Fancied players move into pre-quarterfinals

Alappuzha, November 29, 2014: Petroleum Sports Promotion Board’s Abhishek Yadav and the top-seed showed a clear intention of his game plan and form in the Youth Boys singles when he moved into the pre-quarterfinals of the 76th Junior National and Youth Table Tennis Championships at the Radha Convention Centre here today.

Yadav, who was a semifinalist in the last edition at Guwahati, lost to the eventual winner G. Sathiyan, who is not competing here.  

The southpaw defeated Gujarat’s qualifier Hash Sachanandani 3-1 (6-11, 11-3, 11-6, 11-8) while No 2 Sudhanshu Grover, also of the PSPB beat Abhilash Bora of Assam 3-1 (12-10, 11-7, 7-11, 11-6) even as other top eight players joined them in the last-16 stages. But it was a bit of struggle for Sanish Ambekar, who was a star in Maharashtra’s Youth Boys team title, as Karantaka’s Akshay Mahanta stretched him the full distance.

In the end, Ambekar won 10-12, 11-8, 11-8, 9-11, 11-7 to move a state up. But Ravindra Kotiyan had no such problem, beating Tamil Nadu’s Divakar Kishore 13-11, 11-8, 11-4 as did Delhi’s Utkarsh Gupta who downed Gujarat’s Soham Pandya 11-3, 11-5, 11-6.

In the Youth Girls section, seeded and known players had it easy as PSPB’s Manika Batra, Reeth Rishya, Senhora D’Souza and Archana Kamath, AAI’s Amrita Pushpak, Gujarat’s Fremaz Chipia, West Bengal’s Rupsa Bhattacharya and Trisha Das, Maharashtra’s Mallika Bhandarkar, Charvi Kawle, Shireen Inamdar, Rutuja Khopkar and Srushti Halengadi, Telangana’s Varuni Jaiswal, Tamil Nadu’s Abhinaya Ramesh, Kerala’s Mariya Rony moved into the pre-quarterfinals.

Except for a few matches, where the winners were stretched at the adjacent hall, the rest eased past their challengers without any trouble. Gujarat’s Frenaz had to fight it out against Tamil Nadu’s S. Sathiyamoorthy.3-2. After losing the first game to the Tamil Nadu girl, Frenaz really fought well to win the second at 15-13 and took the lead in the next. However, the Gujarat girl lost the fourth only to regroup herself in the next for a 5-11, 15-13, 11-8, 6-11, 11-5 win.

Similarly, Maharashtra B’s Shiren struggled before overcoming her Gujarat opponent Dwijal Trivedi 9-11, 11-7, 11-9, 5-11, 11-6 and Delhi’s Riti Shankar, who is in the top 10, lost to Telangana’s Varuni Jaiswal 6-11, 12-14, 11-6, 11-3, 9-11. Riti did well to come back into the match after she was 0-2 down. But in the decider missed a crucial to allow Varuni go up and finish the match.

As for Kerala’s Maria Rony, it was easy against Delhi’s Aanchal Malhotra despite the latter taking a game off her Kerala rival. Maria won 7-11, 11-6, 12-10, 11-5 for a pre-quarterfinal berth. Maharashtra’s Shrushti Halengadi resisted a determined Poulomi Das of AAI to win 11-9, 10-12, 9-11, 11-8, 11-5.  

In Junior Boys, Delhi’s Himanshu Jindal put it across West Begal’s Abhimanyu Mitra after being down by two games. The Delhi boy won 4-11, 8-11, 11-8, 11-8, 11-1. Yet another match that went down to the wire was between Shivam Shrivastava and Suresh Nikhil of Tamil Nadu in which the later won 9-11, 11-6, 5-11, 11-9, 11-6 to enter the pre-quarterfinals. But the other matches were almost a one-sided affair with the fancied players going through to the next stage.

TTFI Press release

Maharashtra boys and PSPB girls win Youth titles

Alappuzha, November 28, 2014: If Team Maharashtra had been on a roll, it was a downswing of sorts for the Petroleum Sports Promotion Board (PSPB) at the 76th Junior National and Youth Table Tennis Championships at the Radha Convention Centre here today.

Maharashtra, who claimed the Junior Boys title after 25 years, made the Youth Boys crown their own, humiliating Delhi 3-0 in the final even as the PSPB Youth Girls just about managed to wrest the title—title holders West Bengal were ousted earlier—from a determined Maharashtra A team. PSPB won 3-2 in a battle that lasted nearly two hours.   

After having busted the big bubble of PSPB in the semifinals yesterday, the two-man in-form army of Sanish Ambekar and Ravindra Kotiyan made Delhi sweat on a humid day for every point. But in the end, it was Maharashtra who emerged the champions after seven years. They had lost won at Surat when he beat Tamil Nadu in the final.

In fact, unseating PSPB was a difficult task and having accomplished it, Delhi was an easy prey to get killed. Sanish gave a fine start, Ravindra consolidated with yet another fine show only for Siddesh Pande, the promising youngster, to finish off in style. Delhi, however hard they tried, they could never match up with Maharashtra’s intensity.

As for the Youth Girls, it was a 50-50 case when the final started. Though Manika Batra gave PSPB a winning start, beating Mallika 7-11, 11-9, 11-5, 11-7, Reeth Rishya struggled against Charvi Kawle. The latter, showing good intent and running into a nice rhythm, did not allow any liberty to her PSPB rival. However, what gave a semblance of change to PSPB was the new-girl-on-the-block Archana Kamath Girish.

The latest entrant to the PSPB, the girl from Karnataka put it across Maharashtra’s weak link Ashlesha Trehan in straight games. But Charvi brought Maharashtra back on track with a wonderful match against Manika. Charvi, mixing cleverly her strokes, kept Manika engaged keeping the ball on the table. Manka, making far too many mistakes, wilted under pressure. But, in the end, it was left to Reeth who made up for the first singles loss by beating a visibly tired Mallika.

Yesterday, local girl Maria Rony missed a great opportunity of winning the Junior Girls singles crown, losing to Shruti Amrute of Maharashtra. Maria, who was also entered in the Youth Girls team events by Kerala, could not bear the burden of having to play too many matches and lost despite winning the first game in the final. But it must be said to the credit of Shruti who was in a zone of her own.

Results:

Youth Boys: Team Final: Maharashtra bt Delhi 3-0 (Sanish Ambekar bt Himashu Jindal 11-7, 11-6, 7-11, 11-8, Ravindra Kotiyan bt Shivam Shrivastava 2-11, 11-9, 11-6, 9-11, 11-5, Siddhesh Pande bt Peeyush Prasad 13-11, 11-9, 11-5); Semifinals: Maharashtra A bt PSPBA 3-2 (Sanish Ambekar bt Birdie Boro 12-10, 11-6, 11-4, 11-8, Ravindra Kotiyan lost to Lalrin Puia 8-11, 11-6, 5-11, 14-12, 10-12, Sanish/Ravindra bt Manav Thakkar/Birdie Boro 7-11, 8-11, 11-9, 11-9, 12-10, Sanish Ambekar lost to Lalrin Puia 8-11, 8-11, 8-11, Ravindra Kotiyan bt Bidie Boro 11-9, 13-11, 11-8); Delhi bt West Bengal 3-1 (Utkarsh Gupta bt Hirakjyoti Pusilal 11-7, 12-10, 7-11, 11-3, Himanshu Jindal bt Abhimanyu Mitra 9-11, 12-10, 8-11, 11-9, 11-4, Utkarsh/Himashu lost to Hirakjyoti/Abhimanyu 10-12, 5-11, 11-13, Utkarsh Gutpa bt Abhimanyu Mitra 11-4, 11-4, 6-11, 11-5).

Youth Girls: Team Final: PSPB bt Maharashtra A 3-2 (Manika Batra bt Mallika Bhandarkar 7-11, 11-9, 11-5, 11-7, Reeth Rishya lost to Charvi Kawle 11-6, 8-11, 4-11, 4-11, Archana Kamath bt Ashlesha Trehan 11-7, 11-6, 11-4, Manika Batra lost to Charvi Kawle 8-11, 11-13, 11-2, 8-11, Reeth Rishya bt Mallika Bhandarkar 14-12, 11-6, 11-4); Semifinals: Maharashtra A bt Telangana 3-2 (Charvi Kawle bt Mounika Manohar 13-15, 13-11, 11-6, 11-4, Mallika Bhanarkar bt Naina 13-15, 11-3, 11-8, 12-10, Ashlesha Trehan lost to Varuni Jaiswal 9-11, 10-12, 9-11, Charvi Kawle bt Naina 11-9, 11-9, 3-11, 11-13, 11-5, PSPB bt Kerala 3-1 (Reeth Rishya lost to Maria Rony 9-11, 13-11, 12-10, 9-11, 9-11, Manika Batra bt Gia Anna George 11-2, 10-12, 11-8, 11-5, Senhora D’Souza bt Jasmine Sunny 11-6, 11-5, 13-11).

Junior Girls: Singles Final: ShrutiAmrute (MHA) bt Maria Rony (KER) 3-1 (7-11, 11-7, 11-9, 11-4, 11-5); Semifinals: Maria Rony bt Riti Shankar (DEL) 4-0 (11-4, 11-7, 11-6, 11-7), Shruti Amrute bt Sreeja Akula 4-1 (11-6, 9-11, 11-6, 11-9, 11-6).

A TTFI Press release

Telangana girls, Maharashtra boys lift junior silverwares

Alappuzha, November 27, 2014: Telangana denied a complete Maharashtra Day in Kerala. The girls from the state that was newly carved out of the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh, beat Maharashtra A to win their maiden crown with a 3-1 verdict but Maharashtra’s boys outplayed Delhi with a 3-0 triumph in the finals of the 76th Junior National and Youth Table Tennis Championships at the Radha Convention Centre here today.

If Maharashtra had taken quite a long period to win a junior boys’ team title, having won it way back in the nineties, the credit should go to the Telagana girls celebrated success in their first attempt.

If Ravindra Kotiyan was the difference between Maharashtra and Delhi, the little girl Sreeja Akula, who is part of the four-member Indian team for the World Junior Championships at Shanghai, was distinctly the star player for Telagana to shape the victory. She not only won both her singles but also combined well to win the doubles while Maharashtra’s No. 1 player Shruti Amrute could not produce that kind of a performance.

Sreeja, who had to get a massage for her pain in the elbow, played a stellar role after being down 0-2 in the match against Payal Bohra. That win upper her confidence to a new level and from there she never looked back.

 Heartbreaks

Timeouts, when cleverly taken, can make or break a team’s fortunes. In fact, a timely timeout proved to be game changer for Telangana in the Junior Girls semifinals as Naina, rising like a Phoenix from the ashes, helped her team beat Kerala 3-2 to enter the final. In the other semifinal, Maharashtra’s A squad beat Maharashtra B 3-1.

Kerala, down 0-2, put up a brave fight when Seraha Jacob and Maria Rony won the crucial doubles against Sreeja Akula and Naina. Then Maria beat a visibly uncomfortable Sreeja in reverse singles to give Kerala a realistic chance of reaching the final. Seraha Jacob almost accomplished the task but team coach M. Venugopal asking for timeout when Naina was lealding 6-5 after being down 2-5, proved to be to Telangana’s advantage.

Yet, Seraha down 2-7 narrowed down the lead to come close at 6-7. That was when Kerala coach called for timeout and the game changed for the worst as an attacking Seraha went into her shell with forehand deserting her at crucial junctures. Naina seized the opportunity and went all out to post the win.

If Kerala girls suffered at the hands of Telangana, title-holders PSPB made blunders with Birdie Boro having to play three matches, including the doubles as they they went down to Maharashtra A 2-3 in the Junior Boys semifinals. The experienced Boro came a cropper and it took a heavy toll on the PSPBA boys as Ravindra Kotiyan’s superb display clinched the issue for the winners.

In the other match, Delhi simply ran over West Bengal with Utkarsh Gupta and Himanshu Jindal doing a fine job. However, the Delhi pair lost their doubles but Utkarsh made up for it by winning his reverse singles too.

The junior girls singles finals are also slated for the day as the Indian girls will be leaving for New Delhi tomorrow morning to board the flight to Shanghai the day after. 

  

Results:

Junior Boys: Team Final: Maharashtra A bt Delhi 3-0 (Ravindra Kotiyan bt Utkarsh Gupta 12-10, 11-5, 12-10, Sanish Ambekar bt Shivan Shrivastava 13-11, 11-9, 8-11, 11-6, Ravindra/Sanish bt Shiven Banga/Shivam 11-3, 11-8, 11-6); Semifinals: Delhi bt West Bengal 3-1 (Utkarsh Gupta bt Hirakjyoti Kushilal 11-7, 12-10, 7-11, 11-3, Himanshu Jindal bt Abhimanyu Mitra 9-11, 12-10, 8-11, 11-9, 11-4, Utkarsh/Himanshu lost to Hirakjyoti/Souvik Bannerjee 12-10, 11-5, 13-11, Utkarsh Gupta bt Abhimanyu Mitra 11-4, 11-4, 6-11, 11-5); Maharashtra A bt PSPBA 3-2 (Sanish Ambekar bt Birdie Boro 12-10, 6-11, 11-4, 11-8, Ravindra Kotiyan lost to Lalrinpuia 8-11, 11-6, 5-11, 14-12, 10-12, Sanish/Ravindra bt Manav Thakkar/Boro 7-11, 8-11, 11-9, 11-9, 12-10, Sanish Ambekar lost to Lalrinpuia 8-11, 8-11, 8-11, Ravindra Kotiyan bt Birdie Boro 11-9, 13-11, 11-8).

Junior Girls: Team Final: Telangana bt Maharashtra A 3-1 (Naina lost to Shruti Amrute 11-13, 6-11, 7-11, Sreeja Akula bt Payal Bohra 9-11, 4-11, 11-7, 12-10, 11-4, Naina/Sreeja bt Shruti/Ashlesha Trehan 11-6, 11-2, 11-2, Sreeja Akula bt Shruti Amrute 11-5, 9-11, 11-4, 11-9); Semifinals: Maharashtra A bt Maharashtra B 3-1 (Ashlesha Trehan lost to Srushti Halengadi 8-11, 10-12, 9-11, Shruti Amrute bt Manasi Chhajed 10-12, 6-11, 11-8, 11-9, 11-8, Ashlesha/Shruti bt Manasi/Srushti 11-8, 12-10, 12-14, 3-11, 11-7, Shruti Amrute bt Srushti Halengadi 11-8, 13-15, 11-5, 11-6); Telangana bt Kerala 3-2 (Reeja Akula bt Seraha Jacob 6-11, 13-15, 11-8, 11-9, 11-2), Naina bt Maria Rony 8-11, 6-11, 13-11, 11-7, 14-12, Reeja/Naina lost to Seraha/Maria 5-11, 15-13, 6-11, 11-9, 5-11, Sreeja Akula lost to Maria Rony 11-8, 7-11, 9-11, 12-14, Naina bt Seraha Jacob 8-11, 5-11, 11-8, 11-5, 11-8).

TTFI Press release

   

Kerala girls rout TN, Telengana scrape through to semis

Alappuzha, November 26, 2014: The Kerala girls routed Tamil Nadu 3-0 in the quarterfinals of the 76th Junior National and Youth Table Tennis Championships at the SDV Centenary Auditorium here today. The hosts will now take on Telangana, who scrapped past depleted reigning champions West Bengal 3-2, in the semifinal tomorrow. For records, Telengana are making their maiden national appearance.

The other semifinal will pit Maharashtra A against their B team in the Junior Girls category as the former defeated Andhra Pradesh 3-0 while the Maharashtra’s B team downed Karnataka in straight games without a whimper.

The Kerala girls, with the most experienced Maria and the promising Seraha in their ranks, did not have sweat it out much against an equally tough Tamil Nadu which had the likes of Selenadeepthi and Harshavardhini for the singles and doubles specialist Yashini. Yet, the host team, with crowd backing, not only won their matches but also several local hearts.

Seraha began well against Selena to set the ball rolling for Kerala even as Maria cashed in on the team 1-0 lead to beat Harshavardhini, who was off colour against the experienced Maria. Then what surprised everyone was the way the Tamil Nadu girls wilted under pressure after having led 2-0 in the doubles. The hosts, on the other hand, staged a fine comeback and egged on by the crowd went from strength to strength.

Telengana had a bit of a problem with Sreeja unable to execute her shots as well on the day. So the pressure was palpably on Naina to double up for Sreeja’s inability. Naina won both her singles, against Shobabti Moitra (11-7, 10-12, 11-7, 11-3) and Prapti Sen (6-11, 11-7, 7-11, 11-8, 11-7) which in the end proved crucial for Telengana. Sreeja, however, managed to put it across in her reverse singles against Shobabti, winning the rubber in straight games.

As for Maharashtra, the A and B teams sailed into the semifinals without a hiccup as the A team, comprising Payal Bohra, Shruti Amruti and Ashlesha Trehan, defeated a depleted Andhra—after the split—while the B team were in the good hands of Manasi Chhajed and Mansi Chiplunkar with doubles specialist Shrushi Hallengadi to boot.

The Junior Boys quarterfinals are slated for the evening even as the Junior Girls main draw events began this afternoon. As for the Youth Boys and Youth Girls, the main draw matches will start from tomorrow.

Meanwhile, continuing its clean-up drive on age-related issue, the TTFI debarred West Bengal’s Priyanka Ganguly for having submitted two age-proof certificates. She was one of the replacement entries sent in by the WBTTA and was part of the West Bengal team.

The Results:

Junior Girls (QF): Kerala bt Tamil Nadu 3-0 (Seraha Jacob bt Selenadeepthi Selvakumar 11-8, 11-9, 11-8, Maria Rony bt Harshavardhini 11-9, 11-8, 5-11, 11-7, Seraha/Maria bt Yashini Sivakumar/Selenadeepthi 6-11, 10-12, 11-4, 11-3, 11-4), Telengana bt West Bengal 3-2 (Naina bt Shobabati Moitra 11-7, 10-12, 11-7, 11-3, Akula Sreeja lost to Prapti Sen 11-9, 8-11, 9-11, 6-11, Naina/Sreeja lost to Shobabti/Prapti 9-11, 11-2, 11-8, 10-12, 8-11, Naina bt Prapti 6-11, 11-7, 11-5, 11-8, 11-7, Sreeja Akula bt Shobabati Moitra 11-2, 12-10, 13-11), Maharashtra A bt Andhra Pradesh 3-0 (Payal Bohra bt Vaishali Katam 7-11, 12-10, 11-5, 16-14, Shruti Amrute bt Shailu Noorbasha 11-6, 11-9, 11-4, Aslesha Trehan/Shruti bt Vaishali/Shailu 11-6, 11-13, 9-11, 11-9, 13-11), Maharashtra B bt Karnataka 3-0 (Manasi Chhajed bt Spoorthi Venkatesh 11-8, 11-5, 11-7, Mansi Chiplunkar bt Kushi Viswanath 12-10, 8-11, 11-7, 7-11, 11-5, Manasi Chhajed/Shrushti Hallengadi bt Spoorthi/Samyuktha 11-2, 13-11, 12-10).

A TTFI Press release

Total recall of Junior Girls team by NB, 16 teams make cut

Alappuzha, November 25, 2014: The clampdown on age-fraud cases by the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTF) has forced a total recall of the Junior Girls’ team by the North Bengal Table Tennis Association (NBTTA).

Even as a few team members had landed in Alappuzha in advance for the 76th Junior and Youth National Table Tennis Championships that began today, the NBTTA which had sent online entries before the last date for the championships withdrew all names without citing any reason. In fact, some of the players had to return home midway through their journey to this district town.

Talking on the pullout by the North Bengal team, TTFI secretary-general Dhanraj Choudhary said it was an unfortunate happening. “But I am happy we are getting the desired results. Maybe, it is the impact of the medical board that we have constituted here to go into overage cases. We have imposed strict guidelines to put a complete end to this menace,” said Choudhary.

The TTFI office-bearer also said that it has taken a conscious decision following its executive board meeting held last month at Delhi. “Our executive board had unanimously decided to suspend all players who have had two birth certificates. As a result we have spotted more than a dozen cases and intimated the respective state associations. A majority of them are from North Bengal and West Bengal,” he added.

Meanwhile, in some cases even West Bengal had recalled some players and instead sent in fresh entries raising suspicion. For instance, Anirban Ghosh from West Bengal, representing PSPB, and Jeet Chandra and his father and West Bengal coach Tapan Chandra. “We have suspended both boys for now pending verification of the bona fide of their age certificates by our panel,” said Choudhary.

16 teams qualify

At the end of the qualification round in Junior Girls section, 16 teams from eight groups entered the main draw. The pre-quarterfinals in this section will take place only tomorrow. Most of the teams won matches with ease while Pondicherry and Gujarat were stretched to the full distance by Goa and Chandigarh respectively.

As scheduled, the singles qualification matches in the Junior Girls category began this evening since the Indian team is slated to leave for Shanghai World Juniors on November 29 from New Delhi.

The Results: (Junior Girls Qualifiers):

Group A: West Bengal bt Punjab 3-0, West Bengal bt Uttrakhand 3-0, Punjab bt Utarakhand 3-0,  Group B: Rajasthan bt Tripura 3-0, Tripura w/o North Bengal 3-0, Group C: Maharashtra A bt Odisha 3-0, Maharashtra bt Uttar Pradesh 3-1, Uttar Pradesh bt Ordisha 3-0, Group D: Kerala bt Jharkhand 3-0, Kerala bt Pondicherry 3-0, Kerala bt Goa 3-0, Pondicherry bt Jharkhand 3-0, Pondicherry bt Goa 3-2 ,  Group E: Telengana bt Haryana Haryana 3-0, Telengana bt Jammu and Kashmir 3-0, Assam bt Haryana 3-1, Assam bt Jammu and Kashmir 3-0,  Group F: Andhra Pradesh bt Mizoram 3-0, Andhra Pradesh bt Gujarat 3-0, Andhra Pradesh bt Chandigarh 3-0, Gujarat bt Chandigarh 3-2, Gujarat bt Mizoram 3-1; Group G: Maharashtra B bt Delhi 3-1, Maharashtra B bt Madhya Pradesh 3-0, Maharashtra bt Chhattisgarh 3-0,  Delhi bt Chhattisgarh 3-0, Delhi bt Madhyra Pradesh 3-0; Group H: Tamil Nadu bt Karnataka 3-0, Karnataka bt Bihar 3-0, Karnataka bt Himachal Pradsh 3-0.

PSPB monopoly to continue, pullouts to affect WB, NB teams

Alleppey, November 24, 2014: The Petroleum Sports Promotion Board (PSPB), reigning champions in Junior Boys and Youth Boys sections, have yet again fielded their best teams to sound out a firm warning to the other teams in the 76th Junior and Youth National Table Tennis Championships, beginning here from tomorrow.

One may scoff at PSPB’s monopoly theory, but no way can their thinking be faulted. However, the only way their domination could be challenged and settled is on the table by 30 other state teams that are in fray for the championships here.

But if at all a threat were to come, it could be only from teams like Delhi, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Telangana who have players of caliber to give some headache to PSPB. Yet the latter’s talented arsenal, with the likes of juniors in Manav Thakkar, Lalrin Puia, Lalhunhlua and Anukram Jain, will surely prevail over. With Abhishek Yadav and Sudhanshu Grover joining the gang to combine in Youth Boys, their cup of joy will be full.  

In fact, PSPB is such a strong outfit that can not only surmount any situation but also tackle defensive as well as offensive play. In other words, they leave very little room for others to raise their heads.

This year, PSPB could add the third silverware to their overflowing cupboard with a fresh threat coming from their Youth Girls team. Until last year, it was West Bengal or squads like North Bengal and Tamil Nadu which were dominating the scene. But with the experienced Manika Batra and Reeth Rishya joining the enthusiastic Senhora D’Souza and Archana Kamath, the ordeal for others is complete.

If there is any scope and hope for the rest of the teams, it is only in Junior Girls championship as PSPB is not competing in the category. But the battle for this title could be from among West Bengal, North Bengal, Telengana and Tamil Nadu besides hosts Kerala. In this battle royal, both West Bengal and North Bengal may suffer due to some last-minute withdrawals by their state associations.

For instance, North Bengal will be sending only two players while West Bengal just three. West Bengal, incidentally, are the holders of Junior Girls crown and North Bengal finished runners-up at the Guwahati nationals last year. Sending a depleted team by these states has raised the stakes for both Tamil Nadu and Telengana but Maharashtra’s A team, comprising Shruti Amrute, Payal Bohra, Ashlesha Trehan and Rutuja Khopkar, looks to be the most favourite.

Tamil Nadu has Harshavardhini, Yashini, Selenadeepthi and Abhinaya but consistency is Maharashtra’s forte. Even Telengana’s Naina Jaiswal, Sreeja Akula, Varuni Jaiswal and V. Laasya could intimidate on their day. Delhi, who were fifth last year, become a strong contender for the title with Riti Shankar, Kritika Malik, Srishti and Vanshika Sachar breathing down their neck. Kerala will largely depend on the Sereha Jacob and Mariya Roney with adequate support from Gia Anna George and Renuka Aswani.

All but Junior Girls singles qualification matches will start tomorrow evening itself as the Indian team for the World Junior Championships, to be held at Shanghai from November 30 to December 7, is slated to leave from New Delhi on November 28. The other singles matches will begin from the third day.

A TTFI Press release

Karan Taunk’s team wins Pro-Am event of IndianOil Servo Masters Golf 2014

Digboi, Assam, November 23, 2014: The Pro-Am event of the IndianOil Servo Masters Golf 2014 was won by professional Karan Taunk and his team.

The Pro-Am event was played in the Team Stableford format with each team comprising of one professional and three amateurs.

PGTI member Karan Taunk of Jamshedpur led his team to victory with a total score of 121 points. Taunk’s team comprised of amateurs Wg. Cdr. Pradhan, Mr. Angshuman Gogoi and Mr. Abhijit Konwar.

PGTI member Wasim Khan’s team finished first runners-up with a team total of 115 points. The amateurs who made up Wasim’s team were Mr. Navin Kumar Sinha, Mr. P Jithender and Mr. C K Manchey.

PGTI member Rafick Ali Mollah’s team were second runners-up with a team total of 114 points. The amateurs who made up Mollah’s team were Mrs. Reetamoni Hazarika, Mr. H K Das and Mr. Hemo Hendique.

The straight drive contest on hole no. 14 was won by Mr. C K Manchey whose drive landed on the green.

The closest to the pin contest on hole no. 2 was won by Mr. Sanglap Nahardeka whose tee shot stopped 10 feet and one inch from the hole.

The closest to the pin contest on hole no. 16 was won by Mr. B S Khaund whose tee shot ended up at a distance of 11 feet and five inches from the hole.

Photo caption: Karan Taunk (centre), the winning professional in the Pro-Am event, receives his prize from Mrs. & Mr. Barun Barpujari (on the right) and Mrs. & Mr. Rajeev Kalita (on the left).

PGTI Press release and photo

Shamim Khan eases to five-shot win at IndianOil Servo Masters Golf 2014

Digboi, Assam, November 22, 2014: Delhi’s Shamim Khan wrapped up his 10th title in style after easing to a five-shot victory in the final round of the IndianOil Servo Masters Golf 2014 at the Digboi Golf Links. Shamim signed off with a rock-solid one-under-71 in round four of the Rs. 30 lakh PGTI event to finish with a tournament total of 13-under-275. Kolkata’s Shankar Das, who finished runner-up at eight-under-280 after returning an ordinary four-over-76 on Saturday, went past Rashid Khan to emerge leader in the Rolex Rankings.

Shamim Khan (69-69-66-71), the overnight joint leader along with Shankar Das, had a slow start to the day as he bogeyed the first after pulling his tee shot into the rough. However, the 36-year-old from the Delhi Golf Club soon found himself three shots ahead as his nearest challenger Shankar dropped four shots on the first three holes on a windy and overcast day.

Shamim then produced an exceptional chip to help himself to a tap-in birdie on the seventh. Khan’s bogey on the ninth didn’t derail his efforts as he came back with a chip-in, his second of the week, for birdie on the 10th. He all but sealed the title with another brilliant chip on the 14th that led to a birdie.   

As a result of his win, Shamim has now climbed from 22nd place to 15th position in the Rolex Rankings.

Shamim said, “The conditions were totally different today with the wind being a major factor. After Shankar and Karan dropped shots early, I looked to play steady and maintain my lead. I played some immaculate chip shots to set up birdies in round four. I would like to dedicate this win to my caddie Satya Prakash who got me my old putter from Delhi especially for this week’s event. The putter made a big difference at the end as I converted most putts on the last two days.”

“It’s a tremendous comeback for me after having missed the cut at last week’s event in Shillong. I hadn’t enjoyed much success in the season till last week. This performance has helped me regain my form. I’ve won after a gap of 20 months and now feel I can finish the season on a high. The fact that I finally won at Digboi after finishing runner-up on more than one occasion, is also very heartening,” added Shamim, who pocketed his eighth title on the PGTI.

Shankar Das (65-69-70-76), the overnight joint leader along with Shamim, had a disastrous start to the day with two bogeys and a double-bogey on the first three holes thanks to some erratic tee shots. His woes off the tee continued as he found the trees on the eighth to drop another shot and slip further.

Das displayed a lot of grit on the back-nine as he came back with chip-putt birdies on the 11th and 14th to regain some lost ground. He bogeyed the 17th but still ensured runner-up place to move up from second to first place in the Rolex Rankings.

The 31-year-old Shankar now leads the PGTI’s money list with earnings of Rs. 26,87,800 for the year so far. Rashid Khan is second on the list with earnings of Rs. 25,31,700.

Shankar said, “Once I lost my way on the first few holes, it was always going to be an uphill task to overhaul Shamim, who rarely lets the lead slip away. Nevertheless, I’m happy with the way I hung in there and managed a runner-up finish to take the lead in the Rolex Rankings.”

Bangalorean C Muniyappa’s final round 71 helped him claim third place at seven-under-281.

Sri Lankan N Thangaraja bagged fourth place at six-under-282 while Mohammad Sanju of Kolkata was a further shot back in fifth position.

Rookie Karan Taunk of Jamshedpur, who was overnight third, slipped to tied seventh after a round of 79 on Saturday. Taunk, however, is the clear favourite to win the Emerging Player of the Year race with a lead of Rs. 3 lakh over his nearest rival Rahul Bakshi.

Vikrant Chopra of the Noida Golf Course produced the day’s best score of 68 to secure tied 10th position at two-under-286.

Australian Kunal Bhasin, the 2013 IndianOil Servo Masters Golf champion, ended up in tied 30th at five-over-293.

Press release

Indian men and women sprint to gold

New Delhi, November 22, 2014: India’s men and women elite teams brought cheers to the hosts’ camp as well as a sizeable crowd that comprised school children when the cyclists added two more gold medals to their tally on the second day of the Track Asia Cup 2014 at the IG Stadium Complex Velodrome here today.

The Indian riders also claimed their second silver medal besides winning three bronze medals today for an overall tally of three gold, two silver and six bronze medals in both Elite and Junior sections.

It was a very good morning for the Indians in the real sense as Deborah combined well with Kezia Varghese in team sprint final to get gold in the two-lap event in 34.290 seconds. Both Debora and Kezia did their first lap in a time of 18.36 but clipped off more than two seconds in the second to finish ahead of the Bangladeshi duo of Farhana Sultana and Parul Akhtar who took 42.390 for silver. With no competitor for the bronze the medal was scratched.

However, it was the turn of men’s elite team, consisting of Amarjeet Singh, Amrit Singh and Alan Baby, to prove its point in the three-lap team sprit event. They had a very tough competition with Hong Kong and Kazakhstan cyclists breathing down their neck but the Indians overcame the challenge in style to win gold in 48.570 seconds with an average speed of 55.59 kilometres per hour.

In contrast, the Hong Kong team took a little more than a second for silver at 49.490 while the Services team, which is here for participation sake, bagged the bronze at 51.870, thus pushing the Kazakh team members out of the medal bracket. The Services Sports Control Board’s team comprised RL Manoj, Faris Sala and S. Renjit.

In women’s elite 3-km Individual Pursuit, there was no match to Hong Kong’s Wan Yiu Jamie Wong who grabbed her second gold after beating India’s Rutuja Satpute in a great finish after 1000 metres, having overtaken the Indian in the 2000-metre event. The race was stopped after the Hong Kong rider overtook her rival with several laps to go. With no fourth competitor for the bronze medal contest, Bangladesh Farhana Sultana got the benefit to help her add another bronze to team’s tally.  

However, men’s elite 4-km Individual Pursuit saw a good fight between eventual gold winner Siu Wai Ko from Hong Kong and Kazakh Roman Vassilenkov with the former took 4:44.040 minutes while Roman took just a fraction of a second more for silver in the 4000m event. In the bronze medal duel, India’s Manjeet Singh (3.36.460) overtook Thailand’s Boonratanathanakorn (3:43.540) just after the 3000m mark when the race was suspended.

In women junior section, gold went to Hong Kong’s Wing Yee Leung while Thai Suthima claimed silver. But the Indian Raj VP Sona proved too good for Bangladesh’s Sampti Biswas to win bronze, by overlapping her rival in the 2-km event. Though Hong Kong’s Maximillian Gil claimed gold in men’s junior Individual Pursuit, pushing Thai Yuttana Mano behind, India’s Manohar Lal was awarded the bronze without a contest.

In the qualification events held this evening, India assured themselves of a few more medals, including a couple of gold, on the concluding day tomorrow.

The Results (All Finals):
Men Elite (Team Sprint 3 laps): India (Amarjeet Singh/Amrit Singh/Alan Baby) 55.59, Hong Kong (Kwun Wa Law/Ching Yin Mow, Ka Yu Leung) 54.556, SSCB (RL Manoj/Faris Salam/S. Renjit 52.053.
Men Elite (Individual Pursuit 4km): Siu Wai Ko (HKG) 4:44.040, Roman Vassilenkov (KAZ) 4:45.390, Manjeet Singh (IND) 3:36.460, Boonratana Thanakoran (THA) 3:43.540.
Men Juniors (Individual Pursuit 3km): Maximillian Gil (HKG) 3:38.960, Yuttana Mano (THAI) 3:44.870, Manohar Lal (IND).
Women Elite (Team Sprint 2 laps): India (Debroah/Kezia Verghese)34.290, Bangladesh (Farhana Sultana/Parul Akhtar) 42.390.
Women Elite (Individual Pursuit 3km): Wong Wan Yiu Jamie (HKG) 1:19,800, Rutuja Satpute (IND) 1:27.580, Farhana Sultana (BAN).
Women Juniors (Individual Pursuit 2km): Wing Yee Leung (HKG) 1:21.790, Suthima Phonchaisaeng (THA) 1:25.620, Raj VP Sona (IND) 1:26.800, Sampti Biswas (BAN) 1:26.340.

Press release

Deborah lifts sagging Indian spirit with gold

New Delhi, November 21, 2014: Deborah yet again proved to be the saviour for the hosts as the girl from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands won the 500-metre time trial gold in Women’s Elite section on the opening day of the Track Asia Cup 2014 at the IG Stadium Complex Velodrome here today.

The Indian, who clocked 37.250 seconds for the distance, finished way ahead of the silver medallist from Kazakhstan, Tatyana Zadenepryanova and bronze medal winner Parul Akhtar of Bangladesh. The Kazakh girl timed 40 seconds while the Bangladesh 45.600 seconds.

It was Debora’s gold that uplifted the mood of the Indian camp after the hosts had grabbed one silver and four bronze medals during the evening session. Debroah’s race was the fourth in the order and the Indian, knowing full well that she had to beat Tatyana, was at the start gate. But she had picked a good speed, measuring up to 48.322 km per hour, peddled her way to finish the first 250 metres in 20.788 seconds.

That was a good indication as she, at that point of time, was No. 1 on the time chart. But she had another 250 metres to go and she upped the ante with a perfect sprint to the finish point clocking 48.322, clipping off a few milliseconds in the latter half as the sizeable crowd raised the din with a standing ovation.

But for this gold, India had to really struggle for a top podium finish as riders from Hong Kong, Thailand and Kazakhstan were heads and shoulders above the Indian competitors. Of the five other finals on the day, Hong Kong riders grabbed three gold medals in Men Elite 1-km time trial, Women Elite Points Race and in men junior’s 1-km time trial, leaving the crumbs for the rest of the field.

However, Kazakhstan’s Magomed Mamedov took home gold in Men’s Elite Points Race while Thailand’s Sarintip Diow-Archakun had a top-of-the-podium finish in junior women’s 500-m time trial.

India’s Rutuja Satpute and Parvathy V.G. also finished 2-3 for silver and bronze in the Women’s Elite Points Race in which Hong Kong’s Wong Wan Yiu Jaime won gold. The race saw just three competitions, besides the bronze by Amrit Singh in Men’s Elite 1-km Time Trial to add to the booty. Similarly, India bagged a bronze in men’s junior 1-km time trial by Krishna Naikodi and 500-m time trial bronze by Raj V.P. Sona in the women’s junior section.

In women’s points race, Parvathy could have finished ahead of eventual silver medalist Rutuja but she was docked points for being a lap behind. The winner from Hong Kong benefited from this Indian largesse as she had won 100 points for five gain laps besides the Indian’s docked points going to her.

Amrit Singh, on whom India’s hope was pinned, could not match up with neither Hong Kong’s Kwan Wa Law, who won gold in 1-km time trial, or silver medallist Satjakul Sianglam of Thailand as the Indian had to be satisfied with the bronze with a time of 1:08.460. The gold winner had clocked 1:08.350 while the Thai had clocked 1:08.460.

The points race, which is an endurance event, the Indians showed they had a long way to go as riders from Hong Kong and Kazakhstan proved in the elite sections.

The Results (All Finals):
Men Elite (1km Time Trial: Kwun Wa La (HKG) 1:08.350, Satjakul Sianglam (THA) 1:08.460, Amrit Singh (IND) 1:08.880.
Men Elite (Points Race): Magomed Mamedov (KAZ) 81 points, Boonratana Thanakoran (THA) 69, Ching Yin Mow (HKG) 52.
Men Juniors (1-km Time Trial): Maximillan Gil (HKG) 1:08.860, Chakhree Khruthangkha (THA) 1:10.630, Krishna Naikodi (IND) 1:12.870.
Women Elite (500m Time Trial): Debroah (IND) 37.250, Tatyana Zadepryanova (AZ) 40.000, Parul Akhtar (BAN) 45.600.
Women Elite (Points Race): Wong Wan Yiu Jamie (HKG) 128 points, Rutuja Satpute (IND) 27, Parvathy V.G. (IND) 5.
Women Juniors (500km Time Trial): Sarinthip Diow-Archakun (THA) 40.690, Wing Yee Leung (HKG) 40.990, Raj VP Sona (JND) 41.420.

Press release

Indian men hockey team returns home after a historic Test series win against Australia

New Delhi, November 11, 2014: Post winning the India- Australia Test series at Perth, Australia, the Indian men’s hockey team returned home to a rousing reception by Hockey India (HI), fans and friends at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi today.

This yet another achievement evoked a feeling of pride once more as the Indian hockey fans are still celebrating the euphoria of winning a gold medal in the Asian Games and was another time soaked in the joy of team’s achievement.

The Sardar Singh – led team delivered an incredible performance to defeat World Champions Australia 3-1 to win their third successive match and clinch the four-match Test series and now look more confident to stage a fantastic game play in the upcoming Champions Trophy which is scheduled to take place in December 2014.

Speaking on winning the series, Captain Sardar Singh said, “I am extremely happy with the way our team has performed in the entire series. And there could be no better gift to my completion of 200 international caps than this momentary win. This will act as a motivation for the boys to give a better performance in the upcoming Champions Trophy. I am confident that the boys will perform well in the upcoming tournament.”

Congratulating the team for the win on their arrival, Hockey India Secretary General Mr. Md. Mushtaque Ahmad said, “Team India had a good game against Australia in the Test series which is a good sign of confidence and control. Also, Sardar Singh’s achievement of completing 200 international caps has added a glory to the win. I look forward and feel the team is all ready to take up more challenges and deliver even better results in the Champions Trophy which is our next focus.”

India will be playing their first match against Germany in the upcoming Hero Hockey Champions Trophy 2014, scheduled to be played at Bhubaneswar, India from 6 to 14 December 2014.

HI Press release  

India pull off a spectacular victory over Australia; wins series 3-1

New Delhi, November 9, 2014: In their fourth and last match of the series with Australia being played at the Perth Hockey Stadium, India took the hosts by surprise and finished with a 3-1 win over the world champions, thus bagging the series 3-1.

 Upbeat on the last two triumphs against Australia, India opened the first half of the game with all strength and dynamism as a result of which the initial goal of the match came in as early as in the 13th minute into the game from the stick of Akashdeep Singh of India, who perfectly converted a penalty corner into a goal. This gave India a lead of 1-0 and an upper hand in the game. Later on, a couple of penalty corners were awarded to both the teams in the second quarter but none succeeded in materializing the opportunity. When the whistles blew for half-time, the scoreboard displayed a score of 1-0, indicating a trail for the hosts.

Australia made a strong comeback in the second half as Thomas Craig effectively converted a penalty corner into the first goal for the hosts in the 36th minute of the game, taking the score to 1-1. The game strengthened a lot more after this equalizer as both the teams looked for creating chances to score.

In the final quarter of the game, it was Akashdeep Singh for the second time that scored a stunning field goal in the 50th minute and in no time S. K Uthappa of India faultlessly scored another field goal in the 53rd minute thereby taking the score to 3-1 for India. In the dying minutes of the match, the Australians tried desperately to put the ball in the net but Indian net keeper P R Sreejesh’s brilliant saves held them from scoring.

  

The final score stood at 3-1 indicating a well deserved victory and a series win for the Indian boys. This success became even more special as Indian midfielder and Captain Sardar Singh completed his 200th international match, today.

 Now India will be playing their first match against Germany in the upcoming Hero Hockey Champions Trophy 2014, scheduled to be played at Bhubaneswar, India from 6th-14th December 2014.   

HI Press release    

Sardar Singh completes his 200th International Cap

New Delhi, November 9, 2014: At the ongoing test series against Australia, where India Men Hockey Team is giving tough competition to the host nation, another achievement was added to Indian Captain Sardar Singh's credit, as he successfully played and completed his 200th match today. Sardar Singh, who made his debut in 2006 against Pakistan, is currently heading the national hockey team as the captain and has brought many laurels for the national team and the country.

Congratulating Sardar Singh on his celebratory achievement, Hockey India’s Secretary General Md. Mushtaque Ahmad said, "Hockey India is extremely delighted for Sardar Singh’s achievement of 200 international matches. Since his debut, he has been an integral part of Indian team and always gives his best performance in matches at all levels.

His journey from a keen learner to an inspirational skipper has seen many successes where he has played a vital role for the team. As a senior player and Captain, he is a hero and a mentor to whom young players would like to look up to and follow the footsteps. Hockey India takes utmost pride in congratulating Sardar on his accomplishment of 200 International Caps. We wish him all the best for the upcoming tournaments and hope to see him bringing more achievements for Team India.”

Playing as midfielder, Sardar Singh is known as one of the best hockey players in the world. Hailing from Haryana, Sardar played his first international match with the junior national team during India's 2003-04 tour of Poland. He has participated in all international tournaments since 2006 and is also the youngest player to Captain the Indian team when he led the side at the 2008 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup.

Sardar was awarded ‘Player of the Tournament’ in the 2012 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup, 2012 Summer Olympics Qualifiers and 2010 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup. In 2010, Sardar was included in the 18-men FIH All-Star Team and won the Asian Men Player of the Year 2012.

Following his impressive showing at the 2013 Asia Cup, he was signed by the Dutch club, HC Bloemendaal to play in the Euro Hockey League. In the Hero Hockey India League, Sardar Singh captains Delhi Waveriders and led his team to win the Hero HIL in 2013.

HI Press release

SSP Chowrasia saves his best for last, prevails in playoff to win third international title

New Delhi, November 9, 2014: India’s SSP Chowrasia saved his best for the last as he followed up an astounding six-under-66 in the final round with a gritty playoff performance to bag his third international title at the Panasonic Open India played at the Delhi Golf Club. Rahil Gangjee of India and PGTI member Mithun Perera of Sri Lanka finished joint runners-up after losing out in the playoff to Chowrasia at US$ 300,000 event cosanctioned by the Asian Tour and PGTI. The three players had earlier ended the regulation 72 holes with matching scores of 12-under-276.

Indian teenager Shubhankar Sharma came in fourth at 11-under-277. This was his best ever finish on the Asian Tour.  

SSP Chowrasia (70-71-69-66), who began the final day in tied 11th place, put up a fighting display on the final day to bag his first international title in three years. Chowrasia had a slow start to the day with a bogey on the third but then turned on the heat with birdies on the next three holes. He chipped-in from 30-feet for birdie on the fourth and landed it within four feet on the fifth and sixth.

SSP’s bogey on the eighth was a minor blip as he continued his surge with five birdies on the back-nine. The Kolkata-based professional, a winner of two European Tour titles, sank birdie putts from a range of 10 to 15 feet on the 10th, 12th, 16th and 17th. The 36-year-old finally won the playoff after sinking a 15-feet birdie putt even as Perera and Gangjee missed out on birdies.

Chowrasia said, “After the Avantha Masters, I was working hard for a win to boost my confidence. It’s been over three years since my last win. I take a lot of positives from the performance here.

“It never crossed my mind that I’ve lost a playoff at the DGC before. I was only focused on making the birdie putt in the first play-off hole. Whenever I lose something, I wait for something better to happen. I had the belief to win on the Asian Tour again.

“Even though I lost my card on the European Tour, I was high on confidence. I wanted to always come back on the Asian Tour and then fight my way back to the European Tour to regain my card. I learnt various shots on the European Tour and it was a great experience to play against the top players in Europe,” added an elated Chowrasia, who now has a win and seven other top-10s to his credit in 2014.

He summed up his final round performance, saying, “At the start of the day, I told myself that if I shoot a four or five-under, I will have the chance. I was looking to catch the leader all the time. I played very well on back-nine. The hat-trick of birdies on the 15th, 16th and 17th proved to be the turning point.” 

Rahil Gangjee (66-68-71-71), the overnight leader by one shot, dropped down the leaderboard with three bogeys on the first seven holes. However, he came back strongly with birdies on the eighth, ninth and an eagle on the 14th. Gangjee rolled it in from the fringe for eagle on the par-5 14th. He then missed out on a couple of short putts on the 16th and 17th, one for par and the other for birdie. The 36-year-old from Kolkata got into the playoff courtesy a birdie on the final hole. He then found the rough during the playoff and struggled to make birdie.

Gangjee said, “It's a learning process. I take a lot of positives from this week. It gives me the momentum for the rest of the season.”

He added, “I knew the momentum would swing through the final day and I just told myself to play normally and not to worry too much about the leaderboard. However, I missed out on a couple of chances towards the end and that just took the game away from me. It was a tough contest at the end with lot of contenders and SSP played the best golf to come through.”

Mithun Perera (70-67-69-70), playing in his first ever play-off on the Asian Tour, missed out on the chance to become the first Sri Lankan champion on the Asian Tour after narrowly missing a 10-footer birdie putt in extra time. He ended the day with a 70 highlighted by two opening birdies.

“Everybody had a chance to win today. I did good but Chowrasia but played better than all of us. I’m happy with my finish. I’m so excited to be in the play-off. Now I believe I can do something on the Asian Tour. I will try and get one trophy this year,” said the bubbly 27-year-old.

Shubhankar Sharma (73-65-68-71) posted a memorable fourth place finish after ending up with a total of 11-under-277. His final round included three birdies and two bogeys. Shubhankar missed out an opportunity of making it into the playoff after he failed to convert a 15-footer for birdie on the closing 18th. His fourth place finish meant the top-4 featured all PGTI members with three of them being Indians.

Shubhankar said, “I learnt a lot this week. I never imagined I would be in contention on the final day when I started the tournament. The important thing was that I didn’t take too much pressure on myself till the very end and was well-focussed.”

PGTI member Md Siddikur Rahman claimed tied fifth place at 10-under-278 while Rashid Khan, who finished 10th at eight-under-280, made it four Indians in the top-10.

Mr. Padamjit Sandhu, Director, PGTI, said, "Our heartiest congratulations to SSP Chowrasia for his remarkable win. We've had three Indian winners in the last four years of the Panasonic Open India. What more can Indian professional golf ask for. Indian golf continues to consolidate as our professionals keep winning titles on a regular basis. We have a strong Indian presence on the Asian Tour Order of Merit this year as well courtesy the consistent performances of our players."

A PGTI Press release

Archana completes a double, Karia wins second title

Agra, November 10, 2014: A right-handed compliment from one left-hander to another. That is what Gujarat’s Devesh Karia got from PSPB’s Abhishek Yadav when the latter put the ball on the net in the final of the men’s singles title in the LIC National Ranking (North Zone) Table Tennis Championships at the Eklavya Indoor Stadium here today.

The 4-3 victory for Karia, second this season, was worth Rs. 66,000 in cash. 

In the final that went down to the wire, Abhishek was going for those down-the-line winners and clever placing while Karia concentrated more on acute angle winners. The final, contested in equal measure, kept everyone glued to the show court. It also saw several long rallies and good points earned and there was hardly a dull moment. There was fine display of excellent use of flanks, angles with no dearth of blistering strokes.

In the decider, Karia was leading but for the first time Abhishek took lead at 5-4.

However, there were several surprises in store for both as the game went endlessly with several deuces. Abhishek had his chance at 15-14 with serve on. But he goofed it up and Devesh, receiving service at 16-15, returned so well that Abhishek’s shot just hit the net remain on his side of the table.   

Suthirtha Mukherjee achieved a three-in-a-row feat, beating Mouma Das 4-3 in the women’s singles final. Mouma led 2-0 lead with rhythm on her side. But Suthirtha, with only backhand working for her, picked herself up well to go 3-2 up easily. Yet, the veteran was not prepared to give up and won the six game 11-9 to give her another chance.

However, Suthirtha led 6-4 before Mouma went 6-5 for the first time in the decider. In a turnaround Suthirtha benefited with two negative points and from there romped home winner to pocket Rs. 55,000. Mouma had to be content with just half the amount.

Double for Archana

Archana Kamath completed a double when she claimed the Youth Girls title beating PSPB’s Reeth Rishya 4-2. Archana, coming straight from Georgetown, Barbados, after having competed and been part of the Asian squad at the World Cadet Challenge, ran into an excellent form after subduing Manika Batra in the quarters. From there, the 15-year-old never looked back and won both the sub-junior and Youth titles for a rare double. But Reeth was struggling to find her feet despite coming back and levelling the score 2-2. Archana just turned it on from the fifth and completed in style taking the sixth and the match when Reeth sent a speedy return outside.

The Abhishek-Sudhanshu final in Youth Boys saw excellent rallies, tough fight and some moments of brilliant stroke-playing from both. But in the end, it was the in-form Abhishek Yadav who annexed the title. “It was a nice warm-up before the men’s singles final,” said the left-hander even as he gave credit to his former Academy teammate Sudhanshu Grover.    

In women’s semifinals, Suthirtha Mukherjee should consider herself lucky to have beaten Ankita Das despite the momentum was with the latter. In the second semifinal, Mouma was stuttering a bit but Divya Deshpande, too, was not at ease. But eventually Mouma came into her zone and went past her rival. As for Youth Boys singles semifinals, there was never any doubt either Abhishek or Sudhanshu Grover as both of them scored an identical 4-1 triumphs over Birdie Boro of PSPBA and Siddesh Pandey of Air India. In Youth Girls, Karnataka’s Archana Kamath had very little threat from AAI’s Priyadarshini Das—the former won 4-0—PSPB’s Reeth Rishya was a picture of struggle against Ayhika Mukherjee. However, Reeth overcame her own inhibition to beat Ayhika 4-2. 

Results:

Men’s Singles: Final: Devesh Karia (Guj) bt Abhishek Yadav 4-3 (7-11, 11-6, 9-11, 11-4, 3-11, 11-9, 17-15.

Women’s Singles: Final: Suthirtha Mukherjee (PSPB) bt Mouma Das (PSPB) 4-3 (7-11, 12-14, 11-4, 11-7, 11-4, 9-11, 11-6); Semifinals: Suthirtha Mukherjee bt Ankita Das  (PSPB) 4-2 (6-11, 11-4, 13-11, 2-11, 11-8, 11-8), Mouma Das bt Divya Deshpande (PSPB) 4-2 (11-7, 7-11, 11-6, 8-11, 11-8, 11-6).

Youth Boys Singles: Final: Abhishek Yadav (PSPB) bt Sudhanshu Grover (PSPBA) 4-2 (12-10, 12-10, 6-11, 5-11, 11-7, 14-12); Semifinals: Abhishek Yadav bt Birdie Boro (PSPBA) 4-1 (11-4, 12-10, 4-11, 11-9, 11-4), Sudhanshu Grover bt Siddhesh Pande (AI) 4-1 (11-2, 11-8, 11-8, 8-11, 11-6).

Youth Girls Singles: Final: Archana Kamath (KNT) bt Reeth Rishya (PSPB) 4-2 (11-6, 11-4, 4-11, 6-11, 11-8, 11-3); Semifinals: Archana Kamath bt Priyadarshini Das (AAI) 4-0 (11-8, 11-5, 11-6, 11-5), Reeth Rishya bt Ayhika Mukherjee (AAI) 4-2 (11-9, 6-11, 9-11, 11-9, 11-8, 11-7).

A TTFI Press release

Left is right for Yadav and Karia in North Zone TT

Agra, November 9, 2014: PSPB’s Abhishek Yadav reached a step closer to claiming his maiden men’s singles title when he beat Harmeet Desai 4-3 in a gripping semifinal of the LIC National Ranking (North Zone) Table Tennis Championships at the Eklavya Indoor Stadium here today.

But he will have to really try hard tomorrow against the battle-scarred Devesh Karia of Gujarat who would want to add the silverware to his recent trophy collection. The Gujarat paddler, who beat Lalrin Puia of PSPB Academy 4-1 in the second semifinal, began the season on a bright note winning the men’s title at the Central Zone event, just a month ago at Indore.

Harmeet Desai, playing in his first zonal this season, was rusty and it was showing when he took on southpaw Abhishek Yadav in the first semifinal this afternoon. Yadav, who lost in the semifinals at Durgapur, was really positive right from the word go and it reflected in his approach to the match. But unlike him, Desai was taking a cautious route which, in the final analysis, cost him the match.

Yadav attacked well, kept the ball in play and when opportunity presented he sent down scorching winners several times which upset the rhythm of Desai. But trailing 0-2, Desai came to his self and paid back Yadav in the same way. He executed fine strokes from flanks and covered the left-hander’s return angles well to take the next game. But in the fourth, Yadav won the extended game after three deuces. In between, Desai managed take a game off his opponent but that was all he could do as Yadav surged ahead with a huge margin to finish the match.

Yadav admitted that his fourth game was crucial. “He (Harmeet) played really well in the fourth and it could have been anybody’s game. I think I turned it around my way after a few deuces,” said Yadav. 

Desai, complimenting his young opponent, echoed Yadav’s views. “Yes, the fourth game was crucial. Had it come my way, things would have been different,” said Desai, who leaves for Stockholm tonight to play in the Swedish league.

But for Karia, it was more or less a cakewalk against an inexperienced Lalrin Puia. But credit should be given to the Academy’s defensive player who managed to take a game off his prominent challenger. Karia, aware of the pitfalls, was confident of a good showing. “I hope my experience comes in handy,” he said, referring to what happened at Indore where he was taking on top-seeded G. Sathiyan. The latter, who won back-to-back titles at Gandhidham and Durgapur, skipped this meet to play in the Russian Open.

In women’s singles quarterfinals, Suthirtha Mukherjee thrashed Manika Batra 4-0, Mouma Das downed Krittwika Sinha Roy 4-1, Ankita Das came from behind to beat Poulomi Ghatak 4-3 and Divya Deshpande accounted for Anindita Chakraborty 4-1.

The Youth Boys and Youth Girls have also entered the quarterfinal stage with the matches continuing into late evening.

The women’s singles semifinals along with Youth Boys and Youth Girls will be played tomorrow followed by all four finals on the concluding day.         

Results:

Men’s Singles: Semifinals: Abhishek Yadav (PSPB) bt Harmeet Desai (PSPB) 4-3 (11-9, 11-9, 4-11, 14-12, 6-11, 7-11, 11-3), Devesh Karia (Guj) bt Lalrin Puia (PSPBA) 4-1 (11-9, 11-13, 11-9, 11-6, 11-7); Quarterfinals: Harmeet Desai bt Sougata Sarkar (LIC) 4-2 (11-6, 11-3, 11-7, 7-11, 4-11, 11-8), Abhishek Yadav bt Sudhanshu Grover (PSPBA) 4-1 (13-11, 11-7, 12-14, 11-4, 11-4), Lalrin Puia bt Pankaj Kumar (Raj) 4-0 (13-11, 11-8, 11-5, 16-14), Devesh Karia bt Sushmit Sriram (AAI) 4-3 (11-5, 11-8, 10-12, 11-9, 12-14, 5-11, 11-5).

Women’s Singles: Quarterfinals: Suthirtha Mukherjee (PSPB) bt Manika Batra (PSPB) 4-0 (13-11, 13-11, 11-7, 11-6), Ankita Das (PSPB) bt Poulomi Ghatak PSPB) 4-3 (8-11, 8-11, 11-6, 11-4, 7-11, 12-10, 14-12), Mouma Das (PSPB) bt Krittwika Siknha Roy (AAI) 4-1 (11-13, 11-4, 11-3, 11-7, 12-10, Divya Deshpande (PSPB) bt Anindita Chakraborty (RSPB) 4-1 (12-10, 11-5, 11-9, 10-12, 11-6).

TTFI Press release

India stuns Australia 2-1, take lead in hockey series

Perth, November 8, 2014: Playing their 3rd match both India and Australia were looking at a win as this would allow them to take the lead in the Test series. Playing his 100th International Cap, Rupinder Pal Singh came into the match as the Captain in the absence of Sardar Singh. Taking the opportunity to the hilt, Rupinder led the team to victory and giving India its second consecutive win in the series.

The game started with both teams looking at attacking the opponents D, but their efforts did not yield any results in the entire session, leaving the scorecard 0-0. With a goalless 1st quarter the second quarter was very important for both the teams as they looked at opening their score and take an edge on the game. The Indian boys troubled the defenders on a couple of occasions but were unable to net the goal. The second quarter even saw both teams unable to open the scorecard and at the end of halftime the game was still 0-0 leaving the last two quarters as the decider session of this all important third match.

Coming into the 3rd quarter it was finally India who broke the shackles and scored the opening goal which left the Kookaburras stunned. In the 34th minute SV Sunil did not make any mistake of netting the ball from a  beautiful pass from Akashdeep Singh. The goal saw the Indians raising their game and becoming more aggressive in their attack. They not only ensured good possession but even kept the pressure on the opponent’s defense. At the end of the 3rd quarter it was India leading the game which put huge pressure on the opponents to get back into the game in the last 15 minutes of the game.

The Australians knew it was not an easy task to score today keeping in the mind the way the Indian boys were performing on the field but they knew they had to play to take the game away from India. The last quarter saw the Indian defenders skilfully tackling the opponents whenever the Kookaburras attacked the D of India.  With the 4th quarter yet again being goalless, India retained the lead and ensured a win. With this win India is leading 2-1 in the series.

HI Press release

Double for Manav, Selenadeepthi puts her best foot forward

Agra, November 8, 2014: Petroleum Sports Promotion Board Academy’s Manav Thakkar defeated West Bengal’s Anirban Ghosh 4-2 in the Junior Boys final in the LIC National Ranking (North Zone) Table Tennis Championships at the Eklavya Indoor Stadium here today.

This was his second title here, having already claimed the Sub-Junior Boys crown on the second day of the championships.

Tamil Nadu’s Selenadeepthi Selvakumar made amends for her previous title loss to overcome Airports Authority of India’s Harsha Vardhini to win the Junior Girls trophy 4-2.

Manav, who is in his zone, put out on display his variety of strokes without any mental block against the West Bengal boy. Anirban, normally an attacking player, found the going tough against Manav, who never flinches to go for the kill, irrespective of the situation. But today was a normal day for him and he went about the task, sending his down-the-line forehand winners and also playing away from the table, clinically to ward off even an imaginary threat from Anirban.

Selena, on the other hand, had everything to lose. She, however, brought variety to his strokes and brilliantly used the table to outwit her AAI opponent, who would have done better if she were able to shed those minor errors at the net.

  

Manav Thakkar is proving to be Jeet Chandra’s nemesis. On their fifth consecutive meeting in recent times, Jeet yet again failed to overcome the Manav phobia. Today in the semifinals, Jeet went down in straight games of 7-11, 11-13, 6-11, 8-11 but Manav’s rival in the final, Anirban Ghosh, escaped by the skin of the teeth against PSPBA’s Lalrin Puia.

Puia, being erratic at times, proved to be his undoing despite waging a wonderful battle against the West Bengal lad who led 2-0. Puia staged a comeback of sorts but could not withstand a clinical onslaught by Anirban.

In girls’ semifinals, Selena who missed the title by a whisker at Durgapur had it easy against AAI’s Harsha Vardhini, winning the tie 4-1 while it was a one-sided affair for Ayhika who downed Manasi in straight games. Except for the third extended game in which Selena lost 10-12 before sewing it up in the next two. Ayhika, on the other hand, allowed some liberty to Manasi in the third yet it was the AAI girl who clinched it 13-11.

Earlier, UP’s Aishwarya Pathak failed to go past the quarterfinal hurdle losing to Maharashtra’s Manasi Chiplunkar 3-4. Incidentally, Aishwyarya had upset second seeded Bohra Payal of Maharashtra yesterday to raise visions of an interesting quarterfinal battle.

Aishwarya did live up to expectations to begin with but has to blame her misery after having led 2-1 until the midway. Though she lost the opening game even as her opponent was struggling to find her feet, the UP girl picked up nice momentum to go 2-1 up.

Yet, the credit must go to the Maharashtra girl who not only equalled score but also took the lead only to lose advantage in the next game by a big margin. She avenged that loss by returning the compliment to her UP rival in the decider to win 11-7, 8-11, 10-12, 11-6, 11-8, 5-11, 11-5 in a bottom half duel. Even Ayhika had a tough match against Telengana’s Sreeja Akula which the former won 4-3 from the same half.

Results:

Junior Boys Singles: Final: Manav Thakkar (PSPBA) btg Anirban Ghosh (WB) 4-2 (6-11, 7-11, 11-9, 12-10, 11-5, 11-9); Semifinals: Manav Thakkar (PSPBA) bt Jeet Chandra (WB) 4-0 (11-7, 13-11, 11-6, 11-8), Anirban Ghosh (WB) bt Lalrin Puia (PSPBA) 4-2 (11-4, 11-6, 2-11, 11-9, 8-11, 11-9).

Junior Girls Singles: Final: Selenadeepthi Selvakumar (TN) bt Ayhika Mukherjee (AAI) 4-2 (3-11, 13-11, 12-10, 9-11, 11-8, 11-3); Semifinals: Selenadeepthi Selvakumar (TN) bt Harsha Vardhini (AAI) 4-1 (11-9, 11-9, 10-12, 11-6, 11-9), Ayhika Mukherjee (AAI) bt Manasi Chiplunkar (MHR) 4-0 (11-4, 11-1, 13-11, 11-6).

Varuni ousts top-seed Shruti, Aishwarya topples No. 2 Payal

Agra, November 7, 2014: Aishwarya Pathak of UP caused the second biggest upset of the day as she decimated No. 2 seed and the West Zone titlist Payal Borha of Maharashtra to enter the Junior Girls quarterfinals in the LIC National Ranking (North Zone) Table Tennis Championships at the Eklavya Indoor Stadium here today.  

But what shocked the most was the exit of top-seed Shruti Amrute of Maharashtra. Shruti lost to Telengana’s Varuni Jaiswal, a qualifier, 14-12, 11-6, 11-9, without a fight.

However, in the bottom half the girl from Ghaziabad won 11-6, 11-4, 11-2 and would be taking on Payal’s state mate Mansi Chiplunkar in the quarterfinals tomorrow. Mansi accounted for seventh seed Maria Rony of Kerala, also in straight games of 11-9, 11-9, 11-7.

Others that made it to the last-eight stages included Telengana’s Sreeja Akula, AAI’s Ayhika Mukherjee, Maharashtra’s Rutuja Khopkar, who defeated Kerala’s fourth seed Sereha Jacob 11-6, 6-11, 14-12, 11-7 and TN’s Selenadeepthi Selvakumar who won a tough battle against Delhi’s Riti Shankar and eighth seed 11-9, 6-11, 7-11, 11-8, 11-7.  

In Junior Boys, Dena Bank’s Peeyush Prasad who first upset seventh-seed Ayush Tayal of Haryana 3-2 in the pre-quarterfinals, moved a step further for a quarterfinal meeting with No. 2 seed Anirban Ghosh. The latter downed Birdie Bora of PSPBA in a tense encounter which saw four of the five games being extended. Ghosh won 7-11, 14-12, 12-14, 12-10, 14-12. Top-seed Utkarsh Gupta had an easy prey in PSPBA’s Anukram Jain as the Delhi boy won 14-12, 9-11, 11-4, 11-4.

The other pre-quarterfinal winners included West Bengal’s Jeet Chandra, who beat Air India’s Siddesh Pande 3-1, PSPBA’s Lalrin Puia, who downed Telengana’s Snehit Suravajjula, Sanish Ambekar of Maharashtra who won over Suresh Nikhil of Tamil Nadu 3-1 along with Manav Thakkar of PSPBA and Maharashtra’s Ravindra Kotiyan. Thjakkar beat Shivam Shrivastava 3-0 while Kotiyan beat Lalhunhlua of PSPBA by the same verdict.

Coming back to Aishwarya, the girl from the hosts’ state was definitely in her zone and it showed in her game plan against Payal. The Maharashtra girl, normally an attacking paddler, surprisingly couldn’t play her shots as well and was making far too many errors at the net. But credit must be given to Aishwarya who, after taking control of the first game, simply ran over her rival in double quick time.

Earlier, UP’s Goutam Druvansh, after putting up a great fight lost 2-3 to Snehit Suravajjula in the first round. The lone main draw entrant for the hosts played well taking two games off his Telengana rival but wilted under pressure 10-12, 11-8, 8-11, 13-11, 9-11 in front of the home crowd.

In fact, the Telengana boy had the upper hand when he won the extended first set 12-10. Executing his forehand well the fleet-footed UP boy showed a lot of promise to begin with as he gave some torrid moments to Snehit. However, the latter clinched the set only to lose badly in the second.

The trend continued as Goutam won a difficult fourth set 13-11 after a couple of deuces but could not withstand the strain of decider as he folded by a minimal point.

Top-seed Utkarsh Gupta, the East Zone titlist at Durgapur, second-seed Anirban Ghosh sailed into the pre-quarters but won in straight games against Shaurya Pednekar of Maharashtra and second-seed Anirban Ghosh conceded a game before regrouping himself to beat Harshavardhan Lahoti of Telengana 15-17, 11-4, 11-5, 11-3.

The men’s top seeds enter the arena only tomorrow as they all have first-round byes in the main draw while the women’s singles have one more qualifying round to go before the main draw events begin. The day will also see the Junior Boys and Junior Girls medals being decided with their finals slated for late evening.

TTFI Press release

Third title for Manav, second for Archana

Agra, November 6, 2014: A consistent Manav Thakkar of the Petroleum Sports Promotion Board Academy (PSPBA) got the lion’s share yet again, winning a third title in the Sub-Juniors Boys section of the LIC National Ranking (North Zone) Table Tennis Championships at the Eklavya Indoor Stadium here today.

On Thursday, Manav was in red hot form beating his known opponent Jeet Chandra from West Bengal 4-1 in the final. Karnataka’s Archana Kamath, proving her superiority, won the second zonal title of the season in the Sub-Junior Girls final. She downed Tamil Nadu’s Yashini Sivashankar 4-1 rather easily.

In Cadet category, Alberto Lrruata annexed the crown after defeating team mate Jeho. H 4-0 in the Boys final and Vanshika Bhargava of Delhi took the Girls trophy with a 4-1 verdict against Haryana’s Suhana Saini. This was the second crown for the Delhi girl this season.

It was a repeat third final in as many meetings for Manav and Jeet and in all the three the latter, despite working hard, could not overcome the PSPBA boy. Manav, groomed well at the Academy, has surpassed all expectations, besides raising the bar all the time. On the other hand, otherwise a competent Jeet had found himself wanting every time he met Manav.

That reflected in the final today and the score only reiterated how well the PSPBA boys played against his opponent. His shot selection, covering acute angles and employing backhand as a potent weapon, the boy from Surat decimated his rival.

As for Archana, who was part of the Asian squad in the World Cadet Challenge at Georgetown, Barbados, easily won the Sub-Junior Girls title to pick up the thread from where she left of at Gandhidham last month. She was too good for any serious threat from Tamil Nadu’s Yashini Sivashankar.

 UP paddlers’ hurdle

Earlier in the day, UP’s Sarthak Seth failed to cross the semifinal hurdle, losing to the eventual winner as he lost 0-4. Sarthak’s struggle continued, particularly against an in-form Manav. The UP boy had done himself and the state proud to have gone past the quarterfinals and enter the second successive semifinal. To that extent, he should feel satisfied even as he tries to up his level of game. Another promising face from Maharashtra, Ashwin Subramanian lost to Jeet but the former was able to take a game off Jeet who won 4-1.

UP can also feel happy to see Saundarya Pathak’s rising graph. She too had been steady and for the second time she has made it to the Sub-Junior Girls semifinals. But her opponent from Tamil Nadu proved to be a hard nut to crack as did Archana who downed West Bengal’s Surbhi Patwari—the two finalists winning 4-0.

Results:

Sub-Junior Boys singles: Final: Manav Thakkar (PSPBA) bt Jeet Chandra (WB) 4-1 (11-7, 6-11, 11-6, 11-8, 11-7); Semifinals: Manav Thakkar bt Sarthak Sethi (UP) 4-0 (11-7, 11-7, 11-5, 11-9), Jeet Chandra bt Ashwin Subramanian (MHR) 4-1 (9-11, 11-6, 11-8, 11-6, 11-9).

Sub-Junior Girls singles: Final: Archana Kamath (KNT) bt Yashini Sivashankar (TN) 4-1 (11-5, 5-11, 11-5, 11-7, 11-7); Semifinals: Yashini Sivashankar (TN) bt Saundarya Pathak (UP) 4-0 (11-9, 11-7, 11-9, 12-10), Archana Kamath (KNT) bt Surbhi Patwari (WB) 4-0 (15-13, 11-9, 11-6, 11-8).

Cadet Boys singles: Final: Alberto Lrruata (PSPBA) bt Jeho H (PSPBA) 4-0 (11-9, 11-8, 11-9, 11-9);

Semifinals: Jeho H bt Varun Shankar (TELG) 3-0 (12-10, 11-8, 11-7), Alberto Lrruata bt Payas Jain (DLI) 3-1 (14-12, 11-9, 9-11, 11-6).

Cadet Girls singles: Final: Vanshika Bhargava (DLI) bt Suhani Saini (HRN) 4-1 (6-11, 11-4, 11-7, 11-4, 11-8); Semifinals: Suhana Saini (HRN) bt Koyal Bhattacharya (WB) 3-0 (11-9, 11-7, 11-8), Vanshika Bhargava (DLI) bt Divya Chaitalay (MHR) 3-2 (11-9, 13-15, 8-11, 11-6, 11-8).

A TTFI Press release

JRM Takshila, Holy Vision advance into Sukhdeo cricket last 16

Patna, November 4, 2014: JRM Takshila Convent, Paliganj, and local Holy Vision International School advanced into the pre-quarterfinals of the 30th All India Sukhedo Narain Memorial Inter-School Cricket Tournament at the Moinul Haq Stadium here on Tuesday.

JRM Takshila beat St Michael’s High School by 60 runs while Holy Vision International trounced Lohia Nagar Mount Carmel School by 7 wickets.

Brief scores: JRM Takshila Convent: 187 for 3 off 25 overs (Vivek Kumar 21, Atul Aditya 98, Zain Kazmi 32, Extras 35, Atul Prakash 1 for 15)

St Michael’s High School: 127 all out off 22.2 overs (Ankit Pratap 19, Ravi Kumar 20, Sarbottam 15, Rocky Raj 25, Utkasrh 3 for 38, Nitish 1 for 3)

Lohia Nagar Mount Carmel School: 68 all out off 19 overs (Sahil 21, Amit 13, Akash Chopra 4 for 12, Arun 2 for 18, Shashank 2 for 5)

Holy Vision International: 72 for 3 off 13 overs (Shivam 20, Arun 16, Arulya 1 for 17, Sourav Singh 1 for 10).

Indian eves play out a 2-2 draw against New Zealand in second hockey Test

New Zealand, November 6, 2014:  Indian Junior Women Hockey Team put up a tough fight in the ongoing series against New Zealand today and held the hosts 2-2 in their second match of the six-match test series being played at the TET Multisports Centre, Stratford. 

The junior black sticks women had a good start to the game as Kelsey Smith scored the initial goal of the match, giving the hosts a lead of 1-0 in the first half itself. India made desperate attempts to score but, given the strong defense line of the opponents, could not succeed in putting the ball in the net. At the end of the first half the scores stood at 0-1, indicative of a trail for India.

The second half saw Indian women fighting back with all strength, as a result of which a close range goal from the stick of forward Anupa Barla leveled the score for India. The match intensified further after the leveler as both the teams looked for creating more scoring opportunities.

Soon, India was awarded a penalty corner and Jaspreet Kaur, leaving no room for mistakes, flawlessly converted the opportunity into a goal, low to the New Zealand’s keeper’s right, taking the score to 2-1. In next to no time, Rachel McCann of New Zealand tied the game with another field goal 12 minutes from the final hooter, thus equalizing the scores.

In the last quarter of the game both the teams managed to create a few new scoring chances but could not materialize the opportunity and at the end of the game the scoreboard showed a score of 2-2, indicating a draw.

HI Press release

Bihar girls outplay Tripura 77-09 in National Sub-Junior Kabaddi

Bihar (pink) beat Tripura 77-09 in the girls' section league match of the 26th National Sub-Junior Kabaddi Championships at Patliputra Sports Complex in Patna on November 5, 2014.
Photo: Aftab Alam Siddiqui

Maharashtra beat Goa 57-22 in National Sub-Junior Kabaddi

Maharashtra beat Goa 57-22 in the boys' section league match of the 26th National Sub-Junior Kabaddi Championships at Patliputra Sports Complex in Patna on November 5, 2014.
Photo: Aftab Alam Siddiqui