Shree Krishna keeps his momentum going

Patna, May 28, 2012: Continuing his good form Shree Krishna of Bihar moved into the second round of the boys' U-16 singles in the AITA talent series tournament (fifth leg) at the Patliputra Colony tennis courts here on Monday.

In  his first round match, Shree Krishna beat Bharat Banger of Haryana 6-0, 6-0. 

Results:   BOY’S U-16 SINGLES (FIRST ROUND)

SHREE KRISHNA (BIH)  BT.  BHARAT BANGER (HAR)  6-0,6-0

JASMER KALPANY  (HAR)  BT. VISHVENDER SINGH  (DLI) 6-2,6-3

NILAY MISHRA (BIH)  BT. UTKARSH SINGH (BIH)  6-1,6-0

CHINMAY (DLI) BT. RITWIK  GARG (DLI)  6-1,6-0

ANUJ MALIK (HAR)  BT.  SANOJ KUMAR (BIH ) 6-2,6-3

AZAD SINGH (HAR)  BT. HARISH BERA (RAJ) 6-0,6-0

RISHI RAJ SHEKHWAT (RAJ)  BT. SIDDHANT RAJ (BIH)  6-2,6-2

YASH RAJ SHARAN (BIH) BT. VISHWAJEET SANGLE (MAH) 6-1,6-0

ADARSH ANAND (BIH) BT. AASHISH OJHA (AP) 6-1,6-1

VISHAL VIVEK (BIH)  BT.  ADITYA RAVI RAJ (BIH) 6-3,6-4

ADVEYA SHARMA (BIH)  BT. CHIRAG DAHIYA (HAR) 6-2,6-3

RITWIK  BHRIGUVANSHI (BIH)  BT. RUSTAM  DAHIYA   6-3, 6-2

ANKIT ANAND (BIH)  BT.  SHIVANK SINHA (BIH) 6-1,6-1

RAMYAK SINGH (BIH)  BT. MOHIT MALL  6-1,6-0

GAURANG (DLI)  BT. ANKIT RAO (HAR) 6-2,6-2

PARTH AGARWAL (DLI)  BT. REWANT RAJ (BIH) 6-0,6-2

BOY’S U-18 SINGLES (FIRST ROUND)

YASH RAJ SHARAN (BIH) BT ANUJ MALIK (HAR) 6-3,6-3

ADVEYA SHARMA (BIH) BT. SIDDHANT RAJ (BIH) 6-1,6-0

ADAMYA VIKRANT (BIH) BT. CHIRAG DAHIYA (HAR) 6-1,6-1

DEVPRIYA JAISWAL (BIH) BT. AZAD SINGH (HAR) 6-0,6-1

AKSHAY PAWAR (MAH) BT. ASHOK BHATI (RAJ) 6-0,6-1

ABHISHEK GAUR (DLI)  BT. ANKESH ANAND (BIH) 6-0,6-0

JEET RAJ PUROHIT (GUJ)  BT.  RISHI RAJ SHEKHWAT (RAJ)

SANOJ KUMAR (BIH) BT. VISHWAJEET SANGLE (MAH) 6-2,6-2

RITWIK BHRIGUVANSHI (BIH) BT. RAMYAK SINGH (BIH) 6-0,6-1

GAURANG (DLI) BT. SOHIL SINGH (DLI) 6-3,6-2

KARTIK YADAV (RAJ) BT. NILAY MISHRA (BIH) 6-0,6-0

NAZIM M. DAWLA (DLI) BT. HARISH BERA (RAJ) 6-1,6-0

ANKIT RAO (HAR) BT. RITWIK GURG (HAR) 6-1,6-1

SHREE KRISHNA (BIH)  BT.  ADARSH ANAND (BIH)  6-1,6-0   

Photo caption : Shree Krishna of Bihar in action at Patliputra Colony courts in Patna on May 28, 2012.

India prevail over Malaysia 3-2 in Sultan Azlan Shah Cup hockey

Patna, May 28, 2012: India beat Malaysia 3-2 to register their second win in the 21st Sultan Azlan Shah Cup Hockey Tournament at Ipoh, Malaysia on Monday.

According to information reached here, the goal scorers for India were Danish Mujtabba (9thminute), Shivendra Singh (11th minute penalty corner) and Tushar Khandker (41st minute) while Mohd Amin Rahim (40thminute penalty corner) and Mohd Fitri Saari (58th minute) scored for Malaysia.

Danish Mujtaba and Shivendra Singh put India 2-0 ahead with just 11 minutes into the game. In the 9th minute Danish scored in a goal-mouth melee after Sarwanjit's shot rebounded off the Malaysian goalkeeper. Shivendra struck off a penalty corner India earned in the 11th minute, when he sounded the board from the top of the circle.

The hosts Malaysia scored their first goal in the 40th minute through Mohd Amin Rahim, who scored off a penalty corner.

However, Tushar Khandker made it 3-1 in the very next minute. The goal was set up by Indian centre-half Sardar Singh with a well-disguised reverse pass into the circle. Sunil collected it and took the initial strike that the goalkeeper stopped. The rebound fell in front of Tushar who slotted the ball in.

Mohd Fitri Saari scored another goal for Malaysia in the 58thminute. India will now face Argentina on Wednesday.

Hockey India Press release

India beat Korea 2-1 in Sultan Azlan Shah Cup Hockey

Patna, May 25, 2012: India beat Korea 2-1 in their second match of the 21st Sultan Azlan Shah Cup Hockey Tournament played at Ipoh, Malaysia, according to information reached here.

The goal scorers for India were Sandeep Singh (12th minute Penalty corner) and S.K Uthappa (69th minute) while Nam Hyun (66thminute) scored for Korea.

India took the lead in the 12th minute when Sandeep Singh scored a goal through penalty corner while Korea scored an equalizer in the 66th minute with the goal scored by Nam Hyun.

With a draw looking as the likely result, Tushar Khandker sent in a cross from the left which was deflected by SK Uthappa to give India the much needed win in the 69th minute.

The Indian team managed to earn single penalty corner and encashed the same while the forward line did the job. The defenders and the goalkeepers also had an exceptional match. Korea earned 4 penalty corners but Indian defence line stood like a wall and did not allow the opponent to convert even a single penalty corner.

Hockey India Press release

India go down to Germany in hockey

New Delhi, May 5, 2012: Indian gave a spirited performance against reigning Olympic champions Germany in their last league encounter of Four-Nation London Olympics Hockey Test Event at the Riverbank Arena, Olympic Park today.

Although they lost 1-2 to Germany but there were plenty of positives in the match. Indian defence and midfield showed good performance in this match.

The goal scorer for India was Shivendra Singh (15th minute) while Wesley (27th minute) and Florian Fuchs (65th minute) scored for Germany.

In the first half score was 1-1.

India will now play for 3rd place play-offs.

A Hockey India Press release

Deepika Kumari wins first World Cup title

KOLKATA, May 5, 2012: India's Deepika Kumari, won her first World Cup individual recurve gold medal today at Antalya. She beat Korea's Lee Sung Jin by six set points to four in the final.

Deepika won the second set (29-27), third (27-26) and the fifth set (28-27) after losing the first (27-30) and the third (27-29).

Deepika is the current junior World champion and a gold medallist at the Delhi Commonwealth Games. She had also won the Cadet World Title in 2009.

Press release

India trounce Lanka in Junior Asia Cup hockey

New Delhi, May 4, 2012: Two times defending champions India got off to a storming start as they beat Sri Lanka 11-0 in their opening match of the 7th Junior Men’s Asia Cup Hockey Tournament played at MBM Hockey Stadium in Malacca, Malaysia today.

The goal scorers for India were skipper Akashdeep Singh (3rd and 62nd minute), Amit Rohidas (Penalty Corner 6thminute), Satbir Singh (21st and 29th minute), Malak Singh (27th, 39th and 44th minute), PL Thimmanna (34th and 41stminute) and Prabhdeep Singh (67th minute).

India took only three minutes to open scoring through skipper Akashdeep Singh who deflected in a cross from the right.

And three minutes later it was 2-0 for India as Amit Rohidas sent in a powerful flick into the roof of the net from a penalty corner, giving Sri Lankan goalkeeper Nuwan Premathilaka no chance at all.

With the two goals in the bag, India started playing free flow hockey. Third goal from India was scored by Satbir Singh in the 21st minute, a gap of 15 minutes from their second goal, not reflective of the total domination of the match.

India then scored at regular intervals through Malak Singh (27th minute), Satbir (29th minute) and Pulyanda Lokesh Thimmana (34th minute) for a 6-0 lead at halftime.

Malak Singh completed his hattrick by scoring India’s seventh and eight goals in the 39th and 44th minutes respectively.

PL Thimmanna then scored his second and India’s ninth in the 51st minute.

India hit double figures as skipper Akshdeep scored his second in the 62nd minute with Prabhdeep Singh making it 11-0 in the 67th minute.

A Hockey India Press release

Indian men's recurve team reaches final

Kolkata, May 4, 2012: The Indian men’s recurve team, comprising Rahul Banerjee, Jayanta Talukdar and Tarundeep Rai, sailed into the final of the team event of the World Cup archery Stage 2 at Antalya in Turkey today..

The team defeated Korea 225-224 points in the semifinals. the team will play Great Britain in the final tomorrow. The Indian men beat the Netherlands in the quarterfinals at 216-215 and Mexico in the pre-quarterfinals at 217-215.

The women’s team, consisting of L. Bombayla Devi, Chekrovolu Swuro and Deepika Kumari, went down to Chinese Taipei in the quarterfinals at 210-223. India won the opening round against Ukraine 221-216.

Both the Indian compound teams lost in the quarterfinals. The men went down to the US 232-234 while the women lost to Italy 223-232.

Press release

India lose to Great Britain in 4-Nation hockey meet

New Delhi, May 4, 2012: India went down fighting 2-4 to Great Britain in the Four-Nation London Olympics Hockey Test Event at the Riverbank Arena, Olympic Park yesterday.

The goal scorers for Great Britain were Rob Moore (4thminute), Simon Montell (11th minute) and Ashley Jackson (24th and 26th minute), while V R Raghunath (Penalty Corner 16th minute) and Sandeep Singh (Penalty Corner 47thminute) were on target for India.

Great Britain took the lead in the 4th minute through a direct flick by striker Rob Moore and seven minutes later Simon Montell made it 2-0. However India showed great commitment and reduced the margin when V R Raghunath brought his team back into the game by converting a penalty corner in the 16th minute. Great Britain's Ashley Jackson scored twice in three minutes to double the lead of hosts over India.

In the second half, India engineered some impressive plays in a strong fight back. Indian defence also put up a much improved show denying any goal to their rivals. Indian goalkeeper PR Sreejesh made a good save in the 40thminute denying a hat-trick goal chance for Great Britain striker Ashley Jackson.

India tried hard to reduce the margin in the second half of the game when they earned a penalty corner in the 47th minute through drag-flicker Sandeep Singh deflected a well directed ball by Sardar Singh to the nets.

India were distinctly unlucky not to get their third goal when Britain defender Richard Smith made a good save in the last minute of the match.

A Hockey India Press release

India leg of the Manchester United Premier Cup from today

Jamshedpur, May 1, 2012: Nike in association with the All India Football Federation (AIFF) will kick off the 7^th edition of the India leg of the Manchester United Premier Cup (MUPC), its grass root initiative for football in India. On Wednesday, the North, North East and East Zone teams will battle it out in JRD Sports Complex, in Jamshedpur.

Nike India under the aegis of All India Football Federation is conducting the MUPC Championship for U-15 boys for North, North – East & East Zone qualifiers from May 2 to 5 at the JRD Tata Sports Complex with the able sport of Tata Steel in association.

Assam, Chandigarh, Himachal, Haryana, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Orissa, Punjab, Sikkim, Tripura and UP have been participating in the  tournament..

Matches will be played on league cum knock out basis at two grounds within JRD Tata Sports Complex. Daily three matches will be played at each ground from 7 am to 10 am. Each match duration will be of 40 minutes; (20 -10 – 20). Teams reaching the final will qualify for the final competition to be played at Goa on from May 10.

AIFF has nominated Binod Kumar Singh of Jharkhand and Bikash Mukherji of West Bengal as match commissioner for this tournament. Nine technical officials nominated by AIFF out of which 6 were from Jharkhand will assist in conducting the matches.  

Sanjiv Paul, VP (CS). Tata Steel will inaugurate the championship on Wednesday at 8.00 am at JRD Tata Sports Complex.

Press release

India face Australia in 4-Nation hockey opener

New Delhi, April 27, 2012: The Indian men hockey team left for London today from New Delhi for participation in the Four-Nation Olympic Test Event to be played at Riverbank Arena, Olympic Park from May 2-6.

The 18-member squad is captained by goalkeeper Bharat Chetri while midfielder Sardar Singh is his deputy.

The Four-Nation test event will feature Australia, Germany, Great Britain and India. India will open its campaign against Australia on  May 2  followed by matches against Great Britain and Germany.

The participation in this tournament will not only give India an opportunity to play against higher ranked teams, who have also qualified for the Olympic Games, but also give the team unique exposure at the same hockey venue that will host the London Olympics.

The tournament will be played on the blue artificial turf with yellow balls. The pitch has pink runaways.

A Hockey India Press Release

Pankaj Advani through to the quarterfinals

Bangalore, April 27, 2012: Ace cueist Pankaj Advani continued his stunning form today at the Asian Snooker Championships, beating Ahmed Saif of Qatar 4 frames to nil, to pocket his seventh straight win in the Championships on the first day of play offs.

Pankaj had earlier blanked Ebrahim Alsharrah of Kuwait, 4 games to nil to enter the play off's as the top seeded player, following his unbeaten run in the tournament. He will now face the winner of the match between Ehsan Heydari of Iran and Lim Chun Kiat of Singapore in the quarterfinals .

Pankaj is looking to continue his winning streak at the championships while keeping a clear eye on a possible historical win, aiming to secure a double Asian Championship win in Billiards and Snooker in a single year.


Press release

Om Prakash Chouhan reigns supreme at Oxford Golf and Country Club

Pune, April 27, 2012: Om Prakash Chouhan carded a sedate 72 in round four of the PGTI Players Championship presented by Oxford Golf & Country Club to bag his maiden professional title. The 25-year-old from Mhow, Madhya Pradesh, totaled 13-under-275 for the tournament. Delhi golfers Shamim Khan and Rashid Khan were the joint runners-up with matching totals of 12-under-276.

Om Prakash Chouhan (66-69-68-72) came home the winner by one stroke after making four birdies, two bogeys and a double-bogey in his final round of 72. Chouhan had a poor start as he bogeyed the first hole. He then rallied with a magnificent chip-in for birdie on the fifth. Om Prakash's bogey on the sixth which came as a result of a three-putt was negated by his top-class chip-putt for birdie on the ninth.

Chouhan landed his approach shot from 100 yards to within seven feet on the 15th hole and thereby garnered his first birdie on the back-nine. He then endured some nerve-wrecking moments after he missed a three-feet putt and double-bogeyed the 17th. The Mhow-based professional was on level terms with Shamim Khan and Rashid Khan at this stage. Chouhan displayed his grit and determination with a near-perfect second shot on the 18th that stopped five feet from the pin. He then sealed the title by converting the five-footer for birdie.

"It is an amazing feeling to win my first professional title. I've finally crossed the line after being in contention on many previous occasions. This win will definitely do a lot for my self-belief. I started poorly today as I did feel the pressure towards the beginning of the round. However, I gathered my thoughts thereafter and tried to play my normal game. I hit it very well through the day and didn't let go of my opportunities despite the blemish on the 17th," said Chouhan.

Shamim Khan (69-68-71-68) had six birdies against two bogeys in his final round. He made a charge on the back-nine with three consecutive birdies on the 14th, 15th and 16th but fell just short. Shamim was joined by Rashid Khan (71-66-69-70) in tied second place. Rashid made three birdies and a bogey in his round of 70 on Friday and missed out on a 15-feet birdie putt on the final hole that could've led to a play-off between him and Chouhan.

Harendra Gupta of Chandigarh was fourth at eight-under-280.

Pune's Shubham Jindal, the lone amateur to make the cut, took away the trophy for the best performance by an amateur. Jindal totaled 15-over-303 to grab a share of 46th place.

Photo caption: Om Prakash Chouhan displays his winner's cheque in Pune on April 27, 2012.

Press Release