Category Archives: Sports

Murtaza restricts South Zone

Sports
Central Zone's Ali Murtaza being congratulatd by teammates after scalping four South Zone wickets. Photo: R.V. Moorthy / The Hindu
Central Zone’s Ali Murtaza being congratulatd by teammates after scalping four South Zone wickets. Photo: R.V. Moorthy / The Hindu

Central openers delight in the second innings

Central Zone was well-served by left-arm spinner Ali Murtaza’s four-wicket strike that restricted South Zone to 379 in its first innings on the third morning of the Duleep Trophy final here on Friday. At close, Central had established an overall lead of 111 runs with six wickets in hand.

Resuming at 308 for four, South faltered and lost the momentum against Murtaza’s sustained spell. After skipper Piyush Chawla foxed K. L. Rahul on a defensive prod, the South innings crumbled with the last five wickets contributing a mere 20. This was in sharp contrast to the character the team showed on the second day.

Vihari was the one to impress with his exceptionally timed strokes. He had mostly played second fiddle to Rahul but gifted his wicket when looking set to dominate. Rahul was dismissed for 185 (233 balls, 19×4, 2×6) while Vihari, who faced 97 balls, hit ten fours and two sixes.

Central was a transformed side when it batted the second time with openers Faiz Fazal and Jalaj Saxena demonstrating a refreshingly positive approach. They played their shots and grew in confidence to put on a 128 runs.

Saxena (71, 119 balls, 15×4) fell to his first false stroke. Soon, Fazal, batting attractively for his 139-ball knock 72 (11×4), succumbed to indiscretion when he swung and unerringly found the only fielder in the deep. It was a tame end to a brilliant innings.

The scores:

Central Zone — 1st innings: 276.

South — 1st innings: Robin Uthappa lbw b Saxena 80, K.L. Rahul b Chawla 185, B. Aparajith c N. Ojha b Pankaj 21, Dinesh Karthik lbw b Pankaj 0, R. Prasanna c N. Ojha b Pankaj 0, Hanuma Vihari b Murtaza 75, S. Gopal (not out) 13, R. Vinay Kumar lbw b Murtaza 2, A. Mithun lbw b Murtaza 0, P. Ojha c Saxena b Murtaza 1, H.S. Sharath c & b Saxena 0; Extras (lb-2): 2; Total (in 90.3 overs) 379.

Fall of wickets: 1-168, 2-231, 3-231, 3-233, 4-233, 5-359, 6-363, 7-366, 8-370, 9-378.

Central bowling: Pankaj Singh 20-3-67-3, Ishwar Pandey 17-2-72-0, Faiz Fazal 3-0-13-0, Ali Murtaza 13-1-59-4, Piyush Chawla 20.3-3-95-2, Jalaj Saxena 17-0-71-1.

Central — 2nd innings: Faiz Fazal c Aparajith b Vinay 72, Jalaj Saxena lbw b Ojha 71, Robin Bist (batting) 26, Naman Ojha c Uthappa b Gopal 27, Ashok Menaria lbw b Gopal 0, Mahesh Rawat (batting) 11; Extras (b-6, lb-1): 7; Total (for four wkts. in 62 overs): 214.

Fall of wickets: 1-128, 2-160, 3-195, 4-201.

South bowling: Vinay Kumar 10-1-56-1, A. Mithun 8-1-25-0, Pragyan Ojha 22-7-52-1, S. Gopal 10-2-43-2, H.S. Sharath 9-3-22-0, B. Aparajith 3-1-9-0.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Sport> Cricket / by Vijay Lokapally / New Delhi – October 31st, 2014

Annu Rani returns with Javelin bronze to grand welcome

Records, All, Sports, World Opinion

Meerut :

Days after Meerut-based Annu Rani won a bronze medal in the women’s javelin throw event at the Asian Games in South Korea, she was given a grand welcome by people at Bahadurpur village on Monday afternoon. Villagers garlanded the 21-year-old several times over, and gifted her a shawl.

Amarpaal, Annu Rani’s father, who was at first not so enthusiastic about her interest in the javelin throw sport, said, “Villagers have given such a grand welcome to her that we are all feeling like celebrities.”

Annu Rani is the second contestant in these Asian games to have returned to Meerut with laurels. Seema Punia, who won the gold medal in the discus throw event, also belongs to Meerut. Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav announced a cash prize of Rs 50 lakh to Punia.

On Monday, as Annu Rani returned, few people even remembered that when she first took to javelin throwing, her father and neighbours had tried to dissuade her.

“I would never have imagined that among these are people who opposed my participation in the games,” Annu Rani said. District president Meenakshi Gaur visited the family on Monday.

Annu Rani’s throw of 59.53 metres was her personal best, but Chinese duo of Zhang Li and Li Lingwei grabbed the first two places at the Asian Games, outperforming her.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Meerut / by Ishita Bhatia, TNN / October 06th, 2014

Rural cricket stars in a league of their own

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Sports

Lucknow :

Idiosyncratic batsmen, charged audience, nail-biting run chases, unpredictable results— It’s all there at the Indian Grameen Premier League (IGPL), a rural cricket tournament being played barely 18km away on the outskirts of the city.

Now in its third season, the IGPL which was started in December 2013 has in fact gained so much popularity among the local lads that foreign-educated MBAs, young entrepreneurs and budding politicians are among those who have either formed or joined one of the 16 participating teams. Among the strong contenders are BKT Superkings, BKT Blues, Bhawani Tigers, Rukhara Royals, Young Fighters, Eleven Fighters, Abbasiya Cricket Club and Chhatamil Cricket Club. Many of the popular players in these teams are known not by their original names but by the names of international players they resemble in playing style or looks.

For example, Atul Mishra of BKT Superkings is called Dhoni because of his helicopter shot and wicket keeping. Ranjeet Singh of Bhawani Tigers is often compared with Australian all-rounder David Hussey and Hafir Zubaid from Mohanlalganj team is known as Hashim Amla beacause of his looks and batting style. Another player from Mohanlalganj was cheered as Kieron Pollard because of his physique and ability to hit long sixes without footwork.

Participating in IGPL for the first time, London-return Manvendra Singh, the captain of BKT Superkings says, “Even after pursuing a business management course from Great Britain, I couldn’t leave my passion for cricket and decided to form my team. My team is a good mixture of young blood and experienced players.”

On the other hand, the captain of defending champions Bhawani Tigers is a home guard in the fire department, Sanjeev Singh. “No matter which team is playing, my players know how to uproot the stumps of the opponents. Unlike other players, who tend to shift to other teams for better opportunity after the season ends, our teammates stick together and that’s why we rule,” says Singh.

The man behind the sporting league, Anurag Bhadauria, better known as ‘Bhaiyaji’ among youths in the area, says, “Being a local and a diehard cricket fan, I initially thought of an idea to utilize the energy of idle and unemployed youths into something from which they can benefit from and hope for opportunities.”

Giving the example of Amrendar Yadav, a 31-year-old youth who does commentary for IGPL matches, Anurag said, “Like many other village boys, Amrendar too was depressed because of unemployment and even attempted suicide. But this league has given him opportunity for employment.”

He added, “Sports have a lot of potential to change the nation. Take the example of Brazil. Over here, we don’t have lush green grass or proper kits to play, but still these boys are trying to find opportunities in their passion.”

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Lucknow / Arvind Chauhan, TNN / October 09th, 2014

Commonwealth Games 2014: Shooter Mohammed Asab Wins Bronze in Men’s Double Trap

Records, All, Sports, World Opinion

Mohammed Asab beat Nathan Xuereb of Malta to give India their ninth medal in shooting.

India's Asab Mohd displays his Men's Double Trap bronze medal. / PTI
India’s Asab Mohd displays his Men’s Double Trap bronze medal. / PTI

Glasgow:

Indian shooter Mohammed Asab won the bronze medal in the men’s double trap beating 17-year-old Nathan Xuereb of Malta in the bronze medal match of the 2014 Commonwealth Games at the Barry Buddon Shooting Centre here on Sunday.

The 26-year-old Asab shot 26 while Xuereb managed 24. Another Indian in the fray, Ankur Mittal missed out on a medal finishing fifth in the semi-final.

Shreyasi Singh grabbed the first medal of the day by winning the silver medal in the women’s double trap event. The Delhi girl shot 92 in the final round to win the silver, the fifth for the Indians from the shooting competition at the Barry Buddon Shooting Centre.

India’s medal count from shooting now stood at nine — three gold, five silver and a bronze.

Abhinav Bindra, Rahi Sarnobat and Apurvi Chandila have won the gold medals. The silver medal winners, besides Shreyasi, are Malaika Goel, Prakash Nanjappa, Ayonika Paul and Anisa Sayyed.

source: http://www.sports.ndtv.com / NDTV Sports / NDTV Sports> News / by Indo-Asian News Service / Sunday – July 27th, 2014

Asian Games: Jitu Rai wins gold in 50m pistol event

Records, All, Sports
Jitu Rai gestures after winning the men's 50m pistol individual final of the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon on September 20, 2014. (AFP Photo)
Jitu Rai gestures after winning the men’s 50m pistol individual final of the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon on September 20, 2014. (AFP Photo)

Incheon :

India’s most in-form shooter Jitu Rai gave the country its first gold medal in the 17th Asian Games, cutting through a tough field to finish on top in the 50m pistol event on Saturday.

Medal Tally

The world number five showed tremendous grit and concentration to beat back the challenge from strong contenders like Wang Zhiwei of China and South Korea’s two-time Olympic champion and reigning world champion Jongoh to win the gold.

In fact both Zhiwei and Jongoh were eliminated in the race early on leaving only the Indian ace and unheralded Vietnamese Hoang Phuong Nguyen fighting for the gold.

It needed the last set of shots to decide the issue in favour of Rai. He shot 8.4 after the nervous Vietnamese was way off the mark to fire a poor 5.8 to win the gold.

Fresh from his 50m Pistol silver in the World Championships, the Lucknow-based marksman completed a grand double as he had won a gold in the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow earlier this year.

He thus became only the second Indian pistol shooter to clinch an Asian Games title after Jaspal Rana and the fourth shooter overall after shotgun experts Randhir Singh in 1978 and Ronjan Sodhi in 2010.

Rai said he badly wanted to win the gold here. “I wanted to win this gold badly and was under a lot of pressure. The competition here was even more than in the Commonwealth Games or the World Championship. I am happy that I could fulfill my wish,” he said.

He qualified seventh for the final with a tally of 559. National pistol coach Pavel Smirnov later praised Rai, describing him as a very strong character.

“He’s very strong mentally. There had been lot of competitions this year leading into the Games, the CWG, the world championships. He’s mentally strong and that’s why he could do it,” he said.

The shooting and archery team’s mental trainer Vaibhav Agashe said the fact that 27-year-old Rai is from the army is of tremendous help and said he was among the fittest in the shooting fraternity.

“He’s physically very fit. Muscle control is important,” said Agashe pointing out to the back-to-back competitions for Rai.

In the edge of the seat thriller that the final proved to be, Rai had to climb from the lower order to get into the medal round. When 14 shots were completed only four were left standing for the count: Rai, Nguyen, his compatriot Hoang Xuan Vien and China’s Wang Zhiwei.

This was the time the Indian ace showed his true colours by shooting 9.9 and 10.7 to keep himself in medal contention. Hoang and Zhiwei got successively eliminated by the end of the 16th and 18th shots leaving Rai to fight for the gold with Nguyen.

Nguyen, in fact, led the Indian by 0.7 points after the 18th shot, but in the last series of two shots, lost his nerves and the chance for the title.

While the Vietnamese came up with scores of 8.7 and a shocking 5.8, a clear case of nerves, the steely-handed Indian brought off a stunning 9.6 and then sealed the gold with an 8.4.

This was his sixth medal on the trot in international competitions this year, including the gold medal in the Glasgow Commonwealth Games and silver in the Granada World Championship — in the 50m range.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> Sports> Tournaments> Asian Games 2014 / PTI / September 20th, 2014

Atul wins bronze, creates history

Records, All, Sports, World Opinion
Atul Verma
Atul Verma

Atul Verma won India its first Olympic archery medal — a bronze — at the Youth Olympic Games at Nanjing on Tuesday.

The boy from Barabanki (Uttar Pradesh) downed Turkey’s Mete Gozoz 6-4 (29-28, 30-29, 27-27, 29-30, 29-29) in the play-off. Ranked No. 2 in the qualification round, Atul was 4-2 ahead in the semifinals against eventual silver medallist, Marcus D’Almeida of Brazil. The Indian, however, failed to hold his nerve and went on to lose 4-6 (28-28, 30-28, 28-28, 27-29, 27-28).

The gold went to Korean Lee Woo Seok, who got the better of D’Almeida 7-3 in the final.

Verma will be joining the Pune-based Army Sports Institute on his return, said India coach Ravi Shankar, who spotted his talent. “We are very proud of his achievement,” said National coaches, Shankar and Dharmendra Tiwari.

The sport’s first Dronacharya, Sanjeeva Kumar Singh, echoed the sentiment. “We have won medals at the World, Asian and Commonwealth levels, but an Olympic medal kept eluding us. Atul’s bronze is a great achievement and should go a long way in motivating youngsters to take up the sport,” he said.

Unbelievable
“It is a fantastic achievement,” said the former secretary-general of the Archery Association of India, P.N. Mukherjee. “I just can’t believe that India has won an Olympic medal in archery.”

Coach Ashok Kumar Yadav, who transformed the youngster into an Olympic medal winner, said Verma was one of the 20 boys at the UP Sports Hostel in Sonbhadra, a town 108 km away from Banaras.

“But for the contribution of District Magistrate Pandari Yadav and sports officer Atul Sinha, it wouldn’t have been possible for us to produce an Olympic medallist,” said Yadav.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Sports> Other Sports / by Special Correspondent / Kolkata – August 26th, 2014

Jhansi celebrates Dadda’s b’th anniv with sports meet

Sports

Several events were held in the city to mark 109th birth anniversary of hockey legend Major Dhyan Chand in his hometown Jhansi. The day is observed as National Sports Day.

District Athletic Association organized a 21-km half marathon which witnessed participation of more than 500 girls and boys from different parts of the state. Jhansi SSP Shivsagar Singh flagged off the event at Bundelkhand University. Prizes were distributed by varsity’s vice-chancellor Avinash Chandra Pandey.

Ravindra Kumar of Lucknow won the half-marathon, while Sugriv Gupta of Ballia stood second. Muzaffarnagar’s Sunil Kumar came third. International athlete and organizer of the event Arjun Singh said that it was the sixth consecutive half-marathon organized to commemorate the day. Special prizes and gift coupons were also given away to attract local students.

Finals of two different groups (14 years and 18 years) of ongoing hockey tournament were played at Senior Railway Institute. Secretary, railway institute, Brijendra Yadav said that a sports fortnight is organized every year to commemorate the day. Chess, hockey, boxing, cross-country race, billiards and football tournaments are also organized.

Tribute was also paid to hockey wizard by various social organizations. Social worker Neeti Shastri and other persons garlanded Major Dhyan Chand’s statue at his favourite Heros Ground, the place where he used to practice in his younger days.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Allahabad / by Arindam Ghosh, TNN / August 30th, 2014

Dandupur basks in Punam’s glory; gets ready to welcome its famous daughter

Sports

Varanasi :

A nondescript one-room brick house, with an asbestos shade on the front verandah in Dandupur village, about 5 kms from the district headquarters on Varanasi-Sindhora Road, waits for its proud daughter Punam Yadav, the winner of weightlifting bronze at Commonwealth Games at Glasgow.

“It is a matter of pride for us and the entire nation that a rural girl had won a medal. We will celebrate the victory when Punam comes home,” said her mother Urmila Devi, a homemaker who has four other daughters and two sons. Punam’s father Kailash Yadav, a farmer, on Thursday left for Swami Adgadanad Ashram at Shakteshgarh in Mirzapur district to solicit seer’s blessings for his daughter.

“It is ashram seer’s blessings that gave strength to Punam to win the medal,” said her mother, who was quite excited while sharing her feelings on the success of the 19-year-old.

Punam lifted a total of 202 kgs in the final of women’s 63 kgs class at the 2014 Commonwealth Games. She is also a bronze winner in the Asian Juniors.

The condition of their house is a testimony of financial constraints the family has been facing over years in backing their three weightlifting daughters. The family has a small piece of land and a couple of cattle to meet all the requirements. Punam, the fourth daughter, is performing at international level, her elder sister Shashi Yadav and younger sister Puja Yadav are national level weightlifters. Her two elder sisters Kiran and Shashilata have been married.

“The family got financial support from well-wishers particularly from an uncle of Punam to fulfil her dreams,” said Saheb Singh Yadav, her sister-in-law. It was her dedication and hard work that won her a medal, he said.

Her brothers Ashutosh and Abhishek, both high school students, were happy over the success of their sister.

The members of Saptsagar Yadav Maha Sabha too were delighted over Punam’s success. “We feel proud that a daughter of Kashi had won medal for the country,” said Pramod Yadav, president of the organization.

Chief minister Akhilesh Yadav recently announced to honour and give cash awards to all the medal winners of the state in the ongoing Commonwealth Games at Glasgow.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Varanasi / TNN / August 02nd, 2014

Commonwealth Games 2014: Asab Mohammed wins bronze in men’s double trap event

Amazing Feats, Records, All, Sports
Asab Mohammed
Asab Mohammed

Shooting contibuted yet another medal to India’s medal tally as Asab Mohammed Rizvi grabbed the bronze medal in men’s double trap event. Another Indian shooter Ankur Mittal, who was leading after the qualification round finished in 5th position.

Asab defeated Nathan Xuereb of Malta 26-24 in the bronze medal play-off. Both the Indian shooters started off very well in the qualification round as Ankur and Asab with 135 and 132 points finished on 1st and 2nd respectively in the qualification round to make it to the semifinals.

Asab’s start to the semifinal round was a bit shaky as he missed 3 of the first 10 targets, but after that he didn’t miss a single shot in his next 10 rounds and scored a good 27/30. Along with Asab, two Englishmen Steven Scott and Matthew French finished with the same scoreline as the contest ended in three-way shoot-off.

Asab unfortunately missed one target in the shoot-off as the other two shooters shot a perfect 2/2 to qualify for the gold medal match.

In bronze medal play-off, Asab was leading 8-6 at one stage but then the 17 year old shooter from Malta,Nathan Xuereb made a good comeback to level the scores to 14-14. The inexperience of the Maltian shooter came into play as he missed few shots towards the end of the match.

Steven Scott shot a perfect 30 to clinch the gold medal and his compatriot Matthew French with a score of 29 won the silver medal.

With this medal, India’s medal tally has now gone up to 19 medals which includes 5 golds, 8 silvers and 6 bronze. England, Australia and Scotland hold the top 3 positions respectively.

Final Standings:

Position / Name / Medal
1 Steven Scott (ENG) GOLD
2 Matthew French (ENG) SILVER
3 Asab Mohammed (IND) BRONZE

source: http://www.sportskeeda.com / SportsKeeda / Home> News> Shooting / by Vishal Kungwani / July 27th, 2014

Akharas come alive on Naag Panchami

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Sports, Travel

Allahabad :

While wrestlers kept the Tri-colour fluttering in Glasgow at the ongoing Commonwealth Games, their local brethrens on Friday got a chance to showcase their skills at dangals (wrestling competitions held in various akharas turned fitness centres of the city on the occasion of Naag Panchami.

Most of the akharas are decked up specially for the annual dangals held on Naag Panchami. For the rest of the year, these akharas act as fitness centres.

It is tragic change of fortune for the akharas of the Sangam City that still fondly remembers the famous wrestling match in which former world champion and legendary Gama Pehalwan defeated Rahim Sultaniwalla in an ‘akhara’ to become national champion. The match was held a century ago. Since then, much water has flowed in Ganga and even city’s landscape has undergone a sea change, robbing ‘akharas’ of sheen.

Senior wrestler Ram Dulare said that akharas get a new lease of life only in Shravan. “The traditional style of wrestling is one of the oldest discipline of sports but has now confined to an annual affair,” he added. Lamenting that local akharas had shunned Indian style of wrestling, he said “The drills include around 90% gymnasium techniques. Pure form of training involving dand baithak’ is missing as we lack mandatory equipments like Mugdals’, Gaddas’, Nals’ and Mallakhambs,” said Dulare.

As a result, the city has failed to produce even a single wrestler of repute in the last several years. In Friday’s dangals several local wrestlers won people’s applause. However, most of them lamented absence of expert trainers and equipments in akharas.

Sanu Dube, who won the dangal’ in Raghunathdas Vyayamshala said, “We don’t have the luxury of enjoying energy drink after hours of practice in akharas. Instead, we rely on tea. One cannot expect wrestlers practicing under such pitiable conditions to scale new heights.”

Shubham is a boatman and a practicising wrestler in middle-weight category. He still relies on age-old technique of Kala-jung’ and Dhaag’, while other wrestlers have turned to modern gymnastics techniques.

He was among two dozen wrestlers, including runner-up Ankur (18), Nitin (18) and Bikku Nishad (17), who won the annual traditional competition’ despite practicising in akharas (pits) that are devoid of even traditional equipment like like Mugdals (Indian Clubs), Gaddas’ (Maces), Nals’ (Stone Weights) and Mallakhambs (Wrestler Pillars).

“Energy drink and training under experts are luxury for wrestlers like us. We neither have the money to buy such expensive items nor any equipment to exercise,” said the wrestlers.

“In fact, the akharas’ (pits) have turned into gymnasium where dangals are held only in Shravan (July-August),” laments wrestler Suraj Kumar at contested at the dangal held in Loknath Akhara.

For another wrestler Kamal Singh, Shravan is the only occasion in which he and his disciples get a chance to display their expertise. For the rest of the time, the two akharas turn into a fitness centre.

Dangal was also held in Loknath Vyayamshala but there was no provision to declare winners. However, the topmost winners were feted.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Allahabad / by Vinod Khanal, TNN / August 02nd, 2014