziz (68’). Sukhjeet Singh was named the Man of the Match.

The first Semi-Final, to be held today at 17.00 hours and will see Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. take on Oil & Natural Gas Corporation. In the second Semi-Final at 19.00 hours, Air India Sports Promotion Board will take on Railway Sports Promotion Board.

by Abhishek Shukla

Zeel Desai lost in finals of ITF $10,000 Sharm El Sheikh

National junior champion Zeel Desai lost to Ana Bianca Mihaila from Romania, after putting a  gallant fight in the finals of $10,000 Sharm El Sheikh being played in Egypt. She lost to third seed Ana by 6-3, 5-7, 4-6 in finals. 

Zeel defeated Roumanian Elena-Teodora (ROU) by 6-2, 5-7, 6-1 in Semifinals. She also won against Clothilde (FRA) in quarterfinals by 6-1, 2-6, 6-4. Zeel defeated countryman Akshara in second round by 6-1. 6-1. In first round she defeated Britt from Belgium by 6-3, 6-3.

In doubles She played along with Emelie Luisa (GER) but lost in quarterfinals

Ana Bianca Mihaila defeated three Indians to win the finals, she defeated number 1 seed Riya Bhatia by 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 in semifinals. In Quarterfinals she defeated Eetee Maheta by 7-5, 6-4.

In doubles Shewta Rana partnered with Ana and lost in finals against Belgium pair.

by Abhishek Shukla

BFI President announces cash prize to Indian men’s basketball team

New Delhi/Bengaluru, 19th September 2016: Yesterday, India’s ‘Young Cagers’ had memorably finished in the top 7 at the 2016 FIBA Asia Challenge that concluded in Iran. Immediately recognizing the significance of this achievement, Basketball Federation of India (BFI) President K Govindaraj has announced a cash prize of INR 5,00,000/- to the entire team and coaching staff.

“Reaching the top 7 in Asia is an excellent achievement, especially considering the circumstances and opponents,” said Mr Govindaraj. “We beat three teams who have better world rankings. This cash prize is a small token of appreciation for our players’ indomitable spirit. They have kept India’s flag flying high. This is a culmination of all that sacrifice by everybody involved.”

Elaborating on the challenging circumstances, Mr Govindaraj said, “It is important to remember that even though our national federation has approval from the international body i.e. FIBA, we have not received any government funding for almost two years now. In spite of this we have been able to send our national teams for participation in ten international events and conducted all the National Championships.”

“Prior to the team’s departure, I had wished that the players put up a performance that is even better than in all the previous championships they have attended. They have superbly delivered,” added BFI Secretary General Chander Mukhi Sharma.

Image-credit: FIBA.com

by Abhishek Shukla

Indian Oil and Universities win on day 5 of Obaidullah Khan Heritage Hockey Cup

Bhopal, 19 September 2016: The fifth day of the Obaidullah Khan Heritage Hockey Cup had Indian Oil Corporation, Punjab National Bank, Association of Indian Universities and Sports Authority of India in action from Pools C & B respectively.

In the Pool C game, Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. ran out winners against Punjab National Bank. IOCL took the lead in the 12th minute by Victo Singh, but PNB equalised soon enough via Arjun Antil in the 24th minute. IOCL regained the lead just before halftime via a PC conversion by VR Raghunath in the 32nd minute. Raghunath doubled the lead and his tally for the game with another PC conversion in the 38th minute. Captain Deepak Thakur added to the score line with a brace in the 46th and 64th minute as IOCL ended up 5-1 winners. Devesh Chauhan from IOCL was adjudged Man of the Match.

Association of Indian Universities beat Sports Authority of India 3-1 in the Pool B game later in the day. Harmanpreet Singh opened the scoring for AIU in the 16th minute. It took till the second half for SAI to equalise and they did so via Brijender Kushwaha in the 39th minute. AIU took the lead again in the 45th minute via Kanwarjeet Singh, before KP Somiah’s 57th minute goal sealed a 3-1 victory to AIU. Goalkeeper Paras Malhotra was adjudged Man of the Match.

As per the current pool standings; BPCL from Pool B, ONGC from Pool C and Railway Sports Promotion Board from Pool D have qualified for the Semi-Finals. Pool A is still open depending on the results of the match to be played today at 17.00 hrs.

by Abhishek Shukla

India upset higher ranked Taipei to end in 7th place; best performance in 27 years!

New Delhi/Bengaluru, 18th September 2016: Closing out on a spectacular note, the 53rd ranked Indian team outclassed higher ranked Chinese Taipei (WR48) to end the 2016 FIBA Asia Challenge in 7th position. The tournament has entered its final day at the Twelve Thousand People Sport Hall, Azadi Sports Complex in Tehran, Iran.

The margin of the 80-68 victory is especially significant considering that Taipei had beaten India by 24 points (90-66) earlier on in the preliminary group B. Prior to that India had lost to Taipei by 6 points during the 38th William Jones Cup International Basketball Tournament back in July.

Backup forward Rikin Pethani steps up, before Amritpal, Vishesh & TJ take over

Having come off the bench in all previous 7 games so far, Rikin Pethani made the most of his first start, literally grabbing the opportunity with both hands.

After captain Amritpal Singh opened the scoring for India, Pethani took over, scoring 6 straight points to tie the game at 8-8 midway through the first quarter. A Taipei run sparked by the naturalized American Quincy Davis III followed, as India trailed 17-22 going into the second 10 minutes.

The Pethani show continued in Q2, as India went on its own 10-2 run to reach halftime with a 1 point lead, 33-32. With his final statline reading 17 points and 9 rebounds, most of which came in the first half, Pethani had done more than enough. In the second half, two of India’s “Big Three” – centre Amritpal and shooting guard Vishesh Bhriguvanshi started to take over. A powerful dunk by Amritpal midway through the third got India a slender 3pt lead (36-39), before Taipei made another push of its own to lead 50-46. The momentum swung back India’s way late in the period thanks to 6 unanswered points by India which included a two pointer by the streaky high octane backup guard Talwinderjit Sahi with just 8 seconds left.

India had now outscored Taipei in back to back quarters and led 52-50 heading into the final 10 minutes.

The fourth quarter continued in India’s favour, starting with a three pointer by Vishesh (his second of the game), and another two by TJ. But Taipei was in no mood to back down. Quincy Davis had a dunk of his own to bring it within 5, before Yi-Hsiang Chou and Kai-Hsiang Hu combined to take Taipei back up by 1 point.

That though turned out to be Taipei’s last stand, as captain Amritpal and TJ sparked another 8-0 run to take India up 70-63 with a little under 3 minutes remaining in the game. The last three minutes saw another 10-5 scoring spree for India to seal the memorable triumph.

Amritpal had recorded his 5th double double (at least 10 points and 10 rebounds in a single game) of the tournament, while Vishesh led India’s scorers with 22. Backups Rikin and TJ too had contributed more than 10 points each.

Interestingly, the third component of India’s Big Three, power forward Amjyot Singh, with a reduced role, had 6 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 1 steal and a block. In a bid to avoid Taipei any easy scoring, he had also committed all of his 5 permitted fouls.

India’s improved perimeter defensive close outs must also be lauded for restricting Taipei to just 3/17 from beyond the arc, after allowing 11 three pointers in their earlier head to head loss.

Results on 18/9/2016

India (Vishesh Bhriguvanshi 22 pts, Amritpal Singh 20 pts 13 reb, Rikin Pethani 17 pts 9 reb, Talwinderjit Singh 13 pts) bt Taipei (Quincy Davis III 13 pts & 15 reb, Yu-An Chiang 16 pts, Yi-Hsiang Chou 15 pts) 80-68 (17-22, 16-10, 19-18, 28-18]

Best performance by an Indian men’s team in 27 years

India’s 7th place finish out of a 12 team strong competition, could well be its best performance in the last 28 years. The side has had better finishes in terms of final standings in previous editions of this competition (which was formerly known as “FIBA Asia Cup” and “FIBA Asia Stankovic Cup”). India had finished 5th out of 5 teams in 2008, 6th out of 8 teams in 2004, and 7th out of 9 teams in 2014. But considering the smaller field on these occasions, India’s current 7thplace (with 4 wins & 4 losses) is its best ever performance in 27 years, after its 6th place finish in the 1989 Asian Basketball Championship.

This is also the only time when India has beaten 3 higher ranked sides (China, Philippines and Taipei) in the same event.

It is also pertinent to note that only last year, at the 2015 FIBA Asia Championship, India had finished 8th, its best ever since 2003. So the current 7th place is another big step forward.

What makes the victory over Taipei even sweeter is the fact that this could well be India’s first ever win against the side. Most importantly, the victory proved that on their day, when all guns are firing, India can beat some of the best teams in Asia.

Image credit-FIBA.com