Smriti Cup Gunjar Devi cricket begins

Patna, June 25, 2011: The first Smriti Cup Gunjar Devi cricket tournament got off to a colourful start at the Moinul Haq Stadium here. On the day first, KPS Residential School and Ashwini Public School won their respective matches to move into the pre-quarterfinals.

In the first match, KPS Residential Public School beat Literal Valley School by 94 runs while Ashwini Public School beat Nehru Cricket Club by 25 runs.

Earlier, Satish Roy of Smriti 4 IIT-JEE Classes and Mritunjay Tiwari, president, Bihar Players Association inaugurated the tournament jointly. Organising president Suman Kumar and secretary Santsoh Tiwari were present on the occasion.

Brief Scores: KPS 134 (Saurabh Kumar 61, Vibhuti Bhaskar 16, Aman Verma 6 for 13, Robin 2 for 12).

Litera Valley 39 (Abhishek Raj 19, Shubhman 3 for 9, Shashi Ranjan 3 for 21).

Ashwini Public School: 98 all out (Rahul 23, Rohan 15, Ashutosh 16, Abhishek Raj 3 for 19, Anuj 2 for 20).

Nehru CC 73 all out (Swaraj 15, Satyam 14, Divyam 11, Rohan 4 for 17, Kushagra 3 for 11).

Photo caption: Satish Roy of Smriti 4 IIT-JEE Classes and Mritunjay Tiwari, president, Bihar Players Association inaugurate the tournament jointly in Patna on June 25, 2011.

Photo: Aftab Alam Siddiqui

Patna to host Bihar U-17 chess tournament

Patna, June 26, 2011: Bihar State U-17 boys and girls’ chess championships will be held at the Moinul Haq Stadium here from June 30, according to All Bihar Chess Association secretary Arvinda Kumar Sinha.

Top four finishers of the tournament will represent Bihar in the 22^nd National U-17 championships to be held in Pondicherry from July 17.

Two Bihar TT players called for Karlsson's camp

Patna, June 24, 2011: Two Bihar paddlers Piyush D Gandhi and Naman Kumar were called by the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) to attend a special camp to be held in Indore from June 27, said Mukesh Roy, secretary, Bihar Table Tennis Association.

Former world champion Peter Karlsson of Sweden will conduct the camp. Roy said TTFI Bihar coach Somnath Roy had also been invited by the TTFI to attend a training camp for the National level ‘A’ coach.

Photo caption: Piyush D Gandhi, Bihar Table Tennis Association secretary Mukesh Roy, Somnath Roy and Naman Kumar pose for a group photograph in Patna on June 24, 2011.

Vishu claims a grand treble in AITA talent series

Patna, June 24, 2011: Vishu Prasad of Delhi clinched a grand treble in the second leg of AITA talent series tournament winning the boys’ U-18, U-16 singles and U-18 doubles titles at the Patliputra tennis court here on Friday.

In the boys’ under-18 singles final Vishu Prasad beat Sourabh Raghuvanshi of Madhya Pradesh 6-1, 6-0. Later, partnering with Niklash Kanojia, Vishu won the boys’ U-18 doubles title beating Shree Krishna (Bihar) and Nishat Iqbal (WB) 6-1, 7-6.

Uthra Venkatesh of Tamil Nadu annexed double crowns in girls’ section winning under-18 and under-16 singles finals.

Results: Boys’ under-18 singles (final): Vishu Prasad (Delhi) bt Sourabh Raghuvanshi (MP) 6-1, 6-0.

Boys’ under-16 singles (final): Vishu Prasad bt Shree Krishna (Bihar) 6-3, 6-4.

Boys’ under-18 doubles (final): Vishu Prasad & Niklash Kanojia bt Shree Krishna & Nishat Iqbal 6-1, 7-6.

Boys’ under-16 doubles (final): Shree Krishna & Nishat Iqbal bt Arnav Alok Goel (UTK) & Ravi Tomar (UTK) 6-4, 6-2.

Girls’ under-18 singles (final): Uthra Venkatesh (TN) bt Madhu Jaiswal (Bihar) 6-0, 6-0. Girls’ under-16 (final): Uthra Venkatesh bt Fatima Packer (Bihar) 6-0, 6-0.

Bihar Lawn Tennis Association secretary Dr Akhouri B Prasad gave away the prizes.

Indian eves finish 7th in Dublin tourney

Patna, June 26, 2011: India came from behind in the second half to beat Azerbaijan 3-1 to finish seventh in the FIH Womens Champions Challenge 1 Hockey Tournament in Dublin, Ireland on Sunday, according to information received here.

The goal scorers for India were Saba Anjum (44th), Chanchan Devi Thokchom (49th) and Anuradha Devi (68th min), while Zhang Suleymanova was on target for Azerbaijan in the 28th minute.

India had trounced Azerbaijan 6-1 in their earlier round robin Pool match.

Both teams were lethargic in the first half of this morning game with scoring chances being few and far between.

The only goal of the first half came on a penalty stroke in the 28th minute when Azerbaijan’s Zhang Suleymanova easily scored on India’s Yogita Bali.

India came out in the second half much stronger and immediately started pressuring Azerbaijan. Their efforts were rewarded in the 44th minute when captain Saba Anjum put in the only field goal of the game to even things up at one.

Five minutes later winger Chanchan Devi Thokchom gave the Indians their first advantage with the 2-1 penalty corner goal.

The one-goal lead stood for another 20 minutes, but India was never really in danger of surrendering the game-tying goal. But for good measure Anuradha Devi put in an insurance marker with two minutes left in regulation to bring the final to 3-1.

HI Press release

Chikkarangappa adds another feather to his cap

Bangalore, June 24, 2011: Khalin Joshi’s dream to land the title ended in a disappointment after a superb performance from S. Chikkarangappa gave the National top amateur a five shot victory in the final day of Toyota Corolla Altis Southern India Amateur Golf Championship at KGA, Bangalore. It was a back-to-back victory in the Indian Amateur circuit for Chikka in the south leg of the tournament.

After hitting a bad score yesterday, 17-year-old Chikka wanted to turn it around. He hit four birdies on 2nd, 8th 10th, 11th and two bogeys on 5th and 14th to finish at two-under 70 for the total of one-over 289.

In front of large galleries on the course, filled with Bangalore crowd and few fans, both Chikka and Joshi looked aggressive in the beginning. Though Khalin Joshi made a good start by firing birdies on first two holes but bogeys on 4th, 7th, 9th, 13th 18th and a double bogey on 5th did not allow him to fill the gap of five strokes.

Finally the overnight leader Khalin Joshi, closed with a 77 for the total tally of 294 to take the runner’s up spot while Northern India Champion, Abhijit Chadha was third with the score of one-over 73 for the total of 295.

After collecting the trophy, a delighted Chikka said, “I am very happy with the way I won today. I never thought in my life that I would win by five-shots but somewhere the confidence of winning was always there. The main point where I realized that the title is in my hands was the hole No. 8th. I holed 30-footer outside the green and made a birdie from there and that was the best birdie in my entire career. Also, I was kicking my putter in the last three days and I actually kissed it this morning, I think that helped me a lot to make this happen.”

“I have always been a good finisher but somewhere my mind was saying that Khalin might win since it’s his home course. Without a doubt, he is a great player and we both played a very good game. I think he just lost it after the double bogey on 5th and it can happen with anybody in this game. Though we fight on course a lot for good but I am so proud to be his friend,” added Chikka.

The winner of NCR Cup this year, Kanishk Madan carded four-over 76 for the total of 297 to finish in fourth position while the fifth place was taken by Asian Games silver medalist, Rahul Bajaj after shooting one-over 73 for the total of 299. Another Bangalore lad Trishul Chinappa who shot four-under in the third day as the best score of the event, ended 11 strokes behind the winner to take the 6th position.

Photo caption: S. Chikkarangappa and Khalin Joshi (right) display their winner and runner-up trophies of Toyota Corolla Altis Southern India Amateur Golf Championship at KGA,Bangalore on June 24, 2011.

Press Release

Indian eves suffer defeat against South Africa

Patna, June 25, 2011: India lost 0-2 to South Africa in a 5-8 position match in the FIH Women's Champions Challenge 1 Tournament at Dublin.

According to information received here, South Africa scored once in each half through world record goal scorer Pietie Coetzee from a penalty corner in the 23rd minute and Lesle-Ann George in the 67th minute.

The match was played in wet and drizzly conditions with India getting few chances in the soggy atmosphere.

Indian strikers, skipper Saba Anjum, Rani, Jasjeet Kaur Handa and Chanchan Devi failed to find their rhythm and cohesion in the attacks.

South Africa were thwarted by Indian goalkeeper Yogita Bali who saved a penalty stroke taken by Coetzee in the 28th minute. India will now play Azerbaijan tomorrow for the 7-8 position.

Indian eves lose to Japan in hockey

Patna, June 23, 2011: India went down fighting 0-1 to Japan in the Quarter Final of the FIH Women's Champions Challenge 1 at Dublin, Ireland.

According to information received here, after a barren first half Japan found the winner when Aki Mitsuhashi scored in the 64th minute.

The match was well contested with both teams displayed a degree of caution.

In the second half Indian forwards penetrated into the Japanese striking circle repeatedly but forwardss Rani, captain Saba Anjum and Jasjit Kaur Handa could not beat goalkeeper Sakiyo Asano.

In a swift turnover Keiko Manabe threaded a perfect pass to Mitsuhasl from the midfield with the nippy Japanese striker pushing home past custodian Yogita Bali to give her team a semi final meeting against Spain.

India will now play South Africa tomorrow in the first of two placement matches for 5-8 positions.

Hockey India Press Release

Vishu, Sourabh enter U-18 singles semifinals

Patna, June 22, 2011: Vishu Prasad and Sourabh Raghuvanshi cruised into the semifinals of the boys’ U-18 singles in the second leg of the AITA talent series at the Patliputra tennis court here on Wednesday.

Bihar’s Adamya Vikrant and Asai Akruth of Andhra Pradesh also made the last four grades in the same category.

Results: Boys’ under-18 singles (quarterfinals): Vishu Prasad bt Venkat Siddharth 6-1, 6-2; Adamya Vikrant bt Arnav Alok Goel 6-2, 6-1; Asai Akruth bt Shree Krishna 6-2, 6-3; Sourabh Raghuvanshi bt Aman Kumar 6-2, 6-2.

Boys’ under-16 singles (quarterfinals): Vishu Prasad bt Sanoj Kumar 6-3, 6-3; Siddharth Anand bt Yash Raj Sharan 6-1, 6-2; Shree Krishna bt Ritwik Bhriguvanshi 6-1, 6-2; Nishant Iqbal bt Arnav Alok Goel 6-12, 6-2.

Boys’ under-18 doubles (quarterfinals): Aman Kumar & Aditya Vishwakarma bt Yash Raj Sharan & Aman Baruah Das 6-0, 6-1; Arnav Alok Goel & Ravi Tomar bt Adveya Sharma & Parth Agarwal 6-1, 6-0; Sourabh Raghuvanshi & Venkat Siddhrath bt Shree Krishna & Nioshant Iqbal 6-2, 6-3; Vishu Prasad & Niklash Kanojia bt Shivam Shukla & Siddharth Anand 6-2, 6-2.

Boys’ under-16 doubles (quarterfinals): Siddharth Anand & Shivam Shukla bt Praduman Buddhiraja & Ritwik Bhriguvanshi 7-5, 6-4; Arnav Alok Goel & Ravi Tomar bt Ankit Anand & Ramyak Singh 6-1, 6-1 and Anshumat Srivastava & Adarsh Anand bt Yash Raj Sharan & Parth Agarwal 6-2, 6-1.

Bihar baseball team announced

Patna, June 21, 2011: Shubh Dayal will lead an 11-member Bihar team in the 8th Senior East Zone baseball championships to be held in Imphal from June 24 to June 26, according to Ajay Narayan Sharma, secretary, Baseball Association of Bihar.

Team: Shubh Dayal (captain), Sahil Kumar (vice-captain), Santosh Kumar, Manish Soren, Ankesh Kumar, Nikesh Kumar, Amit Kumar, Md Faizal, Anand Kumar, Raj Kumar and Umashankar. Coach: Vijay Kumar. Manager: Brajesh Kumar.

Quarterfinalists spotted in AITA talent series

Patna, June 21, 2011: Quarterfinalists were spotted in the boys’ U-18 singles of the AITA talent series second leg tournament at the Patliputra Colony courts here.

Aman Kumar (Bihar), Sourabh Raghuvanshi (MP), Arnav Alok Goel (Uttarakhand), Adamya Vikrant (Bihar) and Asai Akruth (AP) moved into the quarterfinals posting easy wins over their respective rivals.

Results: Boys’ under-18 (pre-quarterfinals): Aman Kumar bt Nishant Iqbal (WB) 6-2, 6-2; Sourabh Raghuvanshi bt Nihal Singh (Bihar) 6-4, 6-3; Arnav Alok Goel bt Ankit Anand (Bihar) 6-2, 6-1; Adamya Vikrant bt Anish Anupam (Bihar) 6-2, 6-1; Asai Akruth bt Sanoj Kumar (Bihar) 6-2, 6-1.

Boys’ under-16 (pre-quarterfinals): Vishu Prasad (Delhi) bt Ravi Tomar (Uttarakhand) 6-1, 6-0; Sanoj Kumar (Bihar) bt Ankit Anand (Bihar) 6-1, 6-2; Siddharth Anand (Bihar) bt Shivam Shukla (UP) 6-1, 6-1; Yash Raj Sharan (Bihar) bt Adarsh Anand (Bihar) 6-2, 6-1; Shree Krishna (Bihar) Praduman Buddhiraja (UP) 6-0, 6-0; Ritwik Bhrighuvanshi (Bihar) bt Anish Anupam (Bihar) 6-2, 6-2; Arnav Alok Goel (UTK) bt Anshumat Srivastava (Bihar) 6-2, 6-2 and Nishat Iqbal (WB) bt Yashesh Mulchandani (MP) 6-1, 6-3.

Khalin Joshi surges ahead on day three

Bangalore, June 23: It was the turn of Bangalore's second lad, Khalin Joshi to shoot into lead on Day three of Toyota Corolla Altis Southern India Amateur Championship at KGA. 18-year-old Joshi who has been reeling under the shadow of prodigy S. Chikkarangappa shot a two-under score for the total of 217 at his home course. Chikka after a dismal performance again is lagging behind Joshi by 2 strokes. Delhi’s Kanishk Madan hit five-over 77 for the total of 221 to finish in third position while Abhijit Chadha ended the day in fourth place along with Rahul Ravi of Bangalore with the total score of 222.

The winner of Bangladesh Open this year, Joshi started the day on a positive note as he hit a birdie on 4th, 8th, 9th, 11th but bogeys on 12th and 18th pegged him back.

Joshi, who is currently no. 2 on IGU’s merit list said, “I am not very happy with the way I played and I think it could be much better. Though, it was great grouping as I always enjoy playing with Chikka and Rahul Ravi but I still need to concentrate a little more if I want to take this title.”

The day brought many twist and turns in Chikka’s game as he carded two-over 74 for the total of 219. Chikka shot a bogey on 2nd, a birdie on 3rd. Another set of inconsistent performance was shown by Chikka on 7th and 8th hole when after shooting a commendable par he double bogeyed. But Chikka did show that he is a quick learner as on the 18th he scored a birdie today as compared to yesterday when he really misfired.

Despite a second place finish on the penultimate day Chikka sounded positive. “My putting was way off the mark again but I know that all golfers suffer from dip in form, and I am sure that I will make a comeback. Also, there is difference of only two strokes between me and Khalin and I like to play with this kind of challenge. I just need to make the early start and play some good shots in the front nine and I will be back in my real game tomorrow for sure.”

Trishul Chinnappa of Bangalore shot four-under as the best score of the day. Another lad from Bangalore ended up with a score of 226, owing to his wayward performance on the first two days.

Photo caption: Khalin Joshi in action in Bangalore on June 23, 2011.

Press Release

Chikka remains in lead on the second day

Bangalore, June 22, 2011: S. Chikkarangappa struggled the entire day 2 as he returned with a bad score of three-over 75, but he did maintain his lead in Toyota Corolla Altis Southern India Amateur Golf Championship at the KGA. Chikka is leading with the margin of two strokes from Rahul Ravi as well as Khalin Joshi who shot level par for the total of 147 in a tie for the second place on their home course.

Chandigarh’s Abhijit Chadha shot one-over for the total of 149 along with Haryana’s Angad Cheema and the winner of this year’s NCR Cup Delhi’s Kanishk Madan for tied fourth place.

17-year-old Chikka, the winner of Inter State Championship in Coimbatore, scored handsome birdies on 5th, 10th and 15th but couldn’t putt strongly as he had double bogey on 6th, bogey on 7th and 13th. He couldn’t control his temperament as he again shot a double bogey on 18th on a windswept day.

Disappointed Chikka said, “I putted very badly today. Though there were some great putts but I lacked consistency. Two double bogeys cost me a lot and then it was difficult to focus. On the 18th where I wanted to make at least the par, I hit right in the hazard and from there my ball went to the green but I missed the three feet putt and close it with another bogey. I will take it as another bad day or my hard luck and will work on my putting. Once home I will put the bad day out of my head and will aim to not repeat the mistakes.”

Starry Kahlon from Udham Pur was another lad to hit the level par as the best score of the day to make the cut for the first time in his short career. Coming from the Army background Kahlon said, “In the morning before the tee-off I thought I missed enough and this is the time to make my dad proud of myself. There is enough empty space after every shot and I kept on thinking about my father because he is a great golfer and I caddied for him for about two years. The concentration helped me a lot today to shoot a level par score and I am fully equipped to play much better from tomorrow onward even if I don’t practice.”

Press release

Akasha wins Bihar state women chess title

Patna, June 20, 2011: Saharsa girl Akasha clinched Bihar state women chess championships crown with 4.5 points at the end of the fifth and final round play at the Moinul Haq Stadium hall here on Monday.

Akasha, who entered the tournament as a dark horse caused two major upsets defeating defending champion Minki Sinha in the third round and last year’s runner-up Pammi Rani in the fourth round.

Darbhanga’s Smita Choudhary played brilliantly on the concluding day of the meet and finished fourth in the overall standing. She won her last three-round matches to make an entry into the Bihar team.

There was five-way tie for the second position as five players collected 3.5 points. Progressive scores rule was applied to decide the second, third and fourth place winners. National women’s “A” player Pammi Rani was declared the runner-up of the event.

Baleshwar Prasad, who was the chief guest in the closing function, gave away the prizes.

Final standings: 1-Akasha (4.5), 2-Pammi Rani (3.5), 3-Minki Sinha (3.5), 4-Smita Choudhary (3.5), 5-Shrishti Gautam (3.5), 6-Aditi Aditya (3.5), 7-Ankita Raj (3), 8-Kumari Shrishti (3), 9-Sandhya Srivastva (3) and 10-Lakshmi Kumari (2.5).

Indian women thrash Azerbaijan in hockey

Patna, June 21, 2011: Skipper Saba Anjum led from the front firing three goals as India routed Azerbaijan 6-1 to advance into the quarterfinals of the FIH Women’s Champions Challenge 1 at Dublin on Tuesday.

According a Hockey India Press release, India who led 5-0 at half time were in total domination in their last Pool ‘B’ round-robin fixture. They went down in the opener against hosts Ireland 1-2 and drew the next 1-1 with Spain.

The goal scorers for India were Saba Anjum (4th, 7th & 32 minutes penalty corner), Deepika Thakur (10th minute penalty corner), Rani Rampal (18th) and Jasjit Kaur Handa (52nd min) while the sole markswoman for Azerbaijan was Khatira Aliyeva from a penalty corner in the 47th min.

India thus finished second in their pool behind Ireland and will now play Japan in the quarterfinal on Thursday.

Chikkarangappa takes day one honours

Bangalore, June 21, 2011: In his home town, S. Chikkarangappa shot a two-under 70 to become the leader after day one at Toyota Corolla Altis Southern India Amateur Championship at KGA, Bengaluru. Currently No. 3 on the IGU’s merit list Delhi’s Gagan Verma shot level par to finish at the second position while another Delhi lad Sourabh Bahuguna hit one-over to end the day in third place.

The Nick Faldo Series Champion Abhijit Chadha from Chandigarh could not play aggressively as he hit four bogeys in the front nine as well as on 18th and a lone birdie on 14th to close the day with four-over 76 along with Delhi’s Siddharth Semwal for 18th place.

17-year-old Chikka had a very good start of the day as he shot a birdie on 5th and eagle on 11th but he was little bit unlucky with a bogey which he made on the hole No. 9th. Though, the wind was strong but Chikka found his own way to maneuver it.

The rising star of Bangalore, Chikka said, “I was glad with my every shot today but I am not going to sit idle after this round as I know this course is not like others where you have all the holes pretty similar. You have to be ready to hit from all 14 clubs at this course due to the unusual slopes but I will practice hard to make sure that I am in the contention everyday. All I would need to do is just to drive well and since I am pretty good in my chipping and putting."

Photo caption: S. Chikkarangappa in action at Toyota Corolla Altis Southern India Amateur Championship at Karnataka Golf Association course in Bangalore on June 21, 2011.

Shruti Jaiswal wins U-18 girls title

Patna, June 18, 2011: Shruti Jaiswal of Bihar won the AITA talent series girls’ under-18 singles title beating Kalpana Chaudhary of Uttar Pradesh 6-1, 6-2 in the final at the Patliputra Colony courts here.

It was quite a one-sided affair for Patna girl Shruti, who broke the services of Kalpana at her will. She gave no chance to her rival to bounce back.

In the girls U-16 singles final, Madhu Jaiswal beat Fatima Packer 6-2, 6-3 to win the crown.

In the coveted boys’ U-18 section, Devpriya Jaiswal of Bihar and Vishu Prasad of Delhi were declared joint winners as rains played spoilsport for the second consecutive day. Earlier on June 17, the match was stopped due to rain and at that time Devpriya was leading 3-0.

In the boys’ U-16 singles final Vishu Prasad tamed Sanoj Kumar of Bihar 6-2, 6-3 to capture the title. Later Vishu Prasad pairing with Adamya Vikrant of Bihar defeated Sahil Sehwag (Delhi) and Karan Mehta (Maharashtra) 6-2, 6-2 to win the U-16 doubles crown.

Photo caption: Shruti Jaiswal in action

Devpriya meets Vishu in U-18 singles final

Patna, June 17, 2011: Vishu Prasad of Delhi set up summit clash with Devpriya Jaiswal of Bihar in the boys’ under-18 singles of the AITA talent series tournament at the Patliputra tennis court here.

In the semifinals, Devpriya beat Shree Krishna of Bihar 6-2, 6-3 while Vishu tamed Nikhlesh Kanojia of Madhya Pradesh 6-2, 6-2.

In the girls’ U-18 final Shruti Jaiswal will face Kalpana Choudhary. Shruti Jaiswal outplayed Fatima Packer 6-1, 6-1in the first semifinal while Kalpana Chaudhary thrashed Madhu Jaiswal 6-1, 6-1 in the second semifinal.

Other results: Boys’ under-16 singles (quarterfinals): Vishu Prasad (Delhi) bt Siddharth Anand (Delhi) 6-2, 6-1; Rahul Yadav (MP) bt Shree Krishna (Bihar) 7-5, 6-2; Sanoj Kumar (Bihar) bt Abhilash Nair (UP) 6-3, 6-1; Sahil Sehwag (Delhi) bt Shivam Shukla (UP) 7-5, 6-3.

Boys’ under-18 doubles (semifinals): Aman Kumar & Aditya Vishkarma bt Venkat Siddharth & Saurabh Raghuvanshi 6-1, 7-5.

Boys’ under-16 doubles (semifinals): Vishu Prasad & Adamya Vikrant bt Rahul Yadav & Vyashesh Mulchandani 6-0, 6-1; Sahil Sehwag & Karan Mehta bt Adarsh Anand & Anshumat Shrivastava 6-0, 6-1.

Girls’ under-18 singles (semifinals): Shruti Jaiswal bt Fatima Packer 6-1, 6-1; Kalpana Chaudhary bt Madhu Jaiswal 6-1, 6-1.

Girls’ under-16 singles (semifinals): Madhu Jaiswal bt Mahima Jaiswal 6-0, 6-1; Fatima Packer bt Kalpna Chaudhary 6-2, 6-4.

Photo caption: Devpriya Jaiswal of Bihar in action at Patliputra Colony tennis courts in Patna on June 17, 2011.

Bihar sub-junior girls excel in National throwball

Bihar finished runners-up in the National sub-junior throwball championships held in Secundrabad recently. Bihar girls lost to Tamil Nadu in the final. The team returned Patna on June 15, 2011.

Photo: Aftab Alam Siddiqui

Devpriya Jaiswal advances into second round

Patna, June 14, 2011: Devpriya Jaiswal of Bihar tamed state-mate Adarsh Anand 6-0, 6-0 to move into the second round of the All India Tennis Association (AITA) ranking tournament at the Patliputra Colony courts here.

Results: Boys’ under-18 singles (first round): Sanoj Kumar (Bihar) bt Hajari P Chaurasia (UP) 6-0, 6-0; Saurabh Raghuvanshi (MP) bt Vaibhav Kumar (Bihar) 7-5, 6-3; Devpriya Jaiswal (Bihar) bt Adarsh Anand (Bihar) 6-0, 6-0; Venkat Siddharth (Bihar) bt Yashesh Mulchandani (MP) 3-6, 6-3, 7-5; Aman Kumar (Bihar) bt Shivam K Alluwaliya (Delhi) 6-2, 6-3; Shree Krishna (Bihar) bt Ankesh Anand (Bihar) 6-3, 6-2; Dharmendra Singh (Bihar) bt Anesh Anupam (Bihar) 6-4, 5-7, 6-3; Shahil Shagwag (Delhi) bt Parth Agarwal (Delhi) 6-2, 6-1; Adamya Vikrant (Bihar) bt Ritwik Bhriguvanshi (Bihar) 6-1, 6-3; Karan Mehta (Mah) bt Praduman Buddharaja (UP) 6-0, 6-2; Amlan Jyoti Baruah (Assam) bt Siddharth Vishwakarma (UP) 6-2, 1-6, 6-4; Sunil Rajbhar (UP) bt Govind P Mourya (UP) 1-6, 6-4, 7-6 (2); Shahrukh Khan (MP) bt Rahul Yadav (MP) 6-1, 6-3.

Chikkarangappa emerges winner

Coimbatore, June 17, 2011: Bangalore’s S. Chikkarangappa capitalized on his second position at the end of Day three to card a one-under-71 on final day of Inter State Amateur Championship to lift the trophy. Chikkarangappa got a close fight from Chandigarh’s Abhijit Chadha who lost by two stroke.

Chikkarangappa played consistent the entire day as he made birdies on 5th, 13th and 17th holes to score one-under for the total of 71 (which was also the best score of the day) to clinch the trophy. 18-year-old Khalin Joshi carded three-over for the total of 304 to finish as 2nd runners up.

Title win for Chikkarangappa (77-79-72-71) and third position for Joshi (75-75-79-75) propelled Karnataka A to the team championship title for a total of 603. The runners-up team was Chandigarh with the pair of Abhijit Chadha (74-76-74-77) and H. S. Kang (79-81-73-75) for the team total of 609.

Chikkarangappa struggled on the first two days of the championship in Coimbatore, on a course, which played very tricky. It was only after a conversation with his mental conditioning coach Vinod Kumar that saw Chikkarangappa adopting a relaxed approach to the game. The results were so instant that despite being tied on the hole No. 16 the Karnataka –lad hit a birdie on 17th and hit the center of fairway on the last hole to take the elusive lead against Chaddha.

17-year-old Chikkarangappa said, “I wasn’t confident on the first two days about my game and whenever I was about to tee off, I used to be double minded about my approach. In fact I was standing too close to the ball, which distorted the shot’s trajectory and I very rarely hit the center of fairway. I managed to sort out my game on the third day at the driving range after taking some advices from my mental conditioning coach. I started my day very well today and when I hit a driver on left rough on the hole no. 17th, I was sure that the title is in my hands.”

The Closest to pin was given to Delhi’s Gagan Verma as he shot 11’ & 11” on hole no. 7 while Longest to drive was given to another Delhi’s lad Rahul Bajaj for the hole no. 18. Raghavender Naidu of Tamil Nadu has won the straight drive on hole 6.

Photo caption: Bangalore’s S. Chikkarangappa displays his golf trophy in Coimbatore on June 17, 2011.

Abhijit Chadha finds form to take lead

Coimbatore, June 16, 2011: Asian Games silver medalist Abhijit Chadha returned back to his true form as he shot two-over to take the lead on day three at Inter State Amateur Golf Championship here on Thursday. Currently No. 1 amateur of the country, S. Chikkarangappa (77-79-72) who didn’t have a very good start in this tourney, hit level par as the best score of the day to finish in the second position while another Bengaluru lad Khalin Joshi carded 7-over for the total of 229 to end in the third place.

The leader of the first two days Siddharth Semwal from Delhi looked very disappointed as he couldn't play his level best and ended with the score of 11-over for the total of 230. The 20-year-old, Semwal said, “I had a trouble with my driver today and couldn't find many fairways. Though, my game plan was same but the wind was a tricky factor. I am sure I am going to play better game tomorrow and try to go back home as a winner.”

Coming from a city which produced talents like Jeev Milkha Singh, Chandigarh’s Abhijit Chadha already has experience of playing on this golf club thrice as a junior. Chadha started on a back-foot today as he dropped shots on 2nd, 4th, 8th and 16th but got back with the birdies on 9th and 11th to come into the contention.

Chadha who took second spot in Southern India Junior Championship at this course in 2008 said, “You actually don’t have to play badly to have a bad score on this golf course but I am glad that my game is good these days and I am back in my form. Also, Its very difficult to have a under par score on this course as the rough is 7-8 inches high, still I look forward to hit as good as I can in the final day.”

In the team Championship, Chandigarh’s Abhijit Chadha (74-76-74) and H. S. Kang (79-81-73) both took their team on the top of the leader board for total of 457 along with Karntaka A team which has S. Chikkarangappa who shot 228 for the day with teammate Khalin Joshi (75-75-79) tied for the second position. The third place was taken by team Haryana B which has Manav Das (78-77-75) and Sahil Kulkarni (79-80-79) for the total team score of 468.

Photo caption: Abhijit Chadha in action in Coimbatore on June 16, 2011.

Summer table tennis camp concludes

Patna, June 12, 2011: The 21-day long table tennis summer coaching camp concluded at the Bihar Young Men’s Institute here on Sunday.

On the concluding day a tournament dividing the trainees into four teams was organized. Blue Star claimed the title beating Gold Star in the final. President Bihar Table Tennis Association (BTTA) Sanjay Singh, who is also MLC, distributed the prizes. Mukesh Roy, secretary, BTTA, its vice-president Mahadeo Prasad Yadav and Dilip Kumar Gandhi, secretary, Patna District Table Tennis Association were present in the function.

Photo: Aftab Alam Siddiqui

Saurabh Roop is Bihar senior chess champ

Patna, June 12, 2011: Saurabh Roop of Patna won the Bihar State senior chess championships title with seven points to his credit at Delhi Public School hall here.

After the end of ninth and final round play, seven players were tied with seven points for the top position. Better progressive scores were taken into account to decide the top four finishers of the tournament. In the final round Kumar Gaurav of Purnia defeated Saurabh Roop.

Deepak Kumar (Begusarai) and Rupesh Ranjan (Patna) got the second and third positions respectively.

Leader of the Opposition in Bihar Assembly Abdul Bari Siddiqui gave away the prizes. All Bihar Chess Association secretary Arvinda Kumar Sinha, Senior DPS School teacher Chetna Jha and Qumre Alam were the special guests in the function. Rakesh Ranjan, secretary, Patna District Chess Association welcomed the guests and Sanjay Tiwari proposed a vote of thanks.

Photo caption: Winners of Bihar senior chess championships pose for a group photograph with Leader of Opposition in Bihar Assembly Abdul Bari Siddiqui in Patna on June 12, 2011.

HI gets permission to host FIH Champions Trophy

New Delhi, June 16, 2011: Ministry of Sports & Youth Affairs, Government of India has granted permission to Hockey India for hosting the 33rd FIH Champions Trophy and the London Olympic Qualifier Tournament for both Men and Women.

The Champions Trophy will be held in New Delhi from December 3 to 11, this year. The participating teams are Australia, England, Germany, India, Korea, Netherlands, Pakistan and Spain.

The teams will be divided into two pools and the tournament will be conducted on league-cum-knockout format.

The Olympic Qualifier will also be held in New Delhi from February 15-26, 2012. Six teams each in men and women sections will participate.

The five teams apart from India for both men and women which will participate in the qualification tournament will be determined after various continental championships being held later this year in Africa, Europe, Pan America and Oceania.

There will be three Olympic Qualifiers with India conducting the first one followed by Japan and Belgium. The winner of each of these qualification tournaments will play in the Olympic Games in London in 2012.

Union Ministry of Sports Press release

Semwal continues to lead in Inter-State amateur golf

Coimbatore, June 15, 2011: Siddharth Semwal of Delhi continued to lead after shooting two-over for the total of 147 on the second day at the Inter State Amateur Golf Championship at Coimbatore Golf Club here on Wednesday.

Khalin Joshi of Bangaluru who hit three over on the first day again repeated the same score of 75 to finish the round in second position along with Chandigarh’s Abhijit Chadha (76) for the total of 150. Vashista Pawar of Coimbatore, who is playing in the amateur circuit for the first time in his career, fired four-over to finish in fourth position with the score of 152.

Another Chandigarh boy Angad Cheema returned with the best score of the day after hitting one-under for the total of 154 but a bad first day score saw him ending day two at fifth place.

20-year-old Siddharth Semwal’s (74) teammate Honey Baisoya (78) joint score of 301 propelled them to top position in the team championship. The team from Chandigarh which H. S. Kang (81) and Abhijit Chadha were representing shot 310 for the second place while coming from behind, Uttar Pradesh team B with the players like Jasjeet Singh (75) and Imamul Haque (79) finished with the score of 312 for the third position.

Siddharth had a bad start to his round as he shot four-over after four holes and made bogeys on 2nd, and 3rd and a double bogey on 4th hole but notched up few birdies on 5th, 6th and 18th holes.

Semwal who wants to keep his cool as he doesn’t like the wind on the course much, said, “I was playing with the same strategy like yesterday but my putting was not that great. I missed 3 foot eagle putt on the 5th hole and also 3 foot birdie putt on the 7th but I am happy that I struck the ball much better today. I am going to work on my putting and want to hit more birdies to be in the contention.”

Local hero Vashista Pawar who is also a part of Tamil Nadu team B said, “It’s a very proud moment for me today as I finished fourth especially when I am playing in the amateur circuit for the first time. My father and grand father both have been playing golf at this golf club.”

Total 69 players have made the cut at 19-over par that are going to compete in the next two days. Out of those only 38 players will be playing for the individual honours.

PAR Sports Leisure Adventure Management Press release

Semwal, Somaiah share lead in Inter-State amateur golf

Coimbatore, June 14, 2011: Siddharth Semwal of Delhi and CG Somaiah of Bangalore shared the joint lead with a score of one-over 73 in the Inter State Amateur Golf Championship at Coimbatore Golf Club here on Tuesday.

Abhijit Chadha, winner of Northern India Amateur Championship, and Karun Taunk of Jamshedpur were tied second on two over, with a score of 74.

20-year-old Siddharth who is representing Delhi in the team championship started the day with three birdies and two bogeys on the first six holes and played pretty steady at the back nine when the wind picked up.

Siddharth, who started playing golf at the age of 13 at Army Golf Club in Delhi, said: “I haven’t played at this golf club for the last four years but found it in a much better condition than before.”

“After finishing fourth in the NCR Cup this year and getting a tied 7th position in the Northern India Championship in Chandigarh, I am feeling pretty confident at this course. I want to continue with today's strategy and would like to keep my focus on every shot rather than thinking about any competition,” he said.

While the individual players managed to score at their level best, in the team competition, Delhi’s Siddharth Semwal’s one-over with Honey Baisoya’s four over for the aggregate of 149 took the Delhi team into the lead. Team Karnataka “A” which has got Chikkarangappa and Khalin Joshi finished second with the score of 152 along with the other team of Karnataka which has got Udayan Mane and C. G. Somaiah.

Photo caption: Siddharth Semwal in action in Coimbatore on June 14, 2011.

PAR Sports Leisure Adventure Management Press release

Indian archers settle for silver in mixed team event

Patna, June 12, 2011: The Indian team, consisting of Jayanta Talukdar and Deepika Kumari, was beaten to the silver place by the Chinese duo of Dai Xiaoxiang and Fang Yuting 133-136 points in the final of the recurve mixed team event of the World Cup (Stage II) archery competition at Antalya on Sunday.

According to information received here, the Indian pair trailed from the start collecting only 29 points off four arrows. The Chinese picked up 30 to establish lead. The Indians got 33 to their rivals’ 34 in the second end for a total score of 62-64. In the third end too the Indians fell behind (35-36) for a total 97-100. The three-point lead was enough for the Chinese to clinch gold as in the final end of four arrows both teams scored 36 points for a total of 136-133.

Archery Association of India Press release

Sports Ministry earmarks Rs 258.39 cr for preparation of athletes under ‘Opex 2012, London’

New Delhi, June 9, 2011: The Sports Ministry has earmarked Rs 258.39 crore for preparation of athletes under “Project Opex 2012” for London Olympics. This was announced by Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports Ajay Maken at a press conference here.

Giving further details, Maken stated that based on the approved funding norms, which are at par with CWG-2010 scales, with further up scaling in certain areas such as lodging, nutrition and scientific support, daily allowance etc, the budget has been estimated for about Rs 258.39 crore for the period April, 2011 to August, 2012.

The Sports Minister also disclosed that steering committee chaired by secretary, Department of Sports has finalized action plans in all the 16 disciplines. The committee is represented by president and secretaries of the respective federation, national coaches, government observers and officers from international sports division, Sports Authority of India and Department of Sports, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.

In the first round of Steering Committee meeting, the list of core probables, foreign and Indian coaches, supporting personnel, duration and venues of national coaching camps, international exposures and qualifying competitions have been identified and finalized.

The apex committee chaired by Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports had held its meeting and given overall guidance to the preparations, Maken added.

Elaborating on the coaching of athletes, Maken said that the national coaching camps and international exposures in all the disciplines except swimming have been started.

The national coaching camp in swimming will start from June 15, 2011. Since this is a preparatory phase for the sports persons, emphasis is being given for their strong foundation in terms of general and specific physical fitness, skills and tactics. The strategic planning for qualifying tournaments is being prepared by the national coaches in consultation with foreign coaches. A total of 28 foreign coaches have been selected for engagement. 17 coaches have joined and 11 are in the process of joining. 29 foreign exposures have been completed till date.

The Sports Minister also disclosed that 32 Govt. observers in the identified disciplines have been appointed to ensure the effective conduct of the national coaching camps and for fair selection of players for international exposures and qualifying competitions.

With a view to ensuring best possible nutrition and diet to national athletes, the Sports Minister stated that he is appointing a three-member committee of experts. In addition to this, a three-member oversight committee consisting of one member each from IOA, Sports Authority of India (SAI) and sport discipline is also being constituted which will visit the national camps periodically to check the standards of food and of other infrastructure in these camps.

To ensure speedy clearance of teams and individuals for participation abroad, Maken stated that the complete process of clearance has been now entrusted to SAI by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports since April, 2011. A special cell in the teams division in SAI has been created for this purpose.

To overcome the persistent problem of delay towards clearance, it has now been intimated to the concerned federations that their proposals for participation in various international exposures, training, competition, etc. should be submitted to SAI well in advance. The clearance would be a 2-stage process. In the first stage, financial sanctions including logistics details would be issued based on number of players, coaches, etc. In the second stage, approval of names of selected players, coaches, etc., which would have been duly approved by the selection committee, would be conveyed.

Further, it will be necessary for the federations to conduct selection trials as per laid down criteria and the individuals/teams are selected by the duly constituted committee as per Government guidelines. This should be done by the federations at least one month in advance. The proceedings of the selection committee should also be submitted to SAI.

The London Olympics 2012 will be held from July 27, 2012 to August 13, 2012 with 26 sports disciplines.

Keeping in view the performance of Indian teams/individuals in Commonwealth Games, Asian Games and other international tournaments 16 disciplines, namely, archery, athletics, badminton, boxing, gymnastics, hockey, judo, rowing, sailing, shooting, table tennis, taekwondo, tennis, weightlifting and wrestling have been identified for systematic and scientific training.

The Government has launched Operation Excellence (OPEX) “Project Opex 2012” on mission mode in March this year, which is funded under the Scheme of Assistance to National Sports Federations, supplemented by National Sports Development Scheme.

Union Sports Ministry Press Release

Indian women recurve team moves into bronze medal play-off

Patna, June 11, 2011: Indian women’s recurve team moved into the bronze medal play-off against Ukraine after losing to the US in the semifinals that too in a tie-breaker of the World Cup (Stage II) archery competition at Antalya on Friday. The men’s team, however, lost to Japan in the first round also in the tie-breaker, according to information received here.

Predictably, the Indians’ campaign in the individual competition too came to an end with the remaining three, Thupuvoyi Swuro, Laishram Bombayla Devi and Deepika Kumari losing in the round of 32 on Thursday.

The only good news is that the Indian mixed team pair of Jayanta Talukdar and Deepika Kumari moved into the final against China to be played on the final day on Sunday.

The Indian men’s team, consisting of Rahul Banerjee, Tarundeep Rai and Jayanta Talukdar, ranked World No. 1 and ninth in this competition, showed woeful form to tie the score 212-212 against Japan. In the three-arrow tie-breaker, India shot 27 points as against Japan’s 29. Japan went on to beat Korea in the semifinals and moved into the final against France.

The women’s team, comprising Bombayla Devi, Deepika and Chekrovolu Swuro, beat Turkey in the first round 208-207; defeated Russia 209-208 and tied 212-212 with the US. In the tie-breaker, India scored 24 and US collected 28 to move into the final against Korea.

Expectedly, Thupuvoyi went down to ultimate finalist and fourth seed Brady Ellison of the US 6-2 in the round of 32 in the men’s section.

India had very high hopes on Deepika who was ranked fourth behind the three Koreans in the qualification round. Yet, the Indian failed to go past her first opponent in this meet, 29th ranked Lisa Unruh of Germany, losing the contest at 4-6. Bombayla, ranked 11th, should have had no problem in defeating 43rd ranked Bishindee Urantungalag of Mongolia but the latter simply outplayed the Indian 7-1.

The Indian mixed team pair first defeated Germany 146-145 and Italy 149-147 in the quarterfinals. The Korean pair was no match for the Indians as the latter won 151-149.

Indian Archery Association Press release

Jayanta Talukdar loses to little-known Iranian

Patna, June 9, 2011: A little known Iranian Majid Mirrahimi shocked India’s Jayanta Talukdar 6-5 in the first round of the World Cup (Stage II) archery competition individual elimination round at Antalya on Wednesday.

According to information received here, the 15th ranked Indian squandered 4-0 lead to lose in the tie-break after the two tied at five points each. In a one-arrow tie-break, the Iranian hit a 10 and the Indian shot a nine, according to information received here.

Talukdar was in comfortable lead taking the first two sets 29-24, 29-25 to race to 4-0 lead. The 15th ranked Indian, however, lost the next set at 27-28. The Iranian, ranked 98th, snatched the opening to draw the next set at 27-27 to reduce the lead to 3-5. In the final set, Talukdar made grave errors to lose it at 23-29 and allowed the contest drift into tie-breaker.

India’s two other archers, Rahul Banerjee and Tarundeep Rai, also fell early. This left Deepika Kumari and Laisharam Bombayla Devi in the women’s section and Thupuvoyi Swuro in the men’s section to keep the Indian challenge going in the individual competition.

Banerjee, ranked 31st, beat 82nd ranked Goktug Ergin of Turkey in the first round at 6-5, but fell to 79th placed Alexey Belov of Russia 3-7 in the next round. Rai, 54th ranked after the qualification round, won his opening round against 59th ranked Piotr Nowak of Poland 6-0 before bowing out to reigning Olympic champion Viktor Ruban of Ukraine, ranked 11th, 2-6.

Thupuvoyi will be up against a tough opponent in fourth seed Brady Ellison of the U.S. in the third round. The Naga archer won against 84th placed Lars Eggestig of Sweden 7-1 and 36th ranked Yagiz Yilmaz of Turkey 6-0.

Sixth seed Deepikia earned a bye into the round of 32. She will play 29th ranked Lisa Unruh of Germany. Bombayla won through two rounds to play 43rd ranked Bishindee Urangungalag of Mongolia for a place in the pre-quarterfinals. The Railway archer won against 102nd ranked Arezoo Heydari of Iran 7-1 and 54th ranked Iranian Fateme Farashi 6-0.

Ranked 30th, Chekrovolu defeated Kazakh Anastassiya Bannevo 7-1 but fell to 35th ranked Veronika Haidn Tschalova of Germany 2-6. Fifth second in ranking, Seema Verma was beaten by 61st ranked Simona Bancila of Romania 2-6.

Indian Archery Association Press release

Deepika helps India finish second

Patna, June 8, 2011: Deepika Kumari came up with an outstanding performance among Indians on the opening day of the World Cup (Stage II) archery competition at Antalya (Turkey) on Tuesday.

According to information received here, the petite archer from Ranchi finished fourth overall (1354 points) behind the three Koreans. She also helped India finish second (4005 points) behind Korea in the team ranking.

Otherwise, the Indians had a bad day with the men’s recurve team finishing ninth and individuallyJayanta Talukdar (1335, 15th), Thupuvoyi Swuro (1316, 29th), Rahul Banerjee (1312, 31st) and Tarundeep Rai (1296, 54th). India was ranked ninth (3963 points) in the men’s section and will take on eighth ranked Japan in the first round of the team championship. Korea finished at No. 1 in ranking with 4091. Mexico was a surprising second with 4051 and France was third with 4013.

In the women’s section, L. Bombayla Devi (1334, 11th), Chekrovolu Swuro (1317, 30th) and Seema Verma (1292, 52nd) finished in that order. In the team event, India will play 15th ranked Turkey in the first round.

World record holder Kim Woojin of Korea (1381, 1st), Oh Jin Hyek of Korea (1362, 2nd, Dai Xiaoxiang of China (1361, 3rd) took the top three places in the men’s section. Ki Bo Be (1372, 1st), Jung Dasomi (1360, 2nd), Han Gyeonghee (1356, 3rd), all from Korea, occupied the top three spots.

In the team standing, Korea headed the field with 4088, India was second and China was third with 3999.

In the mixed team event, the Indian pair of Deepika and Talukdar garnered 2689 points to rank fourth in a field of 16 teams.

Indian Archery Association Press release