Rajasthan register first win in Senior National hockey

Lucknow, March 8, 2014: Teams of Pool A saw the clash of Rajasthan and Gujarat where the former won the match by 3-2 and with this win Rajasthan opens its scorecard in the points table of Division B of the 4th Hockey India Senior Men National Championship 2014 played at Major Dhyan Chand Hockey Stadium here today.

Both the teams gave a tough fight to each other in the first half and it was Gujarat who scored the first goal of the match. It was Vijay Thapa of Gujarat who converted a good pass in the 14th minute of the match. Going into the second half it was Gujarat who was leading the scorecard with 1 goal to Rajasthan’s nil.

Though Gujarat had the mental edge over the opponents Rajasthan started the session with great speed. They continued their attack till the time they did not score their goal which came in the 49th minute which helped them level the scores 1-1.

It was Ankit Kishwah who helped Rajasthan open their score card through a field goal. This gave Rajasthan the window and hope of going ahead in the game and in the 60th minute Purshotam Bagdi who gave the much needed goal which helped Rajasthan edge past Gujarat. Gujarat tried coming back in the game but within 2 minutes of the last goal it was Paramveer Singh Rathore who added another to the scorecard and further minimizing Gujarat’s chances for a win in the match. In the 66th Minute Gujarat got a Penalty Strike and was successfully converted by Vijay Thapa who scored his second goal for team. In the final few minutes Gujarat kept its attack on with the hope of leveling the scores but they couldn’t pass the strong defense of Rajasthan. This win helps Rajasthan register its first win and Gujarat it yet to get a win in its name.

In the second match of the day, Namdhari XI defeated Sashastra Seema Bal 1-0 in a very close contest in Pool A. The match saw the sole goal being scored by Namdhari XI in the 24th minute and was converted through a field goal by Gurmukh Singh. In the second half both the teams kept attacking but were not successful in converting the chances they got.

Mumbai Hockey Association Ltd today played with a clear mandate of winning, and that’s what they ensured in their match against Himachal Pradesh in Pool B. They beat Himachal Pradesh 4-0 not conceding a single goal to the opponents. Mumbai Hockey Association Ltd played an attacking game and in the 19thminute of the game got them their first goal through Captain Victo Singh. Manprit Singh Chahal scored the second goal for the team by taking complete advantage of the penalty corner opportunity that the team got in the 28th minute. This goal ensured that Mumbai Hockey Association Ltd ended the session with a 2-0 lead and entering the second half with a clear advantage of leading the game. In the second session Himachal Pradesh fought hard to score but they could not convert the opportunities they got. Mumbai won the matches 4-0.

In the last match of the day, Jammu & Kashmir finally has a win in its name and they beat Goa 5-0 in Pool B. They scored their 1st goal in the 6th minute of the game by Surinder Singh. They again struck within 6 minutes and registered their 2nd goal in the 12th minute. By the end of the first half they had put 3 goals in their name. They continued their dominance in the second half and won the match 5-0.

Today’s Result

Pool A- Rajasthan 3  Ankit Kushwah (49 min), Purshotam Bagdi (60 min), Param Veer Rathore (62 min) vs Gujarat 2 Vijay Thapa (4, 66 min)

Pool A Namdhari XI 1 Gurmukh Singh (24t min) vs Sashastra Seema Bal 0

 Pool B Mumbai Hockey Association Ltd 4 Victo Singh (19 min), Manprit Singh Chahal (28 min), Harjit Singh (52 min), Prateek Singh (68 min) vsHimachal Pradesh 0

 Pool B Jammu & Kashmir 5 Surinder Singh (6, 36 min), Arminder Singh (12, 63 min), Jaspreet Singh (16 min), Prateek Singh (68 min) vs Goa 0

HI Press release

Zain Zafar advances to quarterfinals

 Zain Zafar

 Swapnil Sinha 

Utkarsh Singh

Patna, March 8, 2014: Zain Zafar of Bihar trounced Suvrat Mall of Bihar 6-0, 6-1 to move into the boys U-12 singles quarterfinals of AITA Talent Series Tournament at the Patliputra Tennis Centre here.

BOY’S U-12 SINGLES (PRE-QUARTERFINALS)

Zain Zafar (Bih) bt. Suvrat Mall (Bih) 6-0,6-1
Rewant Raj (Bih) bt. Ansh Tandon (Bih) 6-2,6-3
Roshan Kumar (Bih)  bt. Saahil Shivam (Bih) 6-1,6-1
Swapnil Sinha (Bih) bt. Harsh Shekhar (Bih) 6-3,6-4
Mudit Bhagat (WB) bt. Sahil Bariar (Bih) 6-0,6-1
Aditya Vardhan Roy (WB) bt. Rohil Roy (Bih) 6-0,6-0  
Vishal Vivek (Bih) bt. Anik Ghosh (WB) 6-3,6-2
Utkarsh Singh (Bih) bt. Anurag Agarwal (WB) 6-3,6-3


GIRL’S U-12 SINGLES (PRE-QUARTER FINAL)
Megha Roy (WB) bt. Ayushi Singh (Bih) 6-3,6-4
Megha Pratap (Bih) bt. Tanmaya Khushi (Bih) 6-2,6-3
Aditya Shreya (Bih) bt. Soumya Shigh (Bih) 6-3,6-3
Medhavi Singh (Bih) bt. Jyoti Pratap (Bih) 6-1,6-1
Nilanjana Saha (WB) bt. Abhisha  Raikwar (Jha) 6-0,6-0
Sonal Srishti (Bih) bt. Lavanya Hanshi (Bih) 6-0,6-1
Sakshi Suman (Bih) bt. Mallika (Bih) 6-1,6-1
Monika Kumar (WB) bt. Mahima Kumar (WB) 6-0,6-0 

Bihar down Rajasthan in Senior National hockey

New Delhi, March 7, 2014: Day-9 of the 4th Hockey India Senior Men National Championship 2014 (Division B) played at Major Dhyan Chand Hockey Stadium in Lucknow today saw exciting clashes between teams. Namdhari XI, Bihar, Mumbai Hockey Association Ltd and Uttarakhand take a step ahead in the league by winning their respective matches today.

In Pool A, Namdhari XI registered an easy win against Gujarat by leaving them behind with a score of 9-0 on board. Namdhari XI claimed their first win in their very first match of the pool leaving Gujarat with yet another loss. Namdhari XI went all out from the very beginning of the match, where Bhagat Singh Dhillon scored two goals at 5th and the 15th minute of the game by converting both the penalty corners followed by the field goals by Santa Singh at 27th minute and Captain Kuldeep Singh at 29th minute taking the score to 4-0 in the first half of the game. The second half the game saw Namdhari XI scoring another 5 goals where Udham Preet Singh scored two goals at 37th and 54th minute and Avtar Singh, Mehkeet Singh and Gurjant Singh scored a goal each at 50th, 54th and 68th minute of the game, winning it by 9-0.

In another match, Bihar scooped away the match from Rajasthan by 4-2 in Pool A. The match saw Bihar dominating the first half of the match with a 3-1 lead whereas the second half the match saw a decent struggle from both the teams. Nevertheless, Bihar got a chance to strike another goal and took the total to 4 goals and Rajasthan was held at only 2 goals to their credit. Bihar’s Sankalp Raghav converted two penalty corners at 12th and 21st minute of the game and another two field goals were stroked in by Naveenminz and Bhim Kumar at 23rd minute and 54th minute respectively. On the other hand, Rajasthan’s Ankit Kushwah and Amit Yadav could only score field goal each for their team at 13th and 59th minute and failed to take over Bihar.

In the first match of Pool B played today, Mumbai Hockey Association Ltd registered a comprehensive win over Goa with a difference of 13 goals to 0. The Mumbai Hockey Association Ltd squad was their best in their first of the pool matches and stormed past Goa in a blink, leaving them with yet another defeat after yesterday against Uttarakhand. A total of 7 players are responsible for Mumbai Hockey Association Ltd’s blistering win today, out of which Manprit Singh Chahal scored four goals at 11th, 28th, 61st and 62nd minute and Harjit Singh scored three goals at 33rd, 56th and 63rd minute, followed by Ambika Pratap Singh who scored two goals at 50th and 63rd minute. The score 13-0 is on the top of the charts followed by 11-1 (Puducherry against Bengal) and 10-0 (Gangpur-Odisha against Assam). Mumbai Hockey Association Ltd has set the level of the game high and probably will be the most feared team in the tournament now.

Uttarakhand defeated Jammu & Kashmir 5-3 to register their second consecutive win in their Pool B league match. Prakash Mehra scored twice each and Amit Aswal, Manoj Tamta and Vijay Pal contributed a goal each in Uttarakhand’s win. Amrinder Singh, Sunil Kalsotra and Amarjeet Singh scored a goal each for Jammu & Kashmir

Today’s Result

Pool A- Namdhari XI 9  Bhagat Singh Dhillon (5th and 15thmin), Santa Singh (27th min), Kuldeep Singh (29th min), Udham Preet Singh (37th min), Avtaar Singh (50th min), Hartaj Singh Aujla (53rd min), Mehkeet Singh (54th min) and Gurjant Singh (68th min) vs Gujarat 0

Pool A Bihar 4 Sankalp Raghav (12th and 21st min), Naveenminz (23rd min) and Bhim Kumar (54th min) vs.Rajasthan 2 Ankit Kushwah (13th min) and Amit Yadav (59th min).

Pool B- Mumbai 13 Manprit Singh Chahal (11th, 28th, 61stand 62nd min), Harjit Singh (33rd, 56th and 63rd min), Ambika Pratap Singh (50th and 67th min), Nitin Kumar Nandanoori (13th min), Sajit Lakra (26th min), Tyron Pereira (31st min) and Amit Goswami (64th min) vs Goa 0.

Pool B- Uttarakhand 5 Amit Aswal(18th min), Prakash Mehra (23rd and 44th min), Manoj Tamta (46th min), Vijay Pal (49th min) vs Jammu & Kashmir Amrinder Singh (8thmin), Sunil Kalsotra (22nd min) and Amarjeet Singh (69th min)

Footballer Robin Singh celebrates Women’s day with Smile Foundation

Bangalore, March 07, 2014: Saluting the spirit of Indian women, India's ace footballer Robin Singh celebrated International Women’s Day with Smile Foundation.   Fifteen girls who came forward to make an identity of their own from a difficult background were part of this celebration at hotel Monarch Luxur.

Robin who was in town was enthralled to join the cause. Pledging his support toward the cause of women empowerment he said, “Women empowerment is all about enabling the female segment of society to understand their real worth and to enable them with the power of equality. 

I feel it is imperative for male involvement in development of this segment of women's rights. 

All these girls symbolize the spirit of "living your dream" if given the right platform and support. I wish them the very best and I hope they become a force to reckon with.”

All these girls were from Smile Twin e-Learning Programme (STeP) – Smile Foundation’s employability program for youth.  Youth are trained in STeP centres across India through a six month course to face the world professionally and then are placed also in reputed companies in service and retail sectors. All of them were excited to meet their football star.

Commenting on this occasion Mr. Vikram Singh Verma, COO Smile Foundation said, “Smile Foundation strongly believes that when you Empower a Women the whole generation is empowered. We have a long way to go in this direction and we can only achieve it by involving all section of the civil society.” He added, “I would like to thank Mr. Robin Singh who come forward and supported the cause. I believe that we all can inspire changes in our own way this Women’s Day.”

Press release

Bihar defeat Gujarat 4-1 in senior hockey national

New Delhi, March 6, 2014: Day-8 of the 4th Hockey India Senior Men National Championship 2014 (Division B) played at Major Dhyan Chand Hockey Stadium in Lucknow today saw the commencement of games of Pool A & B teams. Setting their goals clear from the very beginning teams Bihar, Uttarakhand, Sashastra Seema Bal and Himachal Pradesh made it evident that they are here to stay.

The first match played between Bihar and Gujarat witnessed Bihar going all out from the very start. Though, Gujarat’s Krushsingh Zala scored the very first goal of the game at the 9th minute, it was Bihar’s Md Reyazuddin, Naveenminz and Mangra Bhengra who in return scored at the 11th, 14th and 21st minute respectively, to take the lead by 3-1 in the first half of the match. Gujarat played a defensive game in the second half of the game but couldn’t stop Bihar’s Naveenminz from scoring another goal at 40th minute and wrapping the game at 4 goals to 1.

In another match, Uttarakhand gave an even better fight to Goa by simply not allowing them to score even a single goal. Prakash Mehra scored two goals for Uttarakhand at 23rd minute as a field goal and converted a penalty corner at the 49th minute. Captain Maheshwar Negi of Uttarakhand also scored a field goal at 28th minute and Kailash Jalal helped in taking the lead against Goa by 4-0 when he got a clear shot at penalty strike at the 56th minute of the match.

In the third match of the day, a tough competition was evident between Sashastra Seema Bal and Rajasthan. Rajasthan took in the lead with 1-0 in first half with the help of Purshotam Bagdi’s penalty corner shot at the 22nd minute of the match. In reply to their opponents, Sashastra Seema Bal made a perfect come back in the second half of the match and took away the match from Rajasthan and won the game by 2-1. H. Surachandra Singh of Sashastra Seema Bal proved to be a ‘one-man-show’ as he scored both the field goals for his team at 41st and 65thminute of the game and drove the team for an exciting victory over Rajasthan.

The last match of the day, played between Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir saw a neck-to-neck fight, where Himachal Pradesh dominated the first half of the game by 1-0 with the help of Sanwar Ali’s field goal at the 34th minute. Jammu & Kashmir made a good comeback and leveled it at 1-1 with Amrinder Singh’s field goal at the 41st minute. The game turned around back in favour of Himachal Pradesh when Rajesh Kumar converted the penalty corner in a goal when got a chance at the 46th minute. Hence, the penalty corner in favour of Himachal Pradesh helped them claim their win over Jammu & Kashmir.”

Today’s Result

Pool A- Bihar 4 Md Reyazuddin (11th min), Naveenminz (14th & 40th min) and Mangra Bhengra (21st min) vs Gujarat 1 Krushsingh Zala (9th min).

Pool B Uttarakhand 4 Prakash Mehra (23rd & 49th min), Maheshwar Negi (28th min) and Kailash Jalal (56th min) vs. Goa 0.

Pool A- Sashastra Seema Bal 2 H. Surachandra Singh (41st & 65th minute) vsRajasthan 1 Purshotam Bagdi (22nd minute).

Pool B- Himachal Pradesh 2 Sanwar ali (34th min) and Rajesh Kumar (46thmin) vs Jammu & Kashmir 1 Amrinder Singh (41st min)

HI Press release

Maharashtra, Gangpur-Odisha enter semifinals

New Delhi March 5, 2014: Day-7 of the 4th Hockey India Senior Men National Championship 2014 (Division B) today, saw teams of Pool C and D giving a tough fight to each other in their last league matches played at the Major Dhyan Chand Hockey Stadium in Lucknow today.

The first match between Bengal and Assam witnessed Bengal leading with 1-0 score till half time. Assam played a better game in the first half but lost control in the second half and gave away 2 more goals and lost the match by 3-0 to Bengal.

Assam gave Bengal a good fight by stopping them with only a 1-0 lead in the first half of the match, but Bengal came back strong in the second half and pocketed 2 more goals within a matter of 4 minutes in the second half of the match. Sunil Shah scored the first goal for Bengal in the 12th minute, followed by Rakesh Burman and Sunil Kujur in the 61st and 64th minute, respectively.

In another match, Central Reserve Police Force scooped away the game from Vidarbha Hockey Association by 4-0. The match witnessed Central Reserve Police Force at their best, as they took the lead by 3-0 in the first half of the match itself where Rohensingh Thangjam, Prashnt Tirkey and Simon Tirkey scored at 4th, 6th and 16th minute, respectively. The Vidarbha Hockey Association gave a decent fight in the second half of the match but still gave away one more goal to Central Reserve Police Force’s Nemhas Khkha at 46th minute, which cost them the game by 4-0.

In the third match of the day, Maharashtra and Delhi were involved in a closely contested match. The match ended with a draw with both the teams scoring 3 goals each. Navneet Swarnkar scored two goals at 2nd and 30th minute and Captain Vishal Pillay scored at 42nd minute for Maharashtra. Abhishek scored at 38th and 45th minute and Meet Singh scored at the 47th minute of the match for Delhi, making it even with Maharashtra’s score.

Post the match both Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh are placed with 11 points each on the table in Pool D. But on the basis of goal difference Maharashtra was ahead of the Chhattisgarh and therefore Maharashtra has qualified for the semi-finals.

With Hockey Gangpur – Odisha bagging 15 points and Hockey Maharashtra with 16 points in their kitty  they now enter the semi-finals of the 4th Hockey India Senior Men National Championship from Pool ‘C’ and Pool ‘D’, respectively.

Results:

Pool C- Bengal 3 Sunil Shah (12 min) Rakesh Burman (61 min) and Sunil Kujur (64 min) vs Assam 0.

Pool D Central Reserve Police Force 4 Rohensingh Thangjam (4th min), Prashnt Tirkey (6th min), Simon Tirkey (16th min) and Nemhas Khkha (46thmin) vs. Vidarbha Hockey Association 0.

Pool D- Hockey Maharashtra 3 Navneet Swarnkar (2nd & 30th min) and Vishal Pillay (42nd min) Delhi 3 Abhishek (38th & 45th min) and Meet Singh (47th min).

HI Press release

Manipur blank Tripura 24-0, Uttarakhand crush Vidarbha Hockey Association 7-0

New Delhi,  March 5, 2014: After a heavy rain on Tuesday, it was Manipur women, who rained 24 goals against Tripura. For Manipur it was Sarita Devi who led from the front and the scored as many as nine goals in a Pool A match in the 4th Hockey India Junior Women National Championship 2014 (Division-B) held on the newly laid Astro-turf of Chamundi Vihar grounds at Mysore today.

From the very first minute of the game, the Manipur women took control over the game. Tripura defence was not in a position to control the attack of the opponents. Gitrani Devi started the account at the second minute of the game and it was followed by the penalty corner which was converted into goal by Sarita Devi. In the 7th minute it was again Sarita Devi who scored another goal through a penalty corner. Sonia Devi came back strong in the 9thminute and thorugh a smart penetration managed to get the ball through goal keeper Nancy Agarwal.

In the 12th minute and 17thminute Sarita Devi scored back to back goals. In the 20th minute and 22nd it was Bidyarani Devi and Captain Geetharani Devi who added to the tally of goals. This was followed by an amazing goal in the very same minute which was converted by Bidya. The Manipur team had an excellent co-ordination amongst each other which helped them to keep the attack on the opponents. At half time by reaching the team managed to score 13 goals to 0.

In the second half, the story was no different for the spectators. Sarita Devi, who continued her goal scoring spree on the opponents, was getting difficult to stop by the minute. Besides her it was even, Rojita Devi who scored four goals in matter of eight minutes (39th, 41st, 45th & 47th min). The convincing win gives Manipur three points on the points table.

In another match of Pool A, Uttarakhand took on Vidarbha Hockey Association and won the match convincingly 7-0. The attack by the former started in the very first minute and it took them only 4 minutes to convert the first chance that they got and this was scored by Pooja Bhatt. Uttarakhand did not stop there and continued their attack and scored the second goal in the 11thminute by Karishma Nayak.

The team continued putting pressure on the players of Vidarbha Hockey Association and before the end of first half they has successfully scored 4 goals and not allowing the opponents to score a single one. In the second half the team came back strong but Vidarbha Hockey Association warded the attack well but they still could not stop Uttarakhand to add another 3 goals to the final tally of 7. Captain Anita Maletha added 2 goals within 6 minutes in the first half and the same was scored in the 27th and 33rd minute.

Anita Maletha, Pooja Bhatt and Karishma Nayak scored 2 goals each helping their team to have convincing win in their first match of the tournament.

Results

Pool A Manipur 24 Sarita Devi (4, 12, 17, 30, 31, 36, 51, 58, 66 min), Gitarani Devi (2, 7, 22, 27, 32 min), Bidyarani (20, 22, 57 min), Rojita Devi (35, 41, 45, 47 min), Sonia Devi (9 min), Chaoba Chanu (49, 65 min) vs Tripura 0

Pool A Uttarakhand 7 Pooja Bhatt (4, 50 min), Karishma Nayak (11, 61 min), Anita Maletha (27, 33 min), Mamta Bhatt (43 min) vsVidarbha Hockey Association 0 

HI Press release and photographs

Desert Storm Rally Moto winner Santosh headed for World Championship in Abu Dhabi

New Delhi, March 4, 2014: CS Santosh, India’s champion biker who clinched the top title in Rally Moto at the 12thMaruti Suzuki Desert Storm, is headed for the World Cross Country Rally Championship in Abu Dhabi.

“This is my year,” said Santosh. “I feel that everything will go right for me this year.” Winning the year’s first motorsport title, at the Maruti Suzuki Desert Storm, has certainly helped. Santosh admits that he was under immense internal pressure not to yield the title to Helmut Frauwallner, the 54-year-old Austrian who won the Maruti Suzuki Raid De Himalaya, in October 2013.

The Maruti Suzuki Desert Strom was flagged off from New Delhi on February 24. It traversed 2,200 kilometers over the wild desert outback of Sardarshahar, Bikaner, Jaisalmer, before ending at Jaipur on March 1.

Santosh, the multiple supercross and motocross champion, who won the Rally Moto category at the Maruti Suzuki Raid De Himalaya in 2012, knew he had to salvage his reputation at the Maruti Suzuki Desert Storm 2014. “I was dethroned by Helly at the Raid last year.  I had to win the Maruti Suzuki Desert Storm to reclaim my title,” said the 30-year-old Bangalorean.

On Day Three of the Desert Storm, Santosh feared he would be out of the competition following the damage to the engine case after he hit a patch of rocks in Jaisalmer region. “I had about 40 kilometers to go in the competitive stage, with the fuel running. I nursed the bike back to base, and fortunately still had a lead at the end of the day. Definitely the gods are smiling on me this year,” he said.

Winning the Maruti Suzuki Desert Storm has been the beginning of a good innings for him. “This is a benchmark that I set for myself, and it is only going to get tougher from here,” he said.

Santosh is the first Indian biker to have competed in the World Cross Country Rally Championship in Abu Dhabi in 2013. A freak accident knocked him out of the competition last year. The Day Three of the world championship, a malfunction in the fuel tank of his bike caused a fire. “It was so hot – the bike, the desert. I didn’t realize the fuel tank had caught fire till I was on fire too,” he said in a matter-of-fact manner.

The fire left him with burn injuries in his neck that needed two skin grafts, one in Abu Dhabi and the other in Bangalore. Doesn’t the thought of competing at the World Cross Country Rally Championship in Abu Dhabi again give him goose-pimples? “We forget pain. That’s why we go back and do this. The adrenaline rush becomes addictive. It drives you, and you live for it,” said Santosh.

On December 1 last year, Santosh opened the ‘Big Rock Moto Park’, a training ground for off-road riding, about 75 kilometers from Bangalore. The moto park, stretched over 50 acres near the Kolar gold mines, has bikes, training gear, camping facility and the right infrastructure for those who want to learn off-road riding. From a weekend programme to three-day training capsules and more, Santosh says he wants to give back to biking what it has given him – his lifelong passion and love.

The 12th Maruti Suzuki Desert Storm ran with the highest number of rallyists this year in its 12-year history. A total of 250 champion rallyists from various parts of the country and abroad competed in four categories. There were 55 teams in Rally Xtreme and 35 teams in Rally Moto (both categories based solely on fastest timing). In addition, there were 35 teams in Rally Ndure and 25 teams in Rally Xplore (both based on the time-speed-distance format).

Chhattisgarh prevail over Kerala 3-2

Kerala and Chhattisgarh players in action in Lucknow on March 4, 2014

Lucknow, March 4, 2014: 4th Hockey India Senior Men National Championship today saw teams playing a good round of exciting hockey. In the first match of the day the audience witnessed Chhattisgarh Hockey defeating Kerala in a thrilling match. At half time when the scores were 2-0 with Hockey Kerala leading the scoreboard nobody could have expected Chhattisgarh to make a strong comeback and going on to win the match 3 goals to 2.

Kerala started the match with great speed and they managed to score their first goal in the 18th minute into first half where Sarin scored through a field goal. They went on to score their second goal just a minute before the end of first half with Jithu Sasi scoring for his team yet again through a field goal.

The second half started with Chhattisgarh playing under pressure of not only scoring and but even winning. The team started its goal scoring run with Shakeel Ahmed managing to keep his cool and he scored through a penalty corner in the 54th minute. They continued their attack and within just 8 minutes of scoring their first goal, they managed to even the scores through a field goal and this time it was Mohd Erfan Khan who scored in the 62nd minute. The team did not stop here and they yet again scored in the 69th minute, this time through Upendra Pillay who converted through a field goal.

In another match, it was Puducherry who blanked Tripura 11-1 and a win which can be easily termed as convincing. While Tripura’s Arif Hussain started the goal scoring session in the 9th minute of the match where he managed to score through a field goal, it was team Puducherry post that who then rained goals in the entire session of the remaining game. They managed to keep the attack on the opponents and scored 11 back to back goals. A Tamilarasan scored a hat-trick for his team with all his goals coming in the second half. While M Harikrishna, V Karthikeyan and N Kamalakannan scoring 2 goals each, helped the team register an easy win over the opponents.

In the third match of the day, the tournament witnessed Hockey Gangpur – Odisha taking on Mizoram and winning the match against the later 6-0. Hockey Gangpur – Odisha started its scoring feat in the 3rd minute of the game with Ashish Anmol  Minz scoring his first goal of the match through a field goal. The second goal was scored in the 13th minute and this time it was Banamali Xess scoring for his team. Within 4 minutes of the 2nd goal, Ashish Anmol Minz scored the 3rd goal for his team and 2nd in his name, which he converted through a penalty corner opportunity. At the end of the first session of the game Hockey Gangpur – Odisha was leading the score card with 5-0. In the second half just 4 minutes into the game they managed to score their 6th goal of the match and Sashi Topno converted a brilliant field goal. Mizoram failed to convert the chances that they got and ended the game without a goal in their name.

Results

Pool D- Chattisgarh 3  Shakeel Ahmed (54 min) Mohd. Erfan Khan (62 min) and Upendra Pillay (69 min) vs Kerala 2 Sarin ( 19 min), Jithu Sasi (34 min) .

Pool C Puducherry 11 A Tamilarasan (43, 58, 64 min), M Harikrishnan (13, 23 min) V Karthikeyan (25, 32 min), N Kamalakannan (15, 61 min), Manthana Pradyumnavarama (48 min) and N Selamuthu (60 min) vs Tripura 1 Arif Hussain (09 min).

Pool C- Hockey Gangpur Odisha 6 Ashish Anmol  Minz (3 17 min), Banamali Xess (13 min), Mangal Kispotta (23 min) and Dillip Kerketta (30 min) and Sashi Topno (39 min) Mizoram 0.

HI Press release

Preparatory camp of the senior men hockey probables from March 9

New Delhi,  March 4, 2014: In preparations for the FIH Hockey World Cup to be held at The Hague, Netherlands from 31 May-15 June 2014, the training camp of the senior men core probables will commence at Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium, Delhi from March 9 .

The 33 senior men core probables were shortlisted for the camp by Mr. Roelant Oltmans, Director High Performance, Mr. Terry Walsh, Chief Coach Senior Men Hockey Team and Mr. Harbinder Singh Government Observer during a meeting held on 25 February 2014. A month long preparatory camp of the senior men core probables will continue till 10 April 2014.

India is placed in Pool A of the FIH Hockey World Cup 2014 with Australia, England, Belgium, Spain and Malaysia. India will open its campaign against Belgium on31 May 2014 followed by matches against England on 2 June, Spain on 5 June, Malaysia on 7 June and Australia on 9 June 2014.

Indian Senior Men Hockey team finished in sixth place while competing against the top teams of the World in the recently concluded Hero Hockey World League Final at Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium in New Delhi.

The year 2014 includes other major events for the National Men hockey team including XX Commonwealth Games in Glasgow (Scotland) from 23 July- 3 August, 17th Asian Games in Incheon (Korea) from 19 September-4 October and 35th FIH Men’s Champions Trophy in Bhubaneswar in 2014.

The List of Probables is as under:

Goalkeepers:
1.  PR Sreejesh
2.  Harjot Singh
3.  Sushant Tirkey

Defenders:
4.  Gurbaj Singh
5.  Rupinder Pal Singh
6.  V R Raghunath
7.  Birendra Lakra
8.  Gurmail Singh
9.  Kothajit Singh Khadangbam
10. Gurjinder Singh
11. Gurinder Singh
12. Sandeep Singh
13. Vikram Kanth

Midfielders:
14. S K Uthappa
15. Dharamvir Singh
16. Chinglensana Singh Kangujam
17. Sardar Singh
18. Manpreet Singh
19. Danish Mujtaba
20. Satbir Singh
21. Devinder Sunil Walmiki
22. Vikas Pillay
23. Jasjit Singh

Forwards:
24. Nikkin Thimmaiah
25. Nithin Thimmaiah
26. S V Sunil
27. Mandeep Singh
28. Akashdeep Singh
29. Ramandeep Singh
30. Affan Yousuf
31. Yuvraj Walmiki
32. Talwinder Singh
33. Lalit Upadhyay

HI Press release

Hockey India gets National Sports Federation status

New Delhi, 3 March 2014: It’s a moment of ecstasy for Hockey India (HI) today as they have finally been assigned the responsibility of promoting Hockey in India. Government of India through Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports recognized Hockey India as the sole body responsible towards promotion of sport in national and international arena.

Speaking on the recognition Hockey India Secretary General Dr. Narinder Batra said “it is a moment of pride for not only Hockey India but even for players and coaches who have worked towards this goal in their own ways and efforts. Our endeavor will always be to make hockey the number one sport in the country and we aim motivate the Indian team to achieve feats which Indians will remember and talk about when the history of Hockey is being discussed. We will continue our effort in that direction till the time we do not achieve what we set out to do”.

He further added “I earnestly thank the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports for recognizing the efforts that we have been putting in the last few years and giving us the recognition that we deserve”.

Going by the guidelines in order to get this recognition, the Nationals Sports Body needs to be recognized as the body by both International Federation as well as Indian Olympic Association. Hockey India has fulfilled both the criteria since the year 2009 wherein International Hockey Federation (FIH) as well as Asian Hockey Federation have considered Hockey India as the body and major tournaments have been organized in association with Hockey India since then.

Since 2012, Hockey India and FIH have organized major tournaments like FIH Olympic Qualifiers, FIH World League Round 2, FIH Junior Men World Cup and FIH World League Round Final.

The manner in which Hockey India has been successfully conducting International tournaments in the last few years, has helped them bag major events between 2014 -2018 which includes Champions Trophy which is slotted for later in the year and which includes FIH Women’s World League Round-2 and FIH Men’s World League Final in 2015, FIH Junior Men’s World Cup 2016, FIH Men’s World League Round Final in 2017 and FIH Senior Men’s World Cup in 2018. This effort towards ensuring that International tournaments being played in India helped Hockey India get this recognition by Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports.

Hockey India even has to its credit of conducting 2 successful editions of Hockey India League in 2013 and 2014 which gave an opportunity to Indian players (capped as well as uncapped) to play with international players from different countries which helped them to learn and put into play. 

Hockey India has 27 Affiliated Members, 19 Associate Members and two members through State Olympic Association. Hockey India has been regularly holding National Championships since 2011 under men and women’s category at senior, junior and sub-junior levels. The 4th Hockey India National Championships 2014 are already underway. Besides this, Hockey India has also organised FIH-HI High Performance Coaching Course 2012-2015 and FIH Umpiring Seminar in 2012.

HI Press release

Susheel’s hat-trick guides Bengal to 5-0 win over Mizoram

Maharashtra and Vidarbha players in action 

New Delhi, March 3, 2014: Susheel Gupta struck a hat-trick as Bengal blanked Mizoram 5-0 in a Pool C league match on day five of the 4th Hockey India Senior Men National Championship played at Major Dhyan Chand Stadium in Lucknow today.

In the second consecutive win for Bengal, Asheesh Sengar and Sunil Shah scored a goal each to complete the tally. Bengal goalkeeper Bappa Saha denied any scoring opportunity to the opponents.

While during the match where Maharashtra took on Vidarbha Hockey Association, Kunal Jagdale struck three goals for Maharashtra to register a 6-1 win against Vidarbha Hockey Association in their Pool C league match.

Manpreet Singh scored two goals and Vinod Nimbore contributed one goal in Maharashtra’s win while Mohd Ajaz Qureshi scored the only goal for Vidarbha Hockey Association. This is the third win for Maharashtra in four games they have played. In their third league match, Maharashtra draw 4-4 against Chhattisgarh.  

Earlier in the day in a Pool D match, Chhattisgarh defeated Delhi 2-0. Chhattisgarh took an early lead in the 9th minute with a field goal scored by Upendra Pillay. In the 62nd minute, Shaheed Shaikh scored a goal to increase the lead to 2-0 for his team.

Todays Results

Pool C- Bengal Hockey Association 5 Susheel Gupta (38, 46, 53 min) Asheesh Sengar (18 min) and Sunil Shah (30 min) vs Mizoram 0.

Maharashtra 6 Kunal Jagdale (23, 34, 56 min), Manpreet Singh (37, 44 min) and Vinod Nimbore (70 min) vs Vidarbha Hockey Association 1 Mohd Ajaz Qureshi (52 min).

Pool D- Chhattisgarh 2 Shaheed Shaikh (62 min) and Upendra Pillay (9 min) Delhi 0.

Gangpur-Odisha register fourth consecutive win

Puducherry and Assam players in action 

New Delhi,  March 2, 2014: Hockey Gangpur- Odisha registered their fourth consecutive win against Tripura 9-0 to stay on the top of Pool-C on day 4 of the 4th Hockey India Senior Men National Championship played at Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium in Lucknow today.

Gangpur-Odisha took an early lead in the 9th minutes with a field goal scored by Ashish Anmol Minz. Ashish struck four goals in the match, while William Xalxo scored three goals, Banamali Xess and Roshan Minz one goal each for their team. Hockey Gangpur- Odisha is heading the pool table with 12 points in 4 matches.

Earlier, N. Sellamuthu struck three goals to give Puducherry their first win in the championship against Assam 11-1 in the Pool C league match. Other scorers for Puducherry were M. Harikrishnan and N. Kamalakannan who scored two goals each, while R. Aravindn, S. Sivaganesh, V. Karthikeyan and G. Senthilkumar contributed a goal each. Vinod Kumar Mishra scored a goal for Assam.

In Pool D, Central Reserve Police Force defeated Kerala 2-1. Nimhas Khokha and Amaritvir Singh struck one goal each for CRPF, while Joshan George scored one goal for Kerala.   

Todays Results

Pool C- Puducherry 11 N. Sellamuthu (16, 25, 57 min), M. Harikrishnan (28, 67 min), N. Kamalakannan (5, 40 min), R. Aravindn (53 min), S. Sivaganesh (32 min), V. Karthikeyan (59 min) and G. Senthilkumar (43 min) vs Assam 1 Vinod Kumar Mishra (58 min).

Hockey Gangpur-Odisha 9 Ashish Anmol Minz (9, 32, 59, 62 min), William Xalxo (24, 34, 44 min), Banamali Xess (68 min) and Roshan Minz (50 min) vs Tripura 0.

Pool D- CRPF 2 Nimhas Khkha (27 min) and Amaritvir Singh (56 min) vs Kerala 1 Joshan George (22 min).

HI Press release

Satish Gopalkrishnan and Savera D’Souza win Maruti Suzuki Desert Storm car rally

Jaipur, March 1, 2014: The 12th Maruti Suzuki Desert Storm, the annual six-day marathon motorsport event, finished at Jaipur today after traversing approximately 2,200 kilometers over the Thar Desert and the entire span of the dune country.

Mr Manohar Bhat, Vice President Maruti Suzuki said it was remarkable that in a marathon motorsport event open to participation of vehicles of all makes, seven out of the total 9 prizes went to Maruti-manufactured vehicles.

The top prize in the Rally Ndure category went to Satish Gopalkrishnan and navigator Savera D’Souza, driving a Grand Vitara for Team Maruti Suzuki. Satish, the software guru from Bangalore, is the man who developed the TSD meter to change the face of time-speed-distance rallying in the country.

Second in Rally Ndure is the team of Pratap Thakur and navigator Dhiraj Arora, driving a Maruti Gypsy, again for Team Maruti Suzuki. Third in Rally Ndure is Ashish Budhia and navigator Arindam Ghosh.

In Rally Xtreme, the first prize went to Sunny Sidhu of Chandigarh with navigator PVS Murthy. The second prize was won by Sandeep Sharma of Delhi and Varun Davessar of Chandigarh, driving a Maruti Gypsy. The third prize in Rally Xtreme went to Amartej Pal Buwal of Delhi and navigator Nakul Mendiratta, driving a Maruti Gypsy.  

In Rally Xplore, Rajesh Chalana and navigator Yogesh Gupta ranked first, driving an SX4 for Team Maruti Suzuki. Second in the category was Nitin Yadav with navigator Ravi Bansal, driving a Mahindra Scorpio. The third prize in the category went to Sanjay Takale with navigator Mustafa, driving SX4 for Team Maruti Suzuki.

In Rally Moto (Motorcycles), CS Santosh of Bangalore retained his title as India’s top biker by ranking first, driving a Suzuki RMX 450. The second prize in this category went to Helmut Frauwallner of Austria, driving a Yamaha WR450F. Third in Rally Moto was Suresh Babu, driving a Suzuki RMS 450Z.

The rally was flagged off from Delhi on February 26. It moved though the wild outback region of Sardarshahar, Bikaner, Chattargarh, Jaisalmer, Sam, Pokhran, Lakshmangarh and other areas to finally end at Jaipur.   

Mr Manohar Bhat, Vice President of Maruti Suzuki, said it was a matter of pride that the number of competitors was growing each year at the Maruti Suzuki Desert Storm. The 12th Maruti Suzuki Desert Storm ran with the highest number of rallyists in its 12-year-history. A total of 250 champion rallyists from various parts of the country and abroad competed in various categories.

There were 55 teams in Rally Xtreme and 35 teams in Rally Moto (both categories based solely on fastest timing). In addition, there were 35 teams in Rally Ndure and 25 teams in Rally Xplore (both based on the time-speed-distance format).

Photo caption: Satish Gopalkrishnan and Savera D'Souza, winners of Rally Ndure, driving a Grand Vitara for Team Maruti Suzuki

Rashid Khan wins thrilling playoff to lift maiden Asian Tour title

New Delhi, March 1, 2014: India’s Rashid Khan won a thrilling playoff against Md Siddikur Rahman of Bangladesh at the SAIL-SBI Open 2014 presented by Incredible India Ministry of Tourism to lift his first Asian Tour title. The 23-year-old Rashid won at his home course, the Delhi Golf Club, after making birdie on the first playoff hole at the US$ 300,000 event co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour and PGTI. Rashid and Siddikur had earlier ended the regulation 72 holes with matching totals of 18-under-270. Rashid’s triumph earned him an exemption on the Asian Tour till the end of 2015.

Rashid Khan’s (61-69-69-71) wire-to-wire success was all the more sweet as it saw him put behind the ghosts of his playoff loss at the SAIL-SBI Open last year at the hands of compatriot Anirban Lahiri.

Khan became the 18th Indian professional to win an international tournament after tapping in his birdie on the first playoff hole (18th) as Siddikur could only make par.

  

“It feels awesome. It’s my home course and winning here is special. It’s amazing,” said a jubilant Khan, who carded a final round one-under-71 that featured three birdies and two bogeys.

 “I lost this event here last year. It was important and the way I started on the first day with a 61, it was an amazing week.  I don’t like playoffs. I played seven play-offs in the last 14 months and I won only three. It’s a lottery.”

  

The wiry Khan had trailed PGTI member Siddikur by one shot with two holes remaining in regulation play but produced a magical birdie on the 17th to draw level. Both players birdied the 18th hole under immense pressure to take the tournament into a playoff.

Khan’s aggressive approach paid off when he produced an imperious three wood approach shot from 269 yards out which landed on the apron before taking two more shots to defeat Siddikur, who missed his birdie chance from about 15 feet.

“On 17, I actually hit a bad shot, hit it right, but I don’t know how my ball pitched over the bunker and rolled to one and a half feet to the flag. I was shocked. It was really lucky,” said Khan.

 “I had to be aggressive in the playoff. I had to go for it. I took out the driver and hit a good shot in the middle of the fairway and then had about 269 yards to the flag. I went with a three wood and that was one of the best shots I’ve hit,” he added.

  

When the third round was completed this morning, Siddikur trailed Khan by two but soon tied the Indian youngster with an opening eagle.

His hopes of a second title at the fabled Delhi course, where he won the Indian Open in November, faded as he missed his long birdie chance. “Rashid deserves the win. He’s a talented player. I saw his game and he’s a really good player,” said Siddikur, who finished fourth on the Asian Tour’s Order of Merit last season.

“It was a good play-off. I played my game but maybe, I should have played driver. I used my three wood which wasn’t sufficient although I have used three wood in the first four rounds and made birdie every day. But it wasn’t the case in the playoff.”

Sweden’s Rikard Karlberg, a two-time winner in Delhi, finished third after closing with a 68, six shots from the play-off duo, while S.S.P. Chowrasia of India, Spain’s Carlos Pigem and Martin Rominger of Switzerland shared fourth place on 277.

Two-time defending champion Anirban Lahiri, who was bidding to become the first man to win three straight titles at the same tournament, closed with a disappointing 74 for tied eighth place at nine-under-279 along with Sri Lanka’s Mithun Perera (72) and countrymen Jyoti Randhawa (69) and Abhijit Singh Chadha (69).

Mr. Padamjit Sandhu, Director, PGTI, “Hearty congratulations to Rashid for his first Asian Tour win at the SAIL-SBI Open 2014. I am sure this will be a huge boost for the young Indian players looking to play on higher tours across the globe. We wish Rashid all success for the future.”

Anirban Lahiri, who beat Rashid in a playoff to win the title in 2013, said, “This would be a life-changing moment for Rashid. It was great to see him win a tough encounter on the final day. He has done well to come back strongly from the playoff loss last year.”

PGTI Press release

Utkarsh moves into U-12 singles semifinals

 Amaan Wasim 

Utkarsh Singh

Patna, March 1, 2014: The fourth leg of the AITA Talent Series began at the Patliputra Tennis Centre courts here on Sunday. Utkarsh Singh of Bihar entered the semifinals of the boys U-12 singles beating Pushkar Singh also from Bihar 6-2,6-0

Results: BOYS’ U-12 SINGLES (PRE-QUARTERFINALS): Ansh Tandon (Bih) bt Udai Jain (Bih) 6-0, 6-0; Shubham  Raj (Bih) bt Rohil Roy (Bih)  6-2, 6-3; Shuvrat Mall (Bih) bt Saahil Shivam (Bih) 6-0, 6-2.

QUARTERFINAS: Utkarsh Singh (Bih) bt Pushkar Singh (Bih) 6-2, 6-0; Sahil Bariar (Bih) bt Ansh Tandon (Bih) 6-1, 6-2; Amaan Wasim (WB) bt Suvrat Mall (Bih) 6-4,6-3; Shubham Raj (Bih) bt Aayam Sourya Choudhary (Bih) 4-6, 6-2, 6-3

Hockey Gangpur- Odisha crush Assam 10-0

New Delhi,  March 1, 2014: Ashish Anmol Minz struck three goals to give Hockey Gangpur-Odisha an emphatic 10-0 win against Assam in a Pool C league match on day-3 of the 4th Hockey India Senior Men National Championship played at Major Dhyan Chand Hockey Stadium in Lucknow today.

Other scorers for Gangpur-Odisha are Amarjeet Ekka and Banamali Xess who scored two goals each, while William Xalxo, Shushil Kiro and Kishor Lakra contributed one goal each.

In the other Pool C match, Mizoram registered their first win against Tripura 6-1. Mizoram took an early lead in the 6th minute with a field goal scored by Ramtharanghaka.

For Mizoram, Lalrinnunga struck two goals while Lalremsanga, Zohingthanga, and MS Dawngliana scored one goal each for their team. For Tripura, Shanawas Hussain struck the loan goal.

In Pool D, Vidarbha Hockey Association beat Kerala by 2-1. Imran Sheikh and Ather Mirza scored one goal each for Vidarbha Hockey Association, Sudheeh P scored the one goal for Kerala.

In the other Pool D match, Central Reserve Police Force defeated Delhi 3-1. Prashnt Tirkey, Rajinder Singh and Rajesh Kindo struck one goal each for CRPF, Meet Singh scored the single goal for Delhi.

In the other Pool C match, Sunil Shah and Susheel Gupta struck two goals each for Bengal Hockey Association beating Puducherry 6-2. Other scorers for Bengal Hockey Association were Sunil Kujur and Pramod Kumar Singh. V Karthikeyan and Manthana Pradyumnavarama scored one goal each for Puducherry.

Earlier, Maharashtra played 4-4 draw against Chhattisgarh in Pool D.

Results 

Pool C- Hockey Gangpur-Odisha 10 Ashish Anmol Minz (9,13, 24 min), Amarjeet Ekka (7,18 min), Banamali Xess (2,10 min), William Xalxo (11 min), Shushil Kiro (41 min) and Kishor Lakra (30 min) vs Assam 0.

Mizoram 6 Ramtharanghaka (6 min), Lalrinnunga (25, 63 min), Lalremsanga (49 min), Zohingthanga (46 min) and MS Dawngliana (40 min) vs Tripura 1 Shanawas Hussain (54 min).

Bengal Hockey Association 6 Sunil Shah (15, 25 min) and Susheel Gupta (22, 26 min), Sunil Kujur (42 min) and Pramod Kumar Singh (53 min) vs Puducherry 2 V Karthikeyan (48 min) and Manthana Pradyumnavarama (19 min).

Pool D- Vidarbha Hockey Association 2 Imran Sheikh (22 min) and Ather Mirza (27 min) vs Kerala 1 Sudheeh P (58 min).

Central reserve Police Force 3 Prashnt Tirkey (49 min), Rajinder Singh () and Rajesh Kindo (10 min) vs Delhi 1 Meet Singh (1 min).

Maharashtra 4 Vishal Pillay (23, 24 min), Ajeet Gautam (49 min), Virendra Bramhe (62 min) vs Chhattisgarh 4Mohd Erfan Khan (14 min), Mohd Atique Qurashi (17 min), Akshay Garsund (20 min), Sam Kandulina (34 min)

HI Press release

4th Hockey India Junior Women National Championship 2014 to begin in Mysore from March 5

New Delhi, February 28, 2014: The 4th edition of the Hockey India Junior Women National Championship 2014 will be played in Mysore, Karnataka from March 5 to 23.

The 32 teams from different parts of the country will be participating in the championship which will be played on a league cum knockout basis at the Chamundi Vihar Stadium in Mysore. This edition will see two new teams including Hockey Gangpur- Odisha and Vidarbha Hockey Association participating in it.

The Junior Women National Championship will be played in two phases Division A and B. There will be 16 teams each competing in Division A and Division B. Division B of the championship will be played from 5-13 March 2014 and Division A will be played from 15- 23 March 2014.

The inaugural match of Division B shall be played between Chhattisgarh and Himachal Pradesh in Pool C on 5 March 2014. The final match of Division B will be played on 13 March 2014.

In Division A, last year’s bronze medalist Jharkhand will take on Bengal in the opening match on 15 March 2014and the final will be played on 23 March 2014.

Defending champions Haryana are placed in Pool A with Tamil Nadu, Sports Authority of India and Rajasthan while Runners-up of the third edition of the championship Madhya Pradesh are placed in Pool B with Delhi, Karnataka and Bhopal.  Defending champions Haryana will take on Sports Authority of India in their opening match on15 March 2014. In the previous edition, Haryana defeated Madhya Pradesh Hockey Academy 2-1 to claim the title in a hard fought match.

HI Press release

Perera, Khan locked in battle at rain-hit SAIL-SBI Open Golf

Sri Lanka’s Mithun Perera

New Delhi, February 28, 2014: Sri Lanka’s Mithun Perera tied overnight leader Rashid Khan of India for the lead at the season-opening SAIL-SBI Open presented by Incredible India before a thunderstorm forced the suspension of the third round on Friday.

The straight-shooting Perera, bidding to become the first Sri Lankan to win on the Asian Tour, battled to three under par through eight holes and 13-under for the tournament when officials abandoned play at the Delhi Golf Club due to inclement weather.

Khan, who led by four overnight, was one over through seven holes while Bangladeshi star Siddikur Rahman moved to within one stroke of the co-leaders with birdies on the first and seventh holes in the US$300,000 Asian Tour event.

Two-time champion Anirban Lahiri of India kept alive his hopes of becoming the first man to win the same tournament in three successive years, although he is poised to bogey the ninth hole to fall two off the pace.

Perera, 27, is geared up for a marathon Saturday, with the third round resuming at7.30am and the players heading out for the final round in the same groupings from9am.

“I’m waiting to win a title on the Asian Tour. Hopefully, it will be tomorrow. It’s exciting but the key is to keep under par. I’ve got to play good again. Hopefully I can have a good start. I’m prepared to play 27 holes. I’m used to it, playing two rounds a day,” said Perera, who birdied the first, second and sixth holes to tie Khan.

With Khan also chasing for a maiden Asian Tour title and Lahiri and Siddikur lurking, Perera knows there will be no margin for error at the ultra-demanding Delhi course. “I’ve just got to play good to win it. Everyone is playing well. I had a good start and on every hole, I hit driver as my tee shots were so good. Made a few birdies with some good iron shots but missed a few too. It will be important to stay on the fairways. If I can do that, I can do something tomorrow,” said the likeable Perera.

Khan, 23, was happy to hear the siren suspending play at 1.22pm before officials eventually called off the round at 3pm. The slender Indian has slept with the overnight lead since his first round heroics of 61 and hopes the shortened day would prove to be a blessing in disguise.

“I think the rain came at the right time. I was one over and the day wasn’t going the way I wanted to. A lot of holes to play tomorrow. I’m hoping for a good day,” said Khan, the reigning Indian PGTI number one.

“It’s going to be a big day tomorrow. I’ll have 28 holes to play, we’ll see what happens. Today, I started really bad and didn’t make any birdies. I will need to start with a birdie in the morning, need a good round going.”

Siddikur, who qualified to represent Team Asia in the inaugural EurAsia Cup presented by DRB-HICOM against Europe in Malaysia next month, looms as a big threat to Khan and Perera. The Bangladeshi was victorious at the fabled Delhi course when he won the Hero Indian Open in November.

“It’s going to be a long day for all players. You have to be fit and be prepared for 28 holes. I’m looking forward to it. I’m feeling confident and I hope to enjoy the day. I’ve not seen this sort of thunderstorms in India for a long time, it is like in Malaysia and Dhaka,” said Siddikur.

Lahiri, who finished a career high third on the Order of Merit last season, is 12-under through eight holes but is poised to drop a bogey on nine after missing a short par putt before the siren blew. He birdied the first, third, fifth and eighth holes.

“I missed a small putt for par. I was waiting for the siren to go but things like this happen,” lamented the 26-year-old, who will represent Team Asia in the EurAsia Cup.

“I’ll be two back, I’m in a good spot. It will be important to conserve mental energy as you have to focus so hard around here. I’m glad I’m playing with Mithun (in the same group) as we are great friends. We are joking and kidding around; it’s a very relaxed atmosphere out there. It’ll be good for the two of us.”

Lahiri knows he must chase for the win as he does not expect Khan or Perera to buckle under the pressure of trying to claim a first Asian Tour victory. “I don’t think it’ll be a big deal for Rashid and Mithun. Rashid has won prolifically in India and this is his home course. I don’t think he’ll be nervous. As for Mithun, everything he touches now seems to turn to gold. He’s won the last three events in India. He’s on a juggernaut now. The challenge will be on Siddikur and I to pressure them. If we can do that, I’ll be interesting,” said Lahiri.

Leading third round scores

-13: Mithun Perera (Slk) through 8 holes, Rashid Khan (Ind) through 7 holes

-12: Anirban Lahiri (Ind) through 8 holes, Siddikur Rahman (Ban) through 7 holes

-11: Martin Rominger (Sui) through 8 holes

-10: S.S.P Chowrasia (Ind) through 9 holes

-9: Shamim Khan (Ind) through 9 holes, Scott Barr (Aus) through 9 holes

-8: Rikard Karlberg (Swe) through 15 holes, Anura Rohana (Slk) through 12 holes, Javi Colomo (Esp) through 9 holes, Akinori Tani (Jpn) through 9 holes, Steve Lewton (Eng) through 9 holes, Unho Park (Aus) thru 7 holes.

PGTI Press release

Delhi defeat Kerala 4-1 to register first win in Senior National Hockey

New Delhi, February 28, 2014: Delhi registered their first win in Pool D as they defeated Kerala 4-1 on day-2 of the 4th Hockey India Senior Men National Championship played at Major Dhyan Chand Hockey Stadium in Lucknow today.

After losing their first game against Vidarbha Hockey Association on the opening day of the championship, Delhi seemed a much better side today and scored twice in each half of the game. Manish Kumar, Shyambir, Abhishek and Praveen Kumar contributed a goal each in Delhi’s victory.

In the second match of Pool D, Shaheed Shaikh, Prince Yadav and Amulya Minj scored a goal each helping Chhattisgarh to register a 3-1 win over Vidarbha Hockey Association.

In the third match of Pool-D match, Assam played a 2-2 draw against Tripura. Assam took a 1-0 lead in the 36thminutes with a field goal scored by Mohd Salman Khan but ten minutes later Mohd Suhail equalizes the score for Tripura. Mohd Salman Khan scored a field goal in the 57thminute to increase the lead to 2-1 for Assam but two minutes later Mohd Khalil scored a goal for Tripura to level the game.

In Pool C, Hockey Gangpur- Odisha registered their second consecutive win defeating Bengal 5-1. Bengal took an early lead in the 2nd minute when Sunil Shah made no mistake in converting a penalty corner however two minutes later Hockey Gangpur- Odisha leveled the score through a field goal scored by Sashi Toppo. Hockey Gangpur- Odisha took the 2-1 lead in the 10th minute with the penalty corner converted by William Xalxo. In the 23rdminute Bruno Hedrino Lugun scored a field goal to increase the lead for Hockey Ganpur- Odisha. In the second half, Ashish Anmol Minz and Dillip Kerketta each scored a goal for Hockey Gangpur- Odisha.

Earlier, Puducherry defeated Mizoram 3-1 in Pool C. For Pudicherry, N. Sellamuthu, V Karthikeyan, and N. Kamalakannan scored a goal each in their team’s victory. Mizoram scored their only goal through MS Dawngliana.

Todays Results: Pool C- Puducherry 3 N Sellamuthu (5 min), V Karthikeyan (50 min) and N Kamalakannan (69 min) vsMizoram 1 M S Dawngliana (15 min)

Hockey Gangpur- Odisha 5 Sashi Toppo (4 min), William Xalxo (10 min), Bruno Hedrino Lugun (23 min), Ashish Anmol Minz (54 min), Dillip Kerketta (63 min) vsBengal 1 Sunil Shah (2 min)

Assam 2 Mohd Salman Khan (36, 57 min) vs Tripura 2Mohd Suhail (46 min), Mohd Khalil (59 min)

Pool D- Chhattisgarh 3 Prince Yadav (7 min), Shaheed Shaikh (56 min) and Amulya Minj (66 min) vs 

Vidarbha Hockey Association 1 Mohd Ajaz Qureshi (23 min)

Delhi 4- Manish Sharma (22 min), Shyambir (31 min), Abhishek (40 min), Praveen Kumar (62 min) vs Kerala 1-Sudheeh P (42 min)

Satish keeps vice-like grip over Rally Ndure at 12th Maruti Suzuki Desert Storm

A rally vehicle in action at The 12th Maruti Suzuki Desert Storm

Bikaner, February 28, 2014: It is difficult to beat a master when he is in his element. Satish Gopalkrishnan, the Bangalore-based software guru who developed the TSD meter – the calculator especially developed for TSD rallying – has kept a vice-like grip over the top position in Rally Ndure at The 12th Maruti Suzuki Desert Storm, which ends at Jaipur on March 1.

Satish Gopalkrishnan and Savera D’Souza, often referred to as Indian motorsport’s first couple, have several firsts to their credit. They have been winners in the TSD category at all major marathon motorsport events in the country – The Maruti Suzuki Raid De Himalaya, the Maruti Suzuki Desert Storm and also the Maruti Suzuki Dakshin Dare. They have also clinched the Indian National Rally Championship (INRC) title.

Satish and Savera are now within easy reach of the Ndure crown at the 12th edition of the Maruti Suzuki Desert Storm. Before the rally began, TSD national champion Jagmeet Gill had stated that among the top favourites for the TSD crown were Satish and Savera. His words might prove to be prophetic.

Mr Manohar Bhat, Vice President Marketing of Maruti Suzuki, had flagged off the rally from Delhi on February 24. Till now, the rally has covered the wild outback desert region of Sardarshahar, Jaisalmer and Bikaner.

The TSD meter, now hugely popular among rallyists all over the country, was actually developed by Satish to help his wife with the Time-Speed-Distance (TSD) rallying format. “I noticed how Savera had a tough time manually calculating each and every parameter on the gadgets we used for rallying,” said Satish. “It cost us a lot of time, and increased the chances for error. After I returned from a rally, I started work on a device to make the work easier for her,” he said.

The software designer in him took over, and Satish Gopalkrishnan designed what the rest of the field now calls the TSD meter. The small hand-held device is built around a basic scientific calculator. It helps the navigator with the minutest calculations required in rallying. What Satish developed to make rallying navigation easy for his wife has become one of TSD rallying’s blessings. The TSD meter proved instrumental in top wins at TSD rallies 2011 onwards.

At the 12th Maruti Suzuki Desert Storm, Satish-Savera are driving a Grand Vitara for Team Maruti Suzuki. On Day Five of the rally, the champion couple are way ahead of competition with total penalties at 17.05 minutes. Their closest competitor, Pratap Thakur, is at 28.33 minutes. Third in Rally Ndure is Ashish Budhia, driving a Maruti Gypsy, with penalties at 41.42 minutes. Defending champion Somdeb Chanda is fourth in the category, with penalties at 54.17 minutes.

In Rally Xplore, Rajesh Chalana and Yogesh Gupta lead the tally, driving an SX4 for Team Maruti Suzuki.

In Rally Xtreme Sunny Sidhu of Chandigarh leads the pack with penalties at 12.10.44. Sandeep Sharma of Delhi, driving a Maruti Gypsy, is close at his heels with total penalties at 12.26.09. Third in this category is Amartej Pal Buwal of Delhi, driving a Maruti Gypsy, with total penalties at 12.31.49.

In Rally Moto, CS Santosh of Bangalore continues to lead with total penalties of 8.55.49. Second is Helmut Frauwallner of Austria with penalties at 9.29.52. Third is Suresh Babu with penalties at 10.40.47, and fourth is Trivikram Singh Rathore, with penalties at 10.46.40.

The number of competitors is the highest-ever this year, with 55 teams in Rally Xtreme and 35 teams in Rally Moto (both categories based solely on fastest timing), 35 teams in Rally Ndure and 25 teams in Rally Xplore (both based on time-speed-distance format).

Press release