Category Archives: Sports

‘Qualifying for the London Olympics was dramatic, almost filmy’

Sports

Parupalli Kashyap is India’s entry in the men’s singles badminton at the London Olympics. For the last four months, he and fellow-shuttler Ajay Jayaram were locked in a fierce battle for that lone berth to London. In the end, it was he who pipped Ajay to that flight, with some help from Chinese player Chen Jin, who withdrew from his quarter-final clash against Kashyap, giving him an entry into the semi-finals, at the India Open.

The 25-year-old Kashyap, who battles an asthmatic condition as much as his opponent every time he steps on court, spoke to T S Sudhir about what went through his mind during the India Open, as he kept one eye on Jayaram’s progress, and his preparations for the upcoming Games.

Congratulations on qualifying for the London Olympics. You really had to labour for it.

Thanks. Oh, yes, I am happy that I qualified. Since my injury at the Syed Modi tournament in December, I lost my way, and the last four months Ajay Jayaram was ahead of me on points. I missed playing three crucial tournaments. Coming into the India Open Super Series, I was 1000 points behind Ajay and I knew I had to play two rounds more than him to be able to earn a berth for London. My second round match against Boonsak Ponsana of Thailand was really tough. I knew I had to win it to keep my hopes alive for the Olympics.

Was London always at the back of your mind while you were playing in the India Open?

In fact, when I was playing my second round match, Ajay was playing against Lee Chong Wei on the adjoining court. My thoughts were scattered all over. Usually I do not bother about a game that is going on on another court, but this time I was keeping an eye on the scores and found Ajay was doing well in the match, which went into three games. I was more drained mentally than physically!

Image: Parupalli Kashyap
Photographs: Hong Wu/Getty Images

source: http://www.rediff.com / Home> Sports / May o2nd, 2012

Sania will focus on doubles now

Sports

What started as a quest to ensure an Olympic berth seems to have turned into a career shift for India’s Sania Mirza. The tennis player was, on Wednesday, quoted as saying that surgeries and persistent injuries had eventually taken their toll and that she would be prioritizing doubles from this year on.

“Tennis and the surgeries take a lot out of you,” she told reporters in Karachi. “I realised at the start of the year that it was impossible for me to pursue a singles and doubles career. Ever since I’ve given up on my singles career, my performance in doubles has improved.

“I even reached a career-best seventh in the world and that’s why I’ve decided to concentrate solely on doubles tennis.”

The 25-year-old, who won the most recent of her 13 WTA doubles titles in Pattaya in February this year, is currently ranked eighth in doubles. Meanwhile, she has slipped to 181 in the singles. Sania has to retain her position in the top-10 in doubles if she is to make the cut for London. According to the Olympic qualification rules, the players ranked in the top-10 at the cutoff date of June 11 will get a direct entry into the doubles draw and will have the right to choose their partner.

Her best shot

Even so, her best shot at winning an Olympic medal will come in the mixed doubles. Since it’s a spot sign event, Sania will have to retain her place in the top-10 and enter the women’s doubles to be eligible.

“The ITF will select doubles teams for direct acceptance from mixed doubles entries comprising players accepted in the singles and/or men’s/women’s doubles events,” the rulebook states.

While the Olympics are a short-term goal at the moment, injuries and a rise in doubles fortunes seem to have decided Sania’s future path for her.

source: http://www.HindustanTimes.com / Home> Sports> Tennis / by HT Correspondent, Hindustan Times / Mumbai, April 26th, 2012

Hyderabad duo attempts to scale Europe’s highest peak

Amazing Feats, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Inspiration /Positive News and Features, Sports

FULL OF PASSION: Ali Razvi and Ranjan Sood undergo preparatory training in Hyderabad on Sunday. Photo: Nagara Gopal

Ali Razvi (40), well-known for his climbing prowess in Hyderabad, and Ranjan Sood’s (55) preparation routine is taxing

The sun continues to beat hard on their backs, even as the two try to steady their sweaty hands on the ropes and rappel down the 30-feet drop of a cliff at Ammuguda. The mountaineers know well that Hyderabad’s hot sun will not be a worry when they attempt to scale Europe’s highest peak, Mount Elbrus, at approximately 5,642 metres above sea level this June.

The mountaineers are more concerned about being in perfect physical condition before attempting the gruelling climb to Mt. Elbrus, a feat being attempted for the first time by adventurers in Hyderabad.

Ali Razvi (40), well-known for his climbing prowess in Hyderabad, and Ranjan Sood’s (55) preparation routine is taxing.

It involves a minimum of 10 kilometres of brisk walk, a 200-step steep climb at Ammuguda and fine tuning their climbing skills on the natural rock formations at various rock sites in Hyderabad. “It is not just physical fitness. We have to be mentally fit too. We are trying our best to get ready for the climb,” says Mr. Razvi, who on previous occasions has scaled the Himalayan mountain Kala Patthar twice (5,500 metres) and has led a group of mountaineers to the Everest Base Camp.

Mt. Elbrus, considered to be the highest point in Europe, is geographically the dividing line between Europe and Asia. The inactive volcano is part of the seven summits, a well-known mountaineering objective in which mountaineers dream of scaling the highest peaks in the seven continents of the world.

“It’s a challenging climb because we have to trek from 8,200 feet to 18,510 feet in thick snow. The route that we have decided on is not easy. It has lots of snow, high winds and difficulties associated with high elevation. There have been several failed attempts in the past but we are not thinking about it,” says Mr. Razvi.

CIRCUITOUS ROUTE

The route chosen for the 15-day expedition is circuitous. “We start on May 31 and fly to Moscow from Delhi and then reach an airport called Mineralnye Vody in Russia. This is 250 kilometres away from Mt. Elbrus. Here, we will join an international team of climbers and attempt the climb,” they explain.

TECHNICAL CLIMB

The mountaineers are busy fine-tuning their gears such as harness, carabiner, ropes, crampons, snow boots, ice axe etc. for the technical climb.

In addition, both are also working on the mental aspect of the climb. “We need will power for the attempt. The climb will test our endurance and, hopefully, we will be able to scale Mt. Elbrus by the middle of June,” says Ranjan Sood.

source: http://www.TheHindu.com / News / by M. Sai Gopal / Hyderabad, April 22nd, 2012

Contenders eye Olympic ranking points in Asian Badminton Championship

Leaders, Sports

UPBEAT: Badminton players Saina Nehwal and Ashwini Ponnappa at a press conference in New Delhi. File photo / PTI

With just two tournaments to go before the Olympic qualification, contenders would look to rack up enough ranking points when they go all-out to earn a Games berth during the Asian badminton Championship beginning at Qingdao in China on Tuesday.

Ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal is already assured of a berth but five of her compatriots are still in the running for a berth in the London Olympics and would look for a productive run in this tournament as well as the subsequent India Open, to be held from April 24 to April 29, before the May 3 deadline.

Saina, the world number five Indian is on a mission to earn some psychological mileage by defeating the top Chinese shuttlers and would start her campaign against Japan’s Kaori Imabeppu.

The 22-year-old has a reasonable draw and is likely to meet second seed Chinese Xin Wang in the quarterfinals. This would be an important tournament for the Indian ace as she would look to test her speed after her recent 5-kilo weight loss.

In the men’s singles, it is a two-way battle between world number 27 Ajay Jayaram and P Kashyap, ranked 31st and the duo would start their campaign against Chinese Taipei’s Jen Hao Hsu and second seed Chen Long of China, respectively.

Top Indian doubles player Jwala Gutta is in running for an Olympic berth in two categories – women’s doubles and mixed doubles.

The 28-year-old from Hyderabad will pair up with Ashwini Ponnappa in women’s doubles as the World number 20 combo opens their campaign against Vita Marissa and Nadya Melati of Indonesia.

“We have been practising with Arif Sir and it has been a good session. We worked hard and we would look to be just calm mentally on court,” Ashwini said.

Jwala will also combine with her mixed doubles partner V Diju to take on Indonesian pair of Riky Widianto and Puspita Richi Dili in their tournament-opener.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / Sports> Other Sports / PTI / New Delhi, August 16th, 2012

Cheer girls add glitz to bull competition

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Sports

Cheer girls lightened the state-level competitions for Ongole bullocks pulling heavy boulders, here on Tuesday.

The competition is being organised by the JC brothers at a ground near the newly-built municipal office.

As many as 63 pairs of Ongole bulls, known as one of the world’s best bovine species, took part in the competition from all over the state.

Tadipatri legislator J.C. Diwakar Reddy and his brother and former municipal chairman J.C. Prabhakar Reddy made elaborate arrangements for the competition which started on Monday.

On the first day, the competition was conducted in the agriculture and junior sections. A large number of people, mostly farmers, were present.

The highlight of the competition was the presence of cheer girls, who pepped up the spectators with their flashy dances between the breaks.

Referring to the cheer girls’ dances at the IPL 20-20 cricket matches, Mr Prabhakar Reddy said that it was not new to them.

“We had arranged cheer girls around 10 years ago when we conducted a cricket tournament,” Mr Reddy said. He said that it was not obscene and was meant to cheer the spectators.

source: http://www.DeccanChronicle.com / Home> Channels> Cities> Regions/ Anantapur / by DC Correspondent / Taipatri (Anantapur) / April 11th, 2012

On road to London

Leaders, Sports

With the deadline for Olympic qualification fast approaching, the shuttlers in Hyderabad — the hub of badminton in the country — are set for two final events — the Badminton Asia Championships at Qingdao, China, and the India Open Superseries in New Delhi — before the places for London 2012 are finalised.

On paper, a total of 32 places each are up for grabs in the men’s and women’s singles events, while 16 pairs will take part in the three doubles events. The players will be selected based on the Badminton World Federation rankings which would be released on May 3.

Realistically speaking, however, this close to the deadline, few surprises can be expected. From India, Hyderabad’s Saina Nehwal, currently ranked World No.5, is definitely through to the quadrennial multi-sport spectacle. “Saina has qualified for sure,” said national coach Pullela Gopichand. “But everyone else could be affected by how they perform in Qingdao and New Delhi,” Gopi added.

For India, there is one spot open in all the five events. The men’s singles quota will be filled up by either Hyderabad’s Parupalli Kashyap or Bengaluru’s Ajay Jayaram. The women’s doubles pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa should also qualify, according to Gopi. “Jwala-Ashwini and Jwala-Diju (mixed doubles) should be through, but we can’t take it for granted,” said Gopi, explaining, “A lot of factors could still influence the qualification scenario. For example, if Jwala-Ashwini lose in the first or the second round and a Korean pair goes on to win the tournament, we don’t go through. But that’s just conjecture. There are too many permutations at this point to be sure,” Gopi added.

Jwala says a pre-quarterfinal finish in both the upcoming events should guarantee their qualification, but a tough draw awaits them in China. “I don’t have the habit of looking at draws as I believe in just going out there and performing against anyone. But I’ve been informed the draw for the Asian championships is tough. Let’s see how it goes,” said Jwala, philosophically.

“I and Ashwini could well become the first ever Indian doubles pair to qualify for the Olympics. In fact, as things stand now, I am in with a chance of becoming the first Indian to make the cut in both doubles and mixed doubles.”

The Badminton Asia Championships are slated to begin on April 16. They will then take part in the India Open, which will begin from April 24.

source: http://www.DeccanChronicle.com / Home> Channels> Sports> Others / by Vijay Anand / DC, April 12th, 2012

Vizag boy competes in British GT

Records, All, Sports

Sailesh Bolisetti of Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) who will be competing in the British GT motor racing championship in April this year. / The Hindu

Sailesh Bolisetti makes history by becoming the first-ever Indian to do so

History will be made when Sailesh Bolisetti from Visakhapatnam makes his debut in the demanding British GT debut with the Lotus Sport UK team this weekend (April 7 to 9) to become the first-ever Indian to do so. “Its a dream come true,” he exclaims before leaving for London.

YOUNG CHAMPION

“I wish to perform to my best despite my limited experience. There are no shortcuts in the learning curve. I also want to absorb as much information as possible from my team, including my experienced teammates,” the young champion saloon car racer says.

The seven-round 2012 season of the premier British Sportscar championship is said to be one of the most fiercely competitive in recent times, thanks to a strong 35-car grid featuring several manufacturer-backed entries.

The 23-year-old engineering graduate from Andhra University will be piloting the Lotus Evora in the GT4 category.

“Evora was a completely different beast compared to anything else I had driven before. Having raced front-wheel drive cars throughout my career, I had to make considerable changes to my driving style to adapt to the 360 bhp race car,” he explains.

“I was reasonably comfortable with its behaviour and am looking forward to carry the momentum into my first race weekend,” he states.

“To me, long, endurance-style racing appeals more than the 30-minute sprints,” says Sailesh, who is in his second year in international racing.

“I will be pushing hard from the very first practice session. In endurance racing, if a driver doesn’t perform at high-levels, it ends up dragging the whole team down even if everyone else is doing their best,” he explains.

POINTS SYSTEM

Sailesh said that the British GT points system was similar to the one employed in Formula 1 – 25 points to the winner all the way to a solitary point for the 10th placed finisher.

“I take this as a huge opportunity to realise my dream of making a mark in big-time racing,” Sailesh concludes.

source: http://www.TheHindu.com / News> Cities> Hyderabad / by V.V.Subrahmanyam / Hyderabad, April 06th, 2012

 

Kuwait Cricket Felicitates Senior Cricketers

Sports, Uncategorized

Ex-Players Honored With Lifetime Achievement Awards

Mohammed Yahya (Right), Receiving The Life Time Achievement Award From Asad Baig.

Kuwait City, April 3:

In commemoration of Kuwait National & Liberation day 2012, Kuwait Cricket, in a memorable & praiseworthy gesture took the initiative to honor and felicitate some senior cricketers in Kuwait by honoring them with Lifetime achievement awards. In fact, it was a reunion of many cricketers of the past & present, along with new generation players, especially the Kuwait National Under 19 women’s team. The gathering of players was quite emotional as they shared the fond memories of the past. These players are known for their passion, dedication and wonderful contribution to the sport of cricket and have always been emotionally attached to the cause of upliftment of cricket & sportsmanship.

The evening was memorable and it started with the address of Irfan Adil who briefed the crowd about Kuwait Cricket’s noble intension of honoring cricketers of the past. Asad Baig, Director General, Kuwait Cricket was the chief guest on this occasion and Lifetime achievement mementos were handed over to Andrew Pinho , Bader Muneer, Kazim Hussein, Mohammed Yahya, Arif Hussein and Chris Amarasekara. In his short message, Asad Baig, Director General, Kuwait Cricket praised the invaluable services rendered by these veteran cricketers and urged them to play role models for the younger generation and to inspire them with positive advises and to share their cricketing experience.

Mohammed Yahya
Currently, Mohammed Yahya is the senior most cricketer residing in Kuwait who had the distinction to play first class cricket in Pakistan in the Qaide Azam trophy where he had brushed his talents against the famous Pakistani cricketers to the likes of Intikab Alam, Mustaq Mohammed, Hanif Mohammed etc. Arriving in Kuwait in 1958, he joined Hawks Cricket club and later on moved to Cresent cricket club where he was the captain for a long time.
In his long tenure with Commercial Bank, where he joined in 1969, Mohammed Yahya was the pillar of the Bank team and this stylish wicket keeper batsman had the opportunity to play against visiting MCC, New Zealand & the England teams. A cracking knock of 177 runs for Commercial bank remains the hightest score of this humble and soft spoken cricketer.

Bader Muneer
A passionate cricketer who plays cricket to win and win only. A good allrounder, gifted with great bat speed, Bader Muneer on a given day can bat and destroy the opposition bowling to pieces and a canny off spinner with a wide range of variety deliveries in his armoury. Represented Unity Cricket club and has participated in all the local tournaments where he exhibited his cricket talents.

Kassim Hussein
A fiery right arm fast bowler who could swing the ball either ways was a terror to any batsmen playing cricket in the early 70’s. Such was the command that he had on the ball, Kazim Hussein could swing a match to his team’s favor which he had performed many a times.
Having played cricket with many great test cricketers in India such as the all time great Indian batsman Sunil Gavaker, Kazim Hussein was the lead bowler for Unity cricket club in Kuwait.

Andrew Pinho
The tall and lanky Andrew Pinho learned and played cricket in the twin cities of Secunderabad and Hyderabad, India, under the guidance of late M.L. Jaisimha, who was a former Indian test player. In Hyderabad league, was fortunate to play against most of the national cricketers to the likes of Abbas Ali Baig, Abid Ali, Govind Raj, Jaisimha, and E.A.S Prasanna etc.
Having been in Kuwait since 1975, started playing for Unity Cricket club, Ahmadi and scored 1000 runs for Unity Cricket Club for two consecutive seasons. Also captured 50 wickets in a season on two consecutive seasons. Represented Casuals and played in local prestigious tournaments like Bawa Shield, Speed Bird Trophy, Jashanmal Trophy and four Nations Trophy.
Selected to play for the Kuwait National Team and toured India, Pakistan, England and Denmark in1979/80. Played against the visiting National Cricket Team of Pakistan, led by IMRAN KHAN at Ahmadi Cricket Grounds. Following year played against the visiting National Cricket Team of Pakistan led by JAVED MIANDAD at NC grounds. Also played against the visiting Air India Cricket Team led by Mohinder Amarnath at Ahmadi Cricket Grounds and against the visiting English Team led by Keith Fletcher and Mike Gating at Al Arabi Football Stadium.

Chris Amarasekara
A gentleman cricketer who upholds the traditional term “Spirit of cricket” is Christopher Amarasekara (fondly called Chris) from Sri Lanka and very few who have watched him play cricket in Kuwait can forget the flashy and quick silver wicket keeper batsman who in the mid eighties played in the Hubara and Unity Leagues for Lanka Colts and Wings.
Selected in 1988 to represent Kuwait Select XI against the visiting British Airways team led by Farokh Engineer which included the left arm England spinner Don Wilson. Awarded Man of the Match for a half century and 5 victims behind the stumps in that match and was complimented for his excellent keeping by none other than Farokh Engineer who himself was stumped by Chris. After invasion represented Hawks & Casuals and Lanka Lions in the Hubara and Unity Leagues. Still active in cricket, Chris has many cherishing and happy moments with the bat and as wicket-keeper.

Arif Hussein
Arif Hussein, a stylish opening batsman represented the North Zone combined University team in India which included Kapil Dev, Arun Lal, Kirti Azad, Hari Gidwani etc., and later on represented the Central Zone U-22 team where he scored a match winning innings of 78 runs against West Zone which had the Indian batting legends Dilip Vengsarkar & Sandeep Patil. Blended with perfect batting technique, Arif Hussein played for Starlite cricket club in Kuwait and was known for his precise timing and nimble foot-work and had played in all the local tournaments like Bawa Shield, Speed Bird Trophy, Jashanmal Trophy and four Nations Trophy.
Represented Kuwait Wanderers in an unofficial International tournament and was declared the best fielder of the tournament. Represented Kuwait against visiting Indian, Pakistan & England teams and while touring the Indian sub-continent had scored a scintillating century against Khar Gymkhana.

source: http://www.arabtimesonline.com / April 04th, 2012

 

HCA to get Rs.10 crore

Sports

Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) is in for a bonanza, thanks to Star TV network bagging the telecast rights of Indian cricket from 2012-18 valued at Rs. 3,851 crore. HCA, like any other affiliated unit of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), will be getting its share of Rs.10 crore from the telecast rights.

“This will be the same for all the associations irrespective of whether or not they stage an international match or not,” says N. Shivlal Yadav, BCCI vice-president and also vice-president of HCA.

Shivlal, who attended the Board meeting in Chennai on Monday, informed The Hindu that even for Indian Premier League, the State Cricket Associations will get a similar amount irrespective whether they host any match or not by way of their share in ad revenue and other related subjects.

All this will be apart from the annual BCCI grant which runs into a few crores of rupees for all the State Cricket Associations to spend for development of infrastructure and promotion of sport across their domain. “But it is unfortunate that this time around, HCA might end up in a ‘no loss, no gain’ situation with regard to hosting the four IPL matches since we are already forced to pay Rs.75 lakh to the Visaka Industries (the first sponsor which pumped in money to facilitate start of the construction of Rajiv Gandhi Stadium),” Shivlal said to a query.

“The HCA gets Rs.30 lakh to take care of the expenses for hosting each IPL match. Since we are hosting four it should be a comfortable Rs.1.20 crore. Now, we are left (after paying the Visaka Group) with only Rs.45 lakh which might not just be sufficient to conduct these matches,” Shivlal explained.

“It is an unfortunate situation which we could not avoid. But it is a fact that HCA might not end up making profit from these IPL matches,” Shivlal insisted.

source: http://www.TheHindu.com / News> Cities> Hyderabad / by V.V. Suhrahmanyam / Hyderabad, April 03rd, 2012

Emirates to sponsor IPL Franchise Deccan Chargers

Sports

Emirates airline will be partnering with the team for the next three IPL campaigns

Dubai:

The Indian Premier League (IPL) got a major shot in the arm on Wednesday with Emirates airline becoming the team sponsors of Deccan Chargers, the Hyderabad team which emerged champions in the second edition in 2009. The IPL V gets underway from April 4.

“We are honoured to be joining forces with the Deccan Chargers and partnering with the team for the next three IPL campaigns,” said Orhan Abbas, Emirates’ Vice President India and Nepal, at a press conference in Hyderabad.

Emirates, incidentally, are one of the partners of International Cricket Council (ICC) with the logo enjoying their pride of place behind the umpires’ shirts.

“Through this sponsorship we have the chance to connect with the people who we connect to 122 destinations and show our ongoing commitment to a nation which Emirates has been serving since we began operating in 1985,” added Abbas. “It is also a tremendous opportunity for us to further strengthen our support of a sport which the people of India follow with renowned passion. The IPL has rapidly established itself as a spectacle of sport and entertainment followed by billions around the globe and will provide Emirates a platform to consolidate our position as a world force in sports sponsorship.”

The Deccan Chargers – starting their title challenge against the Chennai Superkings in Vizag on 7th April – will feature a host of household names, including Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara, who will captain the side, South African stars J.P. Duminy and Dale Steyn, as well as Indian wicketkeeper/batsman Parthiv Patel.

The event in Hyderabad – which Emirates has been operating to since 2001 – was attended by vice-captain Cameron White, head coach Darren Lehmann and their fellow Australian Daniel Harris, as well as Indian stars Patel, Shikhar Dhawan, Amit Mishra and Manpreet Gony, who had the honour of unveiling the 2012 home kit.

“We are proud to have a leading global brand like Emirates as our Team Sponsor for the next three seasons of the IPL. We are confident this association with Emirates will be fruitful. With an exciting new squad and sponsor, we look forward to the tournament and repeating our winning performance in DLF IPL 2012,” said Deccan Chargers co-owner Ms Gayatri Reddy, who was joined at the press conference by COO Venkat Reddy.

source: http://www.GulfNews.com / Sports> Cricket / by Gautam Bhattacharyya, Sports Editor / March 26th, 2012