Grand treble for Rashmi in Media TT

Patna, July 28, 2010: Rashmi Pandey of Hindi daily Hindustan clinched a grand treble winning women singles, doubles and mixed doubles titles in the Strawberry Kids Play School inter-media table tennis tournament at the Bihar Young Men’s Institute here on Wednesday.

Rashmi won the women’s singles title beating her teammate Shurti Kishore 6-11, 11-7 and 13-11. Earlier Rashmi pairing with Shruti Kishore got the women doubles titles defeating Vijaya Singh (i next) and Sonali Chhaya (Prabhat Khabar) 11-8, 11-5 in the final on Tuesday.

In the mixed doubles final, Rashmi partnering with Prashant Kakkar (Hindustan) beat Rajesh Kumar and Shruti Kishore (also from Hindustan) by 11-7, 3-11, 20-18 to bag the crown.

Neeraj Kumar Sinha of All India Radio (AIR) annexed a grand double in the men’s section winning men’s singles and doubles titles.

Niraj Kumar Sinha of Akashvani tamed teammate Jagmohan Gehlot 11-3 and 11-6 in the singles, while he together with Jagmohan defeated another colleague S K Sinha and Rahul Shankar 11-7, 11-9 in the doubles.

Former Bihar women TT champion Papiya D Gandhi and former Bihar men’s champion Dilip Kumar Gandhi gave away the prizes. On the occasion, Sports Journalists Association of Bihar (SJAB) felicitated the two legends of Bihar table tennis Dilip and Papyia. Senior vice-president of SJAB, Adhikari MM Prasad felicitated Papiya D Gandhi while director of Strawberry Kids Play School Kumar Pranay honoured Dilip Kumar Gandhi by presenting them mementos.

Syed Shabab Anwar, executive member, SJAB gave away the prizes to winners and runners-up of mixed doubles event.

SJAB secretary Pradeep Modak welcomed the guests. Abhijeet Biswas, treasurer, SJAB, proposed a vote of thanks. Arun Kumar Singh, Manoj Kumar Sinha, Navin Chandra Manoj, Amarnath, Shailendra Kumar Sinha (all office-bearers of SJAB), Mukesh Roy, secretary, Bihar Table Tennis Association, Mirtunjay Tiwari, president, RJD sports cell, Kumar Vijay, president, JD (U) sports cell, sports organizer Santosh Tiwari, athletic coach Abhishek Kumar and national TT players Somnath Roy and Rinki Ghosh were present at the function.

The five-day championship was organised by SJAB with technical supports from Bihar Table Tennis Association.

Photo caption: Winners of Strawberry Kids Play School inter-media table tennis tournament pose for a group photograph in Patna on July 28, 2010.
Photo: Aftab Alam Siddiqui

Rashmi faces Shruti in Media TT final

Patna, July 25, 2010: Two women scribes of Hindi daily Hindustan Rashmi Pandey and Shruti Kishore set up title clash in the singles final of the Strawberry Kids Play School inter-media table tennis tournament at the Bihar Young Men’s Institute here.

In the first semi-final, Shruti tamed Smita Choudhary (Dainik Jagran) 11-4, 11-8 while Rashmi got the better of Akanksha of Rashtriya Sahara 11-4, 11-5 in the second semi-final.

In the men’s singles, Rahul Shankar, Rajiv Kumar, Tahir Hadi and SK Sinha moved into the quarter-finals.

Results: men’s singles (second round): Rahul Shankar beat Abhay Choubey 11-4, 11-6; Rajiv Kumar beat Prashant Kakkar 11-6, 11-6; Tahir Hadi beat Abhishek Kumar 12-10, 12-10; SK Sinha beat Rajiv Nayan Mishra 11-9, 11-6.

Photo caption: Rashmi Pandey (top) and Shruti Kishore (bottom left) in action during their singles match of the Strawberry Kids Play School inter-media table tennis tournament in Patna on July 25, 2010.

Khagaria to host Bihar Gold Cup kabaddi from July 30

Patna, July 25, 2010: Bihar State Kabaddi Association will organize senior Gold Cup kabaddi tournament for men and women at Khagaria from July 30, according to association secretary Kumar Vijay.

Top eight teams of Bihar in both the sections will take part in the three-day meet. Manish Kumar Singh has been named organising secretary for the meet.

Strawberry Kids Play School inter-media TT begins

Patna, July 24, 2010: The Strawberry Kids Play School inter-media table tennis tournament got off to a colourful start at the Bihar Young Men’s Institute hall here on Saturday.

In the men’s singles Manoj Kumar Sinha (Hindustan Times), SK Sinha (AIR), Alok Chaturvedi (Dainik Jagran) and Bipin Kumar Sinha (AIR) won their respective matches easily and advanced into the second round.

Sports Journalists Association of Bihar (SJAB) with technical support from Bihar Table Tennis Association is organizing the five-day table tennis carnival for media persons of Patna.

Sanjay Singh, MLC, and president, Bihar Table Tennis Association (B TTA) and Kumar Pranay, director, Strawberry Kids Play School jointly inaugurated the tournament.

Pradeep Modak, secretary, Sports Journalists Association of Bihar (SJAB) welcomed the guests. Adhikari MM Prasad, senior vice-president, SJAB proposed a vote of thanks.

Mukesh Roy, secretary, BTTA, Niraj Kumar Pappu, joint secretary, Throwball Association of India, Kumar Vijay, president, JD (U) sports cell, Mirtunjay Tiwari, president, RJD sports cell, Abhishek Kumar, athletic coach, Rahul Das, national TT player, Abhijeet Biswas, treasurer, SJAB, Rinki Ghosh, Shailendra Kumar, office secretary, SJAB, Arun Kumar Singh, joint-secretary, SJAB, Amarnath and Santosh Tiwari were present at the opening ceremony.

Results:
Men’s singles (first round): Alok Chaturvedi beat Razi Ahmad 11-4, 11-9; Manoj Kumar Sinha beat Ashish Kumar 11-2, 3-11, 12-10; Bipin Kumar Prasad beat Ganguly Gunjan 10-12, 13-11, 11-3 and SK Sinha beat Rajesh Kumar 11-8, 11-6.

Photo caption: Participants of Media Cup table tennis tournament pose for a group photograph with Sanjay Singh, MLC and other distinguished guests in Patna on July 24, 2010.

Photo: Aftab Alam Siddiqui

Bihar State ranking TT from July 31

Patna, July 24, 2010: The first Major Bihar State ranking table tennis tournament will be held at the Bihar Young Men’s Institute here from July 31, according to Mukesh Roy, secretary, Bihar Table Tennis Association.
The last date for entry is July 29.

Bihar State swimming on August 7

Patna, July 24, 2010: The 33rd Bihar State senior swimming championships will be held at the Bankipore Club swimming pool on August 7, according to Ram Bilas Pandey, secretary, Bihar Swimming Association.

The tournament was earlier scheduled to be held from July 21 at Delhi Public School (DPS), Danapur.

Last date for entry is August 3. Bihar team for the Senior National championships will be selected on the basis of the state championships.

Bihar team for East Zone Junior Athletics named

Patna, July 24, 2010: Bihar Athletic Association announced on Saturday state team for the 22nd East Zone junior athletic championships to be held in Ranchi from August 1 to 3.

Bihar Athletic Association secretary Liaquit Ali Khan said Ashutosh Kumar Singh of Jamui would lead the team.

Team:
Boys (under-14): Amjad Ali, Arun Kumar, Uttam Kumar and Vikram Kumar.

Under-16: Prem Praksh Gupta, Sanjeev Kumar, Mukesh Kumar Singh, Pappu Kumar, Chandra Prakash Yadav, Arjun Kumar Yadav, Ranjit Ranjan Ojha, Imran Hasmi, Nitesh Kumar, Abhishek Kumar, Shyam Sunder, Sonu Kumar, Pintoo Kumar Singh, Rashid Akhtar and Ravi Ranjan.

Under-18: Yadunandan Rai, Niranjan Kumar Singh, Vinod Kumar, Shivraj Choudhary, Rahul Kumar Singh, Ben Jhonson Marandi, Rajiv Kumar Singh, Amit Kumar, Palas Das, Mantosh Kumar, Pradip Kumar, Anjani Kumar Singh, Sintu Kumar, Santosh Kumar and Dheeraj Kumar.

Under-20: Shankar Paswan, Md Azad, Anand Kishore, Mritunjay Pal, Sheikh Ali, Dashrath Kumar, Bhim Bahadur, Kundan Kumar, Monu Kumar, Vinod Kumar Sharma, Malkhan Singh Yadav, Kundan Kumar, Ashutosh Kuma Singh (captain), Pawan Kumar Yadav and Vikas Kumar Singh.

Girls (under-14): Banti Kumjai, Anshu Kumari, Sonam Kumari and Sapna Kumari.

Under-16: Monukant Sri, Khushboo Kumari, Rashmi Kumari, Shakila Khatoon, Arti Kumari and Soni Kumari.

Under-18: Deepali, Komal Kumari, Veena Kumari, Richa Raj, Putul Sarkar and Vandana Kumari.

Under-20: Sharmila Bag, Sarvista Mandal, Shilpa Kumari, Neha Kumari and Pratima Kumari.

Chef-de-mission: Nasar Alam.

Bihar team for Santosh Trophy announced

Patna, July 19, 2010: A 20-member team will represent Bihar in the 64th National football championships for Sanotsh Trophy being played in Kolkata, according to Bihar Football Association president Arjun Vikram Shah.

He said Bihar would play their first match against Railways on July 22.

Team: Irfan Ansari (Samastipur), Chandan Paramanik, Md Afzal Alam, RR Soren (all Patna), Md Shoaib (EC Railway, Danapur), Md Tahmeed (Munger), Dilip Hembrem (EC Railway, Jamalpur), Rakesh Prakash Singh (EC Railway, Danapur), RK Mahto (Patna), Rajesh Kumar Patel (Siwan), Pradip Debnath (Patna), Avinash Thapa (EC Railway, Danapur), Shiv Bharat Gautam (Siwan), Bhavesh Kumar (Munger), Dev Bharat Kumar (Munger), Jitan Lohar (Patna), Krishna Shakya (Siwan), Md Faoyaz Alam (Gaya), Mithun Kumar (EC Railway, Jamalpur), Kushal Ghimire (East Champaran), Naushad Ahmad (coach, Gaya) and Sudip Kumar Gupta (manager, EC Railway, Jamalpur).

Bhagalpur to host Bihar state badminton from August 17

Patna, July 19, 2010: Bihar state badminton championships will be held in Bhagalpur from August 17 to 22, according to Bihar Badminton Association secretary KN Jaiswal.

He said Bhagalpur District Badminon Association secretary Rajesh Nandan had been named convenor of the tournament. Last date for entry was July 26, he added.

Mini boys and girls, midget boys and girls singles sub-junior, junior boys and girls, men and women singles and doubles would be organised in the 6-day event. Mixed doubles would also be played in the tournament, he said.

Queen's Baton gets rousing welcome in Patna

Patna, July 17, 2010: The Queen’s Baton Relay (QBR) of the XIX Commonwealth Games 2010 to be held in New Delhi from October 3 to 14 reached Patna on Wednesday. The Baton received tumultuous welcome from all sections of the society.

Students of Bal Bhawan presented a gala dance show to welcome to Baton.

Later, the Baton was received by Bihar Governor Debanand Konwar at Raj Bhavan at a simple function. QBR Committee chairpserons Alka Lamba handed over the baton to Bihar Governor.

Konwar, after welcoming the QBR team, flagged off the 50-metre run inside the Raj Bhavan campus. Bihar Government’s Art, Culture and Youth Affairs Department secretary Vivek Singh was present on the occasion.

After starting its city journey, the QBR passed through 17 different points in Patna where reputed athletes and sports persons of Bihar exchanged the baton for onward journey.
Bollywood actress Nitu Chandra also carried the Baton to a few distance from Raj Bhawan. She also took part in the entire show right from the start.

The Patna leg of the QBR culminated into a colourful cultural function at SK Memorial Hall where artistes performed folk dances of Bihar amidst thundering applauds from a packed house.

Bihar Assembly Speaker Uday Narayan Choudhary, Art, Culture and Youth Affairs Minister Renu Devi and a host of other officials were present at the function.

The Queen’s Baton Relay team arrived Patna via Gaya and Jehanabad after a stopover at Sasaram at Sher Shah Tomb.

Photos: Aftab Alam Siddiqui

Museum of wheels provides glimpses of Commonwealth Games

Patna, July 17, 2010: Commonwealth Express, a museum on wheels, showcasing the history of Commonwealth Games and India’s achievements in it arrived at Patna Junction on Wednesday. The 11-coach train halted at Patna Junction for two days before leaving for Gaya.

The train museum has also put on display the models of stadiums being prepared for the XIX Commonwealth Games to be held in New Delhi from October 3 to 14.
Hundreds of sports enthusiasts including students of different schools rushed to the platform number 9 of Patna Junction to watch the exhibition.
The history of the Games showcases through posters while an electronic model with blinking lights displays the journey of the Queen's Baton from England to India covering Commonwealth countries.

Shera, the mascot of the New Delhi Commonwealth Games was seen everywhere.

Photos: Aftab Alam Siddiqui

Raj Milk maintain winning spree

Patna, July 6, 2010: Defending champions Raj Milk Football Club won their ninth consecutive match in the Patna Football Association super division league beating State Bank of India (SBI) 4-0 at the Patna High School ground here on Tuesday.

Nigerian players Saiddi and Uzema were the stars of Raj Milk win.

Raj Milk men came into action after a lack-luster display in the first half that failed to produce a single goal.

Saiddi opened the account in the 47th minute. Eight minutes later, Uzema netted the second goal. Saiddi slammed the third goal of the match in the 61st minute. Kartik Dutta increased the lead in the 78th minute scoring the fourth goal.

In the second match at New Police Lines ground, SAI Training Centre, Patna edged past BMP Boys by a solitary goal. Sanjay Kumar blasted the match winner in the 78th minute off a spot kick.

Bihar state swimming on July 21

Patna, July 6, 2010: The 33rd Bihar state senior swimming championships will be held at the Delhi Public School (DPS), Danapur on July 21, according to Prabhakar Nandan, joint secretary, Bihar Swimming Association (BSA).
Interested swimmers may contact BSA secretary Ram Bilas Pandey for entry and others details till July 16, he said.

Raj Milk continue their unbeaten run in Patna football league

Patna, July 4, 2010: Raj Milk Football Club continued their unbeaten run in the Patna Football Association super division league edging past Bihar Police by a solitary goal at the Patna High School ground here on Sunday.

The first half of the match ended goalless.

Raj Milk played better in the second half. In the 73rd minute, Nigerian striker Uzema scored the match winner. This was the eighth straight win for Raj Milk.

In the other match of the day, Rainbow Football Club beat Police Boys 2-0 at New Police Lines ground.

SBI collect full points against Rainbow

Patna, July 3, 2010: State Bank of India (SBI) registered a sounding 3-1 win over Rainbow Football Club in the Patna Football Association super division league at the New Police Lines ground here on Saturday.

At the breather, Rainbow held SBI to a 1-1 draw.

Vikas Singh of Rainbow scored the first goal in the 4th minute of match. SBI striker Sanjay Singh netted the equalizer in the 21st minute.

In the second half, SBI men found their rhythm as Sanjay Singh put SBI into the lead scoring second goal for his team. Binod Kumar made it 3-1in the 72nd minute.

FCI and BMP Boys played in a goalless draw in the second match of the day at the New Police Lines ground here.

Photo caption: FCI and BMP Boys fight for the ball during their PFA super division football league match in Patna on July 3, 2010.
Photo: Aftab Alam Siddiqui

Bihar's Prabhakar Nandan named technical officer of Commonwealth Games swimming

Patna, July 3, 2010: Prabhakar Nandan, joint secretary of the Bihar Swimming Association, has been named technical officer for the swmming event in the 19th Commonwealth Games to be held in Delhi from October 3 to 14, according to Bihar Swimming Association secretary Ram Bilas Pandey.

International Sports Journalists' Day celebrated in Patna

Patna, July 2, 2010: Sports Journalists’ Association of Bihar (SJAB) took out an awareness rally to celebrate International Sports Journalists’ Day here on Friday.

The walk led by SJAB president Deepak Pandey and its secretary Pradeep Modak, began from Kargil Chowk and ended at the Moinul Haq Stadium covering a distance of 4-km.

All sports journalists of the Patna print media participated in the march for creating awareness about the role of sports journalists in society.

They carried a banner describing ‘play sports, make future’. CEO of Star India Construction Private Limited Niraj Kumar Pappu flagged off the march at Kargil Chowk. At the Moinul Haq Stadium, office-bearers of the different sports organizations received the journalists.

Photo caption: Sports scribes of Patna take out an awareness rally in Patna on July 2, 2010.
Photo: Aftab Alam Siddiqui

BMP Boys thrash Eleven Star Mokama

Patna, July 2, 2010: BMP Boys humbled Eleven Star, Mokama 6-0 in the Patna Football Association super division league at the New Police Lines ground here on Friday.

BMP Boys shot into 4-0 lead at the end of the first half.
Dhanjay Chandrabanshi (3 goals), Md Raqib (2 goals) and Sarfraz (1 goal) found the target.

Rainbow crush Eleven Star Mokama

Patna, June 27, 2010: Rainbow Football Club thrashed bottom placed Eleven Star, Mokama 4-0 in the Patna Football Association super division league at the New Police Lines ground here on Sunday.

Winners were 1-0 up in the first half.

Rainbow’s striker Vikas Singh netted the first goal in the 5th minute (1-0). Rainbow boys played attacking soccer in the second half as in the 65th minute Vikas Kumar Singh struck the second goal (2-0). Two minutes later, Anis Kumar made it (3-0). Amit Kumar took the tally to 4-0 in the 76th minute.

SBI notch up exciting lone goal win over BRC

Patna, June 26, 2010: State Bank of India (SBI) beat Bihar Regimental Centre (BRC), Danapur, by a lone goal in the Patna Football Association super division league at the Patna High School ground here on Saturday.

Both the teams were locked goalless in the first half.

In the second half, SBI striker Sarfraz scored the match winner in the 67th minute.