Earlier, Bihar Labour Resources Minister Janardan Singh Sigriwal flagged off the race at Digha ghat.
Later, Janardan Singh Sigriwal and MLA Arun Kumar Sinha gave away the prizes. The championship was organised by Bihar Swimming Association.
Photo caption: Top three finishers in men's and women's sections of the Ganga river swimming championship pose for group photograph in Patna on November 6, 2011.
Photo: Aftab Alam Siddiqui
Bihar Road Construction Department secretary Pratyay Amrit inaugurated the tournament. Senior resident editor of the Hindustan Times,
An exhibition match between BP Sinha Foundation and Punjabi Bradari was played to mark the occasion. BP Sinha Foundation beat Punjabi Bradari by four wickets.
Students of different schools presented attractive cultural programme in the opening function.
Organising secretary Vijay Kumar Narain “Chunnu” welcomed the guests.
Photo: Aftab Alam Siddiqui
Mumbai,
The duo from
German Dominic Foos who got the wild card entry from the club directly, played consistent golf from day one and finished his run with the total score of one-under 279 at the fourth place in a tie along with
Three time winner on the amateur circuit this year, Chikkarangappa started the day with an eagle on 1st and made a birdie on the 5th. He slumped at the 11th where he had a double bogey but regained composure to score a birdie at the 12th, 13th, 15th and 18th. Chikka said, “I want to dedicate this win to my 3-days old nephew. This win is very special to me as it’s my best career finish so far. I am so thrilled but at the same time, I miss home. I need to see my mom and my nephew before going to work on improving my game.”
Joshi was level par in front nine after making a birdie on the 1st hole and a bogey on 3rd. He then dropped another shot on 14th which he recovered by making an eagle on 16th for today’s 1-under 69.
Mane shot 2-under on the final day same as the day one. Mane said, “I tried making few changes in the back nine which helped me but I ended up making bogeys on 14th and 15th. I think I should have applied the change from day one rather then keeping them for the final day. I am quite satisfied with my position today but I need to spend more time on fitness and my putting.”
The 14-year-old Foos, who started golfing at the age of 3 with his father in
Photo caption: Bangalaore’s S. Chikkarangappa holds aloft LIC Western India Amateur Golf Championships trophy in Mumbai on November 4, 2011.
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Mumbai,
Compatriot Khalin Joshi also had a brilliant round of 5-under for the total of 8-under 202. The winner of Maharashtra Open, Udayan Mane posted 4-under for the total of 4-under 206 that was matched by
Ambala’s Manav Das was three shots further back after carding level par score for the total of 209 at fifth position while leader of the day one, Aditya Bhandarkar slipped to sixth place with the score of 210.
Chikka was delighted to bounce back into his real form after struggling to hit top form in the last week’s Maharashtra Open. He played a bogey free round, and said, “I played the solid game today. I fired four birdies in the front and back nine each, which brought back my confidence. Though, I played one or two bad shots when my ball went right or left but I don’t think that my round could be better than this. If I keep playing like this, I might just get deeper tomorrow.”
Joshi who usually loose his temper after playing a disappointed hole seemed steady. He said, “I played fairly good game today. Sometimes, my anger helps me like yesterday when I got to know about two shot penalty on 14th tee, I sank four birdies on 14th, 15th, 16th and 18th but I still need to work on it to improve my game as well as to become a better player.”
Mane, 21, scorched the front nine today as he hit birdies on 1st, 4th, 5th, 7th, 16th and 17th. He said, “My back nine just let me down today. I just got ahead of myself on 10th tee and dropped two shots on 10th and 11th and then on 15th. I also got the metal block after that but tried to control myself. Honestly, I don’t think I will be able to close a huge gap between me and Chikka but I will definitely finish in top-three.”
Photo caption:
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Mumbai,
Chikka shot 5-under for the total of 7-under 133 (68,65) to top the leader board while Ambala’s Manav Das who was third yesterday jumped to the second place in a tie along with Khalin Joshi. Das hit two-under for the total of three-under 137 (69, 68) while Joshi came third after shooting one-under for the total of three-under 137 (68,69).
Yesterday’s leader Aditya Bhandarkar had a disastrous day as he came back with 3-over for the total of two-under 138 (65, 73) for the fourth place. Coming from behind, Chandigarh’s Angad Cheema carded one-under for the total of level par 140 in a tie along with the winner of Maharashtra Open, Udayan Mane who shot 2-over for two days total of level par 140 (68,72) to slip to sixth position. Total 39 players have made the cut at 12-over.
Chikka who became an uncle yesterday after his sister delivered a baby boy back home had all the luck going for him. He had two brilliant eagles on the 1st and the finishing hole showed that how his little nephew brought rhythm to his game. A delighted Chikka said, “Don’t ask me for birdies today, ask about eagles. Keeping my sister’s new born in mind, I made a great start with an eagle on the first hole, made birdies on 6th, 13th, 15th but I did bogey on the 4th and 11th, still the feel good factor in me kept me going. My new R11 driver which I bought before Indian Open and Foam rollers for cool down exercise that I bought yesterday have finally given me a good result and I am feeling happier than ever in last four weeks. I am just going to stick to my game in the next two days with a picture of holding another trophy in my hands.”
Joshi, 19, had to struggle because of a two shot penalty on 6th hole despite making six birdies on 1st, 4th, 14th, 15th, 16th and 18th. He also bogeyed the 3rd and 9th which couldn’t make his scores very impressive. A disheartened Joshi said, “My ball got plugged in the rough on 6th hole and I took a drop without knowing that it’s a penalty. By the time I reached 14th, I saw Chikka taking a drop on 11th and I realized that my mistake on the 6th hole turned into a triple bogey and at the end of the day, I could only come up with a bad score. I am looking to play more consistent golf in the next two days to finish with a good score.”
Photo caption: S Chikkarangappa in action in Mumbai on November 2, 2011.
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Mumbai,
Bhandarkar is three shots ahead of No. 1 Indian Amateur S. Chikkarangappa, Bangalorian Khalin Joshi, Maharastra Open Champion Udayan Mane,
22-year-old Bhandarkar was all smiles when he submitted his card. He had brilliant eight birdies starting from the first hole and then on 2nd, 4th, 5th, 7th, 10th, 11th and 18th. Few bogeys on 3rd, 9th and 15th which did peg him back a little.
Bhandarkar, who took up the game seriously only four years ago said, “I am so happy and I want to thank my father for introducing this game to me. I used to play street cricket when I was a kid and never thought about a game like golf. Since my father is from Army, he took me to the golf course for fun and I tried playing casual golf. Believe you me, I wouldn’t compare my love for the game and my love for the family but I am ready to give up any kind of high-profile job in future for golf. I am also looking forward to my first victory in this tournament.”
Chikkarangappa who was quite shoddy in Pune, bounced back with a better performance today. He said, “I finally had a good start what I was looking for many days. I had a birdie on the 1st, 3rd, 4th, 14th and 18th while I bogeyed 9th, 13th and 16th. After the Maharashtra Open last week, I went to my aunty’s place for two days in Pune, relaxed, had home food and I think that also helped a little bit. If I talk about my regular game, I really need to prepare hard for my upcoming days when I will be playing 7-8 weeks in a row on Asian Tour. I just can’t afford to give excuses like travelling, tiredness or home sickness to my game. My mind is pretty clear that I have to do well for myself as well for my country.”
The 34-year-old Rana who was out from the field for 2 years because of bulge in his disk, made a comeback on the circuit after playing a qualifier round. Rana said, “I had a hole-in-one in the first day of qualifier last to last week and I was thinking about it the entire day and hitting a good score. My aim of playing on the PGTI circuit came on my way two years ago but I am looking to make a strong comeback and try to play the q-school this year.”
Photo Caption: Aditya Bhandarkar in action at Bombay Presidency Golf Club on November 1, 2011.
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Bangalore, November 1, 2011: 'The Global Shapers' - an exclusive community of exceptional youth in their 20s, established by the World Economic Forum, welcomed two new entrants today with the induction of ace tennis player, Rohan Bopanna and fellow Bangalorean and celebrated cuiest Pankaj Advani.
The community comprises of a selected band of exceptional youth from across the world, possessing unique qualities and extraordinary achievements that set them apart from the mainstream. Representing all walks of life, these individuals are highly committed to developing their leadership potential towards serving society and adhere to the highest standards of moral and intellectual integrity.
"We are becoming increasingly aware that solutions to our global challenges must purposefully engage youth, at all levels -locally, regionally, nationally and globally. This generation has the passion, dynamism and entrepreneurial spirit to shape the future." Professor Klaus Schwab, Chairman of the World Economic Forum on the relevance of the Global Shapers and why World Economic Forum considers it as one of the most important initiatives.
The Forum will have a two pronged agenda - first in assisting the individual shapers who are already extraordinary in their achievements to further increase their role through their interactions with achievers from other spheres and second to provide them with a global platform to shape the future, and to catalyze, individually and collectively, fresh ideas and solutions for the world's most pressing solutions.
"The 'Global Shapers' drawn from various disciplines and fields would eventually unleash a new renaissance by catalysing and enhancing, individually and collectively, fresh ideas and entrepreneurial solutions to the world's most pressing challenges." Sangeeth Varghese, Founding Curator, Global Shapers.
The Community is a testament to the commitment of the World Economic Forum to improving the state of the world by engaging business, political, academic and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas.
PlayRight Press Release
Patna, October 29, 2011: Bihar U-14 football team left for Goa today to participate in the School Games Federation of India (SGFI) National football championships. The tournament gets underway in Goa on November 1.
Pin High defeated Putt Pirates by 3 points, who came second with 22.5 points. David DSouza’s who played exceptionally well in the infantry round couldn't take his Vela Warriors to Gladiator round despite winning 3 of his games. They came third with 13.5 points. Jhooj Gara Sangha gang took a back seat for the fourth place with disappointing 10.5 points.
Pin High Gang didn’t come back with the great score cards in the beginning but after getting four score cards with 2 and one with 1.5 points, the turning point finally came when Shamsher Puri and Shyam Powar returned their cards after winning all their 3 individual matches.
Vivek Verma, captain of the winning gang said, “It’s great to see our gang winning from 3 points. I am surprised that it was very difficult to get even a single four ball 6 years ago when we started this gang and now we are almost 20-24 people in our gang. Being a captain, I feel each member of this gang is like my family and now I want our family to win the award of best gang of
Pin High Gang will now compete against R11 Ambush from North Zone, Willy Warriors of West Zone and Golf Sarkaars of East Zone in Gladiator round at Victoria Golf & Country Club,
Photo caption: Members of the Pin High Gang of Karnataka Golf Association pose for a group photograph after moving into the Gladiator round of Purvankara Touche golf league in Bangalore on October 28, 2011.
Pune, October 28, 2011: Udayan Mane’s struggle of nearly two years on the amateur circuit came to an end when he made a birdie on the finishing hole to clinch the first amateur tour title in Maharashtra Open Amateur Golf Championship at Poona Golf Club.
Mane had a consistent round of level par today for the total of 281 (76,65,69,71) but it was a shoddy display by Delhi’s Siddharth Semwal and Bangalore’s Khalin Joshi that saw them ending at the total score of 290. Semwal who was fourth with yesterday’s best score of 4-under, shot 2-over for the day while Joshi just couldn’t control his anger on each hole after shooting 5-over to bag the join runners-up title.
Apart from
Mane started the day on a positive note with two pars on 1st and 2nd. After hitting right on 3rd green for a bogey, he had consistent pars until 12th where he made another bogey. He got used to the tough flag positions after five holes only but could hit the birdies only on 15th and 18th. At the end of the day, he impressed the gallery with his consistent golf.
Six-feet tall Bangalorian said, “I am overwhelmed with my first win today. I spoke with my coach Vijay Divecha last evening and again this morning and he asked me to stay calm and play one shot at a time and that’s what I did. Another important thing for me was that I was beaten by my friend Khalin Joshi last year by 5 shots in the same tournament and I wanted to beat him atleast by 10 shots. Unfortunately I couldn’t make it 10 but 9 is not that bad (smiles). I am really looking forward to next week for another good show before I go for a qualifying school this year to turn professional.”
Runners-up Semwal who gave a neck to neck competition to Joshi said, “I wish I could win my first tournament on amateur circuit. However, this second position has given me the confidence of getting closer to the win next time. It also tells me that I am capable of finishing a tournament on a good note. I am looking forward to give a great challenge next week in
S. Chikkarangappa who retained his number one position on the IGU’s order of merit list even after finishing fourth, said, “I have been repeating the mistakes of not hitting the regulations. Even when I had 2-under on the second day, I thought I will improve on the next two days but that just didn’t happen. I wanted a good start every day which I didn’t get. I am glad that I didn’t go beyond the top-10 position as my short game was pretty bad. Now, I really want to finish next week and go back and see my coach because I haven’t seen him for five months. I am sure I will back in my real form soon.”
Photo caption: Udayan Mane holds aloft Maharashtra Open Amateur Golf Championship Trophy in Pune on October 28, 2011.
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Pune,
Delhi’s Siddharth Semwal had the best round after shooting 4–under and jumped to the fourth place with three day’s total of 3-over 215.
Mane was little shaky in the beginning but kept fighting to remain with the level par score till he reached the last tee. It was a real up-down in his game as he hit a birdie on 3rd and bogey on 4th , another bogey on 13th and birdie on 14th while he again recovered from one shot which he dropped on 16th and birdied the 17th. He finally managed to put a full stop to his confusing game after he sank a 20-foot eagle on 18th to close the game at two-under.
A thrilled Mane said, “I actually got into my real game after the fourth hole and just thought about one thing that at no point of time, I want to go beyond the level-par score. When I saw Khalin making three birdies in a row on 10th, 11th and 12th, I really got worried but then I started breathing properly. I was taking time to putt and that made me do it better. At the end, I was actually listening to music which was coming from outside and made an extra-ordinary eagle of the day to take a comfy lead.”
Current No. 2 on the IGU’s order merit, Joshi who wants to be number one on the amateur circuit before getting onto Professional circuit said, “I had very bad start with a double bogey on the starting hole. Despite making four birdies in the back nine, I was just hitting each shot badly. I hope a little bit of meditation which I do every morning, will help me taking the title tomorrow.”
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