Category Archives: Sports

Two golds for Santosh Kumar

Records, All, Sports

Santosh Kumar of Visakhapatnam Port Trust won two golds-100m and 400m in the 35th all-India Major Ports athletic championships which commenced at the Port stadium here on Monday.

Alphonsa Royan of Chennai won the same events in the women’s section, while K. Vijaya Lakshmi of Visakhapatnam finished with three medals — 100m, 400m and high jump in the girls’ under-18 section.

N. Nishant and P. Nayana won two medals each in the boys’ under-18 and girls’ under-14 sections.

The meet was inaugurated by Deputy Chairman of VPT and president of Visakhapatnam Port Sports Council GVL Satya Kumar.

The results: Men: 100m: 1. Santosh Kumar (VPT), 2. R.K. Layak (Paradip), 3. Salva Kumar (Mumbai). 400m: 1. Santosh Kumar, 2. Layak, 3. K.J. Joyson (Cochin). High jump: 1. T.K. Barik (Paradip), 2. Sunil Kumar Naik (Mumbai). Shotput: 1. N. Syam Sundar (VPT), 2. S. Soosaimichael (Tuticorin), 3. Ch. Appala Raju (VPT). 1500m: 1. Jyoson, 2. Janak Roy (Paradip), 3. P. Pydiraju (VPT).

Women: 100m: 1. Alphonsa Royan (Chennai), 2. Swati R. Patil (Mumbai), 3. T.T. Jency (VPT).400m: 1. Alphonsa, 2. Swati, 3. Ujwala Nikalje (JNPT). High jump: 1. D. Florance (Chennai), 2. D. Aruna Jyothi (VPT), 3. Jency. Shotput: 1. V. Chitra (Chennai), 2. Sushmamatre (JNPT), 3. Florance Amstrin (Chennai).

First place winners only: Boys: Under-18 100m and 400m: N. Nishanth (VPT); Shotput:Shyam Ranjan Pal (Paradip). Under-16 100m: Rajat R. Mahadik (JNPT); 400m: Himansu Sekhar (Paradip); Shotput: R. Reven Castro (Tuticorin). Under-14 100m: Mosomu Dolai (Paradip).

Girls: Under-18 100m, 400m and 1500m: K. Vijayalakshmi (VPT). Under-16 100m: Shweta Tandel (JNPT), 400m: Pranita Tandel (JNPT); High jump: Pallavi Madhavi (JNPT). Under-14 100m and high jump: P. Nayana (VPT).

source: http://www.TheHindu.com / Home> Sport> Other Sports / Visakhapatnam, November 27th, 2012

Vizag girl makes mark in US

Amazing Feats, Nri's / Pio's, Sports, World Opinion

Battula Aparna Das became the first Indian girl to get a US jockey licence.  / Photo: Special Arrangement / The Hindu

“I don’t want to give too much thought to the fact that I am the first Indian girl to achieve this. I just want to be a winning jockey” said Battula Aparna Das of Andhra Pradesh, the first Indian girl to get a US jockey licence.

Battula Aparna Das of Andhra Pradesh created history of sorts by becoming the first Indian girl to get a US jockey licence a few days ago. This 23-year-old youngster, born in Visakhapatnam, did her schooling in St. Francis Xavier and later graduated from Mount Carmel College in Bangalore.

This Telugu-speaking girl has a wonderful track record in sports. She has won many medals in national skating meets, inter-college athletics champion besides, being a school-level hockey player. For someone, who loves go-karting, swimming and bungy jumping, Aparna is apparently delighted at her latest achievement.

“Ever since, I had done the basic one-year training in horse riding at Bangalore Turf Club I always had a fascination to be a jockey,” says Aparna, who owes a lot to her trainer and mentor Shinklyer Marshall of Jockey Association of India. “Yet, I don’t want to give too much thought to the fact that I am the first Indian girl to achieve this. I just want to be a winning jockey,” she says.

As part of her endeavour to keep improving and pursuing her passion, Aparna did a two-year diploma in North American Racing Academy at Kentucky, USA.

“Apparently, the internship under famous jockeys later in US helped me a lot,” says the champion youngster, who has the full support of her parents – Velangini Das and Aruna Das. While Ms. Das is the director of Aruna Fashion Design College in Bangalore, Mr. Velangini Das works as an engineer in Armed Forces. They hail from Visakhapatnam.

“Yes, the basic training I had under BARI captain Goutam and later thanks to the efforts of the trainer in Nityanand Stables proved very handy to me,” she says.

Aparna’s first brush with quality competition was when she took part in the first race at Gulfstream Park Florida along with some of the best jockeys in March last year and she finished third. “That result gave me immense confidence that I can realise my dream,” she looks back.

“Right now, I am keen to go back to US and compete in as many races as possible this winter. I can always come back to India and be a jockey. First, I want to make a mark in US,” signs off Aparna.

source: http://www.TheHindu.com  / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by V.V. Suhrahmanyam / June 20th, 2012

It’s a grind, every day of her life

Sports

Hyderabad:

But for a few minute changes, the daily schedule of  Saina Nehwal has hardly changed over the last decade. If anything, there is only a change in the mode of her travel. While she used to commute on her father’s scooter, she now arrives at the Pullela Gopichand Academy in a new BMW X6.

For six days in a week, Saina’s schedule remains the same. She wakes up at 6 am and after having a glass of milk she spends one hour in yoga nidra. During this period she assesses her previous day’s practice and motivates herself for the session ahead.

She arrives at the academy at about 7.30 am and after the scheduled meeting with other trainees she starts on-court practice. The first session usually comprises stroke-hitting and the various aspects of the game prescribed by coach Gopichand.

The session ends at 11 am and after a small fruitbreak, her training starts again at 11.30 am. In this session, she usually practises with her sparring partners. Coach and former All-England champion Gopichand is one of them along with India’s top singles player Parupalli Kashyap and other male international shuttlers. They even play matches and on most occasions, Gopi, who is 39 now, gives a tough time to Saina.

After lunch and a nap, the third session begins at 4.00 or 4.30 pm as per the schedule fixed by coach and physio Kiran. The lunch includes rice, chicken (she was a vegetarian earlier), vegetable curries and lowcarb-high-protein diet. The evening session in a week comprises 2-4 sessions of strength training, 3-5 sessions of endurance and about six sessions of agility, moderate running etc.

She does weight training but guards herself against acquiring an unfeminine figure. She does speed runs for about half an-hour and relaxes herself at the swimming pool.

She is back home around 7.30 pm. Though her coach has advised her against any physical exercise she sometimes hits the treadmill. She finishes her dinner by 8.30 pm which mostly includes boiled chicken and vegetables. She turns on the TV and goes to sleep watching some movie.

Saina hardly attends any functions or parties. Once in a while and mostly when she is abroad, she goes for a movie and after winning every tournament she indulges in an ice cream.

source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / Home> Sports> More Sports / by M. Ratnakar, TNN / November 11th, 2012

Sania flags off fitness walk in Hyderabad

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Sports

STAR PRESENCE:Tennis star Sania Mirza, participating in the fitness walk in Hyderabad on Sunday.- PHOTO:NAGARA GOPAL

STAR PRESENCE:  Tennis star Sania Mirza, participating in the fitness walk in Hyderabad on Sunday. /  PHOTO:NAGARA GOPAL / The Hindu

Sania Mirza was in her element on Sunday before she formally flagged off the ‘Walk for Fitness’ as part of NDTV-Nirmal ‘Marks for Sports’ nationwide campaign.

The two-time Grand Slam winner did skipping exercises for a while and then joined the group of organisers in performing the ‘Gangnam’ dance to the delight of those who assembled at the KBR Park in the city.

“It is a great feeling to see Hyderabad take great interest in fitness. It is clearly departing from the days of laid-back approach and for the good,” Sania remarked.

“Fitness and some bit of walking does help everyone and especially when one enters the wrong side of the 50s. It is imperative to be choosy about the food you take daily,” the tennis player commented. “I support this campaign for the simple reason that I believe it helps India emerge a very healthy country,” she said.

“I always believed that sports and fitness should be an integral part of the school curriculum for this helps to be a very healthy nation,” Sania said about her campaign.

Later, Saina presented gift vouchers of Rs. 5,000 each to the 10 lucky participants and Rs. 1 lakh gift voucher to bumper winner Vignanandam.

Referring to her tennis career, Sania feels it is a great honour to partner World No. 1 Bob Bryan in the mixed doubles and hopes to script a new chapter in her career.

“The city has a rich history of producing great sportspersons with the likes of Jaisimha, Azharuddin, V.V.S. Laxman, Gopi to name a few. And, the best part is that Saina and I are still very hungry for success.We hope to inspire the young talent,” she pointed out.

“It also hurts to notice that not many are around who can break into the top 300 or even 200 tennis ranks. I am starting the tennis academy to ensure that young talent is groomed,” she signed off.

source: http://www.TheHindu.com / Home> National> Andhra Pradesh / by Special Correspondent / Hyderabad, November 05th, 2012

At 69, he still ‘shuttles’ between home and stadium

Leaders, Records, All, Sports

Hyderabad:

At 69, Syed Mohammed Arif still nourishes the dream of producing a world badminton champion from India. In fact, he came closer last year when his ward Jwala Gutta collected bronze in women’s doubles at the world meet.

Undying passion for the game, tireless unselfish work, unmatchable commitment which helps him defy the age and the abundance of talent prompted the government to honour this age-old worse with the prestigious Padma Shri award four days from his 69th birthday (Jan 29).

Smiling effervescently as usual at his ancestral home located in the bylanes of old city, Arif said that he is excited to be honoured by the government. Awards are not new to him. He was honoured with the Dronacharya in 2000 and had also received a meritorious certificate award from the Badminton World Federation. But the former chief coach of Indian badminton, who played a great role in shaping up the careers of Pullela Gopichand and Jwala Gutta, is still yearning for more.

“I was very excited but not surprised. I know my name has been recommended a couple of months back. I am a firm believer of God almighty and have immense faith in the belief that when the time comes nothing can stop us from being honoured or rewarded,” Arif said, adding that this award motivates him to do more for the sport.

“I want to do more for the game of badminton. I want to produce a world badminton champion. Hopefully, I would realise that dream soon,” he added.

Arif, had, in fact retired from active coaching in 2004. But the great coach was forced out of retirement in 2006. Jwala Gutta and Chetan Anand requested Arif to come out of retirement and Jwala’s father Gutta Kranti managed to convince Arif through the then chairman of Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh MS Raj Thakur.

“The SAAP chairman and my children (Jwala and others) requested me. How can I refuse them. Moreover, I realised that there are so many trainees who are in need of a coach. But I have enjoyed every moment after coming back. In fact it’s helping me to stay away from the doctor,” he said.

If there is one coach who is working for free it is Arif. The selfless man travels about 15 kilometres in the busy lanes of the city to train about 100-odd youngsters every day. Surprisingly, he doesn’t receive a single pie from any of them or from the government.

Chief coach of the Indian team, Pullela Gopichand said that Arif is the most deserving candidate for the award. “For the contribution he made to the sport of badminton and the way he put Andhra Pradesh on the national sports map he is the most deserving person to be honoured. We are all very happy for him,” Gopi said.

Jwala thinks Arif should have received this honour about ten years back. “I am very very happy for him. I think he should have got this award a decade back. He is largely responsible for shaping up my career and more importantly my personality. I think he’s the only coach who is working without receiving a single paisa or favour from anyone. Even now I fear him a lot,” Jwala said.

Arif in turn said that Jwala needs to be pushed hard and there is no one better than him to do that. “I think Jwala is a sort of player who needs to be pushed hard. Having trained her since her childhood there’s no better person than me to do that,” he said adding that Indian shuttlers have a good chance of winning medals at the Olympics.

“I think with a favourable draw our shuttlers have a good chance of winning medals in the 2012 London Olympic Games. Saina is playing well and our mixed doubles and women’s doubles teams are beating all the top teams. I am confident they will definitely win medals this time,” Arif said.

Crediting Gopichand for providing more international exposure to Indian shuttlers, Arif said he is expecting more from the present lot. “Never in the history of Indian sports, our shuttlers got so much of international exposure. But I am expecting more success from them. I know it would take some time from this batch to excel at international level,” he said.

The former NIS coach dedicated his award to his 90-year-old mother, wife and all his disciples who brought laurels to the state and the country.

source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / Home> City> Hyderabad / by M Ratnakar, TNN / January 26th, 2012

Top players set for badminton clash

Sports

TOP badminton players in the region are set to clash in the UAE Exchange Bahrain International Challenge Badminton Tournament which gets underway today at 6pm at Bahrain Keraleeya Samajam (BKS) in Segaiya.

The tournament is conducted by BKS in association with Bahrain Badminton and Squash Federation (BB&SF).

The highlight of the first day is the presence of former All England Champion and presently Indian national coach Pullela Gopichand who will be inaugurating the event.

Gopichand is a renowned world class coach and is the person behind the resurgence of India as a badminton force. Saina Nehwal, the London Olympics bronze medal winner, and P Kashyap are two of his best known students.

The Bahrain International Challenge is an event sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) and Badminton Asia Confederation (BAC) with the prize money of $15,000 at stake.

This event carries world ranking points and has attracted top ranked players from all over the world.

Competition will be held in five categories – men’s singles, men’s doubles, women’s singles, women’s doubles and mixed doubles.

Upset

Niluka Karunaratne, who is ranked 36 in the world, is the top seed in the event. The 27-year-old Sri Lankan was the captain of his national team at the London Olympics earlier this year and he upset the world No 8 Kanichi Tago in the singles event.

The next best ranked players in the fray are Suppanyu Avihingsanon of Thailand with a world ranking of 64 and seeded second here, and Sai Praneeth of India with a world ranking of 65 and seeded third.

Avihingsanon recently took part in the Japan Super Series while Praneeth is a bronze medal winner in the doubles at the Youth Commonweatlh Games in 2008 and won silver in the Junior Indonesian Challenge 2009.

HS Prannoy, ranked fourth, and Chetan Anand are two other well-known faces from India in the fray.

Prannoy reached the third round of the Vietnam Open earlier this year while Anand is a four-time Indian national champion.

In the women’s section, Neslihan Yigit and Ozge Bayrak, both of Turkey, are the two top ranked players with world rankings of 45 and 66 respectively. They are seeded first and second respectivley.

Anne Hald Jensen of Denmark is another notable entrant with a world ranking of 87 and is seeded third.

Bahraini players, meanwhile, will be participating in all five categories.

The most prolific among the local players are the doubles pair of Al Sayed Jafar Ebrahim Jafar, who is the national team captain, and Heri Setiawan. They are second seeded this year and were last year’s semi-finalists.

There are two more members from the Jafar family participating in this year’s tournament – his brother Ebrahim Jafar Al Sayed Hamed, who is pairing with another Bahrain player Saied Taki, and his brother’s son Adnan Ebrahim, who will play in the qualification matches.

Entry is free on all days.

UAE Exchange are the title sponsors of the event and other major sponsors are Zain Bahrain, Bahrain Air, Berger Paints, Mark 7, Maison Interiors, Al Mahroos, Albi WLL and Chevron.

source: http://www.gulf-daily-news.com / Home> Sports News / Tuesday, November 06th, 2012

Now she is Dr. Saina Nehwal

Education, Leaders, Sports
Aligarh:

India’s six London Olympics medallists were on Saturday, conferred Honorary Doctorate Degree by Mangalayatan University at its Annual Convocation Ceremony.
Badminton ace Saina Nahwal, boxer Mary Kom, shooters Gagan Narang and Vijay Kumar, wrestlers Sushil Kumar and Jogeswar Dutt were honoured with Honoris Causa degrees by Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh Yadav at the university’s fourth Annual Convocations.
An elated Saina said that it “was a matter of great pride” for her to be honoured with the doctorate degree.
“My parents had wished that I could take up the medical profession but destiny had planned another career for me. But today I am proud that I was being conferred the doctorate,” she said.
Yadav called upon the sportspersons to play a proactive role in the task of nation building by entering “public life”.
“Sportspersons create their own charisma and this factor can help them in achieving success in different walks of public life including electoral politics,” he said.
He said that his party was “ready” to provide a platform to all sportspersons like Saina for “entering the public domain”.
Recalling his early years as a budding wrestler, Yadav said that he understood the importance of “sportsman spirit” and convinced him of the importance of the sporting activities in the field of character and personality building.
Among those who were also awarded Honoris Causa degrees were Dr Rajendra Pachori, Director General, Energy and Resources’ Institute and V K Saraswat, Scientific Advisor in the Ministry of Defence, Salma Ansari, Chairperson, Al-Noor Social and Charitable Society in the field of social work and Dr (Mrs) Tessy Thomas, Senior Defence Scientist.
source: http://www.daily.bhaskar.com / Home> Sports> Other Sports > News / by PTI / November 04th, 2012

Super Saina makes a mark in Denmark

Records, All, Sports

Saina Nehwal took just 35 minutes to add the Denmark Open to her growing list of titles, as she won her first tournament after the London Olympics.

Her bronze at the quadrennial mega event was preceded by two back-to-back titles and the world No 4 Indian looks in no mood to take it easy even after a two-month break

On Sunday, she defeated world No 7 Juliane Schenk of Germany 21-17, 21-8, though the win came after a physically demanding match in Odense.

Fresh again
“There were a lot of things which I did after the Olympics which made me fresh but every tournament is tough,” said Saina. “My right knee was not in perfect shape but I thank god for giving me the energy to win the title.”

Saina’s brisk start was countered by the German, who equalised at 12-12.

Energy-sapping rallies saw the two players use deception, power, pace and skill to unnerve the other. Schenk has a reputation of being a fighter, and Saina had to dig deep to find ways of docking points off her.

Saina Nehwal poses with the trophy after her victory against Juliane Schenk of Germany during their women’s singles final match at the Danish Open badminton championship in Odense, Denmark. AFP Photo

Superior play
Saina won the game 21-17, but in the second, Schenk unleashed her powerful smashes. Saina did lose a few points initially, but matched the German in power to compensate for them. She raced ahead to a comfortable 17-8 lead – a gap too large for Schenk to bridge.

After her shots found the net thrice to bring the Indian on match point, Schenk did something quite uncharacteristic.

She did not attempt to return Saina’s serve, finally giving in to the third-seeded Indian’s blitzkrieg.

The tournament featured nine out of the world’s top 10 women shuttlers but the Chinese players suffered shock defeats, with Schenk and Saina taking out the last two in the semis.

Saina did not drop a game in this event and the title is all the more special as her nemesis, Wang Yihan of China, whom she had never beaten before, retired during their match.

The Hyderabadi will now participate in the French Open Super Series in Paris next week, where she has been given the top billing.

source: http://www.HindustanTimes.com / Home> Sport> Other Sport / by HT Correspondent, Hindustan Times / New Delhi, October 21st, 2012

VVS Laxman named as Captain of Hyderabad Ranji Team

Sports

VVS Laxman, who announced his retirement from International Cricket ahead of the New Zealand Test Series, has been named as the Captain of the Hyderabad Team for the upcoming Ranji Trophy season. The presence of the 37-year-old Laxman will be a huge boost to the otherwise vulnerable Hyderabad batting line-up. Hyderabad was placed in the plate league last season and pulled off some good performances.

Hyderabad is currently in Group A and its opening match is against Punjab at Mohali from the 2nd of next month. The 15-man squad announced is for this opening game only. It will be interesting to see if VVS Laxman could go onto play the entire season for Hyderabad and it’s quite possible as he doesn’t have any other cricketing commitments. DB Ravi Teja has been named as Laxman’s deputy.

The Coach of Hyderabad is former India and Karnataka left-arm spinner Sunil Joshi while the fielding Coach is former India and Hyderabad player Noel David.

Hyderabad Squad: VVS Laxman (Captain),DB Ravi Teja (Vice-Captain), Akshath Reddy, Hanuma Vihari, Arjun Yadav, Syed Ahmed Quadri, Bavanaka Sandeep, Ibrahim Khaleel (Wicket Keeper), Pragyan Ojha, Ashish Reddy, Mohammed Khader, Anwar Ahmed, PKK Naidu, Abhinav Kumar (Wicket Keeper) and Vishal Sharma.

source: http://www.cricwaves.com/ Home / by BV Swagath / October 22nd, 2012

294 stadiums in Andhra Pradesh to have malls

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Sports

It pays to have a sports-loving Chief Minister. N. Kiran Kumar Reddy, a cricket enthusiast, has approved a mega sports infrastructure development scheme for the state costing Rs. 200 crore.

The government will build sports stadiums in each of the 294 Assembly constituencies in a phased manner to give a fillip to all forms of sport. Shops will be built within the complex and given on lease/rent on the lines of the Lal Bahadur Stadium in Hyderabad.

New stadia will boost all sports

The state government has sanctioned Rs. 200 crore for construction of the sports stadiums subject to government land being provided for the purpose to the Sports Authority of AP.

Each of the indoor and outdoor stadiums will cost Rs. 2.10 crore and Rs. 2.42 crore respectively.

Keen to develop sports ever since he took over the reins of the state, Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy recently announced the formation of sports authorities at village and mandal level.

“Government, in a step towards development of sports, has taken a policy decision to go for construction of a sports stadium in each of its Assembly constituencies in a phased manner,” said secretary youth advancement, tourism and culture (sports) secretary Luv Agarwal.

The government’s approval came after the SAAP MD submitted a detailed proposal with an action plan, estimates and design of the sports infrastructure to be developed by the SAAP in the state.
All the popular major outdoor and indoor sports / games will be accommodated.

The outdoor stadiums will have facilities for athletics (200-metre track), cricket, basketball, football, volleyball, tennis, kabaddi and kho-kho.

The indoor stadiums will be for badminton, table tennis, carom, chess, and gymnastics with a multipurpose gym.

In order to provide a source of revenue to the stadiums to meet their maintenance costs, shops will be constructed within the complex and given on lease/rent on the lines of the Lal Bahadur Stadium in Hyderabad.

source: http://www.asianage.com / Home> Metros> Hyderabad /by C.R. Gowri Shanker, DC, Hyderabad / October 2oth, 2012