Photo: Aftab Alam Siddiqui
Wednesday, March 25, 2015
Junior Army Football Club Lucknow beat Tata Football Academy 2-0
Photo: Aftab Alam Siddiqui
Tuesday, March 24, 2015
Bihar Regimental Centre Danapur beat United Kurseong Football Club 2-1
Photo: Aftab Alam Siddiqui
Sunday, March 22, 2015
Junior Army Football Club Lucknow beat Border Security Force Jalandhar 2-0
Photo: Aftab Alam Siddiqui
Friday, March 20, 2015
United Punjab Football Club Mahilpur hold Tata Football Academy 1-1
Photo: Aftab Alam Siddiqui
Thursday, March 19, 2015
Junior National Hockey Championships from April 1 in Mysore
Where Steel Plant Sports Board, Manipur Hockey, Services
Sports Control Board and Bengal Hockey Association were seen battling it out to
become the Champions as semi-finalists at the 4th edition of Hockey India
Junior National Championship 2014, Steel Plant Sports Board proved their mettle
and emerged as the champions of last year's all important tournament.
The 36 participating teams will be divided into two divisions
- A & B. Where Division A consists of 16 teams, further divided into 4
Pools with 4 teams in each pool, Division B will see 20 teams further divided
into 4 Pools with 5 teams each.
Speaking on the occasion Mohd Mushtaque Ahmad, Hockey India Secretary
General said, “The 5th season of Junior Men National Championship is all
set to commence and we are set to witness yet again a season of exhilarating
hockey where these players will give cut throat competition to each other. We
will use the upcoming National back to back National Championships to identify
talent and take them to the next level. I am sure these young stars will give
us enough reasons to consider them for the International arena”.
The matches will be played in a phased manner with division
B first completing its sets of matches and the same will be played from April
1to 12. Teams under Division A will play their matches from April 14 and will
go on till April 22, 2015 in Mysore ,
Karnataka.
The inaugural match of the season will be played between The
Mumbai Hockey Association Ltd. and Goans Hockey of division B at 7:30 am.
The champions of the 4th edition, Steel Plant Sports Board were placed in Pool
A, will be taking on Hockey Maharashtra in the second match on the opening day,
when Division A kick starts on April 14.
HI Press release
Wednesday, March 18, 2015
Border Security Force edge past Tata Football Academy
Photo: Aftab Alam Siddiqui
Preparatory camp of Indian men hockey core probables begins
Thirty two players are part of the camp which is for the refinement and training of the players before they depart for
Commenting on the Training Camp, High Performance Director, Hockey India Roelant Oltmans said, “The men are in a positive frame of mind and uplifted spirits post their performance in the last tournaments where they have showcased that they are ready to take on any challenge on the field today. They are waiting for the upcoming tournament and confident that they will live up to expectations. The camp will enable them to work on their weak points while will further solidify their strengths.”
The list of 32 men core probable’s team
GOALKEEPERS
1. Parattu Raveendran Sreejesh
2. Harjot Singh
3. Sushant Tirkey
DEFENDERS
4. Gurbaj Singh
5. Rupinder Pal Singh
6. Raghunath Vokkaliga Ramachandra
7. Birendra Lakra
8. Gurmail Singh
9. Gurjinder Singh
10. Manpreet Singh
11. Vickram Kanth
12. Kothajit Singh
13. Harbir Singh Sandhu
MIDFIELDERS
14. S. K. Uthappa
15. Dharamvir Singh
16. Chinglensana Singh Kangujam
17. Sardar Singh
18. Danish Mujtaba
19. Satbir Singh
20. Devinder Sunil Walmiki
21. Vikas Pillay
22. Jasjit Singh
FORWARDS
23. Nikkin Thimmaiah
24. Nithin Thimmaiah
25. S. V. Sunil
26. Mandeep Singh
27. Akashdeep Singh
28. Ramandeep Singh
29. Affan Yousuf
30. Yuvraj Walmiki
31. Talwinder Singh
32. Lalit Upadhyay
HI Press release
SSB too strong for BRC Danapur
Photo: Aftab Alam Siddiqui
Monday, March 16, 2015
India tame Poland 3-1 to win FIH Hockey World League Round 2 (Women) title
The determined eves of
Five minutes left in the quarter, India had another shot at the
penalty corner but Poland
goalkeeper cleared the danger easily. Seconds left for the first session to
end, India finally struck
when a beautiful back stroke by Vandana Katariya left no chance for the Poland
goalkeeper to react. Within seconds India was again back in the D and
Anupa Barla took another shot at the goal but was unfortunate to find the
goalkeeper again. This ended the electrifying first quarter with India leading
1-0.
Immediately into the second quarter,
With the game tied at 1-1, both the teams tested each others defence, as their attacks continued looking at taking the lead over the other. Four minutes left for the end of the third session,
Half way into the fourth quarter
A happy, High Performance Director, Hockey
Speaking post the match Ritu Rani, Indian Captain said “We are very happy we won. We played well but we should have played better. From here we will concentrate on Round 3 and we are confident of our performance”.
Top Scorer of the Tournament:
Best Goalkeeper of the Tournament: Marta Kucharska, Poland
Junior Player of Tournament: Rani , India
Player of the Tournament: Marlena Rybacha , Poland
Ritu Rani completes 200-match landmark
The 23-year old Ritu is another talented women’s hockey
player to emerge from the Shahbad stable, Haryana. From scoring goals for her
side from the upfront to controlling midfield, she does it all with sheer
perfection.
Excited on her achievement, Ritu Rani, said, “I am
honoured to have been able to give my contribution to Indian hockey. It’s a
great feeling and I hope to continue adding more to the sport with full zest
and determination. I hope our efforts encourage more young girls to take up
hockey.”
Congratulating Ritu Rani on her astounding performance,
Secretary General Hockey India
Mr. Mohd Mushtaque Ahmad said, “Hockey India
HI Press release
Lefty Xu regains title; Feng wins maiden crown
Jaipur, March 15, 2015: China’s Xu Xin taught quite a few
invaluable lessons, particularly how to rise from the dumps, to his 18-year-old
compatriot Fan Zhendong to emerge a 4-3 winner in the men’s singles of
the GAC Group 28th Asian Cup Table Tennis 2015 at the SMS Indoor Stadium here
on Sunday. The win was worth $14,000 and as, runner-up, Fan received $ 7,000.
But it was the women’s singles which aroused greater
interest when Singapore ’s
Feng Tianwei denied three-time champion Chinese Liu Shiwen her foruth time in a
thrilling final with a 4-2 verdict.
In the men’s final, left proved right yet again and the
finer tips that Fan must have picked up from Xu must do a lot of good to the
youngster, who was meeting him a second time in a final after the Incheon Asian
Games last year.
None would have given an iota of chance as Xu was down and
out at 1-3 with Fan just a game away from his maiden title. However, in the
fifth game things changed dramatically. Taking timeout at 6-5, Xu returned to
the court with all calmness and from there he took on. After that Xu’s
different strokes spoke and Fan, until then using the flanks very well, had
little answers to his senior partner.
It was a sheer treat to watch left-handed Xu unleash
expansive forehand drives with his rare penhold grip and more often than not,
those powerful strokes were irretrievable. Fan, to his credit, despite having a
repertoire of shots and successfully executing his down-the-line backhand
winners, Xu had taken control of the match.
“I think I took it a bit easy after winning the first game.
It is never easy playing Fan or, for that matter, the Chinese opponents. Since
it had become too close for comfort, I told myself that I should enjoy. That
was what I set down to do and it paid off,” he said. But he did admit that this
match was tougher than the Asian Games final.
Coming back to the women’s final, it was equally absorbing
but the Singaporean played a percentage game that saw her stand on top of the
podium. For strange reasons, Liu was rendered immobile against some of the
shots that Feng unleashed on her. The 28-year-old and world No. 4 was
particularly harsh on her third-ranked rival in the fifth game where she
allowed Liu a solitary point. But closing out the match would have been a lot
tougher for Feng had she not fought back from 1-6 down to seal the sixth game
and with that, the title.
Mizutani, Yuling finish third
Zhu Yuling, the No.4 seed, opened proceedings accounting for
Japan ’s
Ai Fukuhara, the No.6 seed 11-8, 7-11, 12-10, 11-6, 11-7. She was followed at
the showcourt by Jun Mizutani who asserted his authority over Hong
Kong ’s Tang Peng, dismissing him in four straight games of 11-4,
11-6, 11-9, 11-8.
Right handed, powerful from the forehand and quick from the
backhand, the side of the racket on which he uses short pimpled rubber, Tang is
a player of high calibre but it is a style which suits the left handed top spin
skills of Jun Mizutani.Heavy top spin strokes early in the rally, as opposed to
speed, reaped dividend for Jun Mizutani; in the third game there was a glimmer
of hope for Tang Peng as he established a 9-7 lead but the light was soon
extinguished. Jun Mizutani won the next four points and the writing on the wall
was clear and loud.
Similarly, the consistency of Zhu Yuling prevailed with Ai
Fukuhara missing an opportunity in the third game after the opening two games
had been shared. She led 10-8 and Yuling saved both game points, before winning
the next two to turn what appeared to be a two games to nil deficit turning
into a two games to one advantage. One game later Ai Fukuhara kept parity until
the latter stages when a string of errant forehands saw possible success
disappear.
The Results:
Men singles: Final: Xu Xin (Chn) bt Fan Zhengdong (Chn)
4-3 (11-8, 11-13, 11-13, 5-11, 118, 11-4, 11-7).
Third-place playoff: Jun Mizutani (Jpn) bt Peng Tang
(Hkg) 4-0 (11-4, 11-6, 11-9, 11-8).
Women singles: Final: Feng Tianwei (Sin) bt Liu Shiwen
(Chn) 4-2 (3-11, 11-8, 11-9, 7-11, 11-1, 12-10).
Third-place playoff: Zhu Yuling (Chn) bt Ai Fukuhara (Jpn)
4-1 (11-8, 7-11, 12-10, 11-6, 11-9).
A TTFI Press release
Fazilla stars again as Malaysia overpower Thailand 3-0 to seal the third place
Both the teams were awarded early penalty corners in the
initial minutes of the match but none managed to capitalise the opportunity.
The two teams played an attacking game from the beginning with intent to take a
lead over the other and create pressure on the opposition but simultaneously a
display of strong defence in the quarter by both the sides made their scoring
efforts futile. Unfazed, the Malaysian women did not give up hope and it was in
the 11th minute that they earned the first goal of the game from the stick
of Norazlin Sumantri. With this field goal, Malaysia
took a lead of 1-0 over Thailand .
Upbeat on their lead, Malaysian women commenced the second
quarter with zero intention to let Thailand score while their strikers
looked out for gaps in the defence to post a goal. Playing throughout in the
opponents’ half, the Malaysian eves were successful in building pressure on Thailand as the
latter struggled hard to find a scoring prospect. Striking back again in the
final minutes of the quarter, Malaysia
doubled its lead over Thailand
when Fazilla Silin Sylvester converted a penalty corner into the second goal of
the match. Half time closed with Malaysia
leading over Thailand
2-0.
Entering the third quarter, the women from Singapore were
still unable to break down the firm defence of the Thailand Women hockey team.
Though the quarter saw a dry run with no goals scored, Malaysia
impressed the spectators with some stupendous stick work and swift game play.
The scores remained unchanged as Malaysia
led with 2-0 over Thailand .
With game entering the last quarter, the scoring endeavours
shored up from both the ends. While Malaysia
looked at maintaining the dominance and the lead in the match, Thailand women
aimed at opening their scoring account and reduce the score gap. Malaysia was given a penalty corner in the 49th
minute and Fazilla for the second time did the task of converting the corner
efficiently as the score for Malaysia
ascended to 3 nil. With no further goals scored, the final scoreboard
showed 3-0 announcing a triumph for Malaysia .
Contented with his team’s performance, Coach of Malaysia Md
Nasihin Nubli Ibrahim said, “Very happy to have finished at the third
position though our aim was to finish amongst the top two but we are ok as we
still qualify for Round 3 being the hosts. This was one of our best tours. I am
really happy with Norbaini Hashim along with the captain and vice captain as
full backs. India
being another Asian team in this tournament, we would like to wish them luck
and hope they win it.”
Remarking on the match, Coach of Thailand Young Wook Bae
said, “We took this match as a practice match as we will face the same
team in the upcoming South East Asian Games which will be held in June 2015.
Our players missed many opportunities and failed to control the ball most of
the time but the fact is we have many young players in the team and they are
improving match by match. The tournament was very successful for us as we
improved our FIH ranking and managed to finish fourth. Our team played against
European teams for the first time which is a good experience for us.”
HI Press release
Russia humble Kazakhstan 9-0 to secure fifth spot
Both the teams made a brilliant start to the game, making
use of the pace and deception of their talented players. The two teams
made full attempts to open their account and with just two minutes left for the
quarter to end, Russia ’s
Ksenia Shamina surged ahead and pierced the defence of Kazakhstan
netting a goal in the thirteenth minute with a field effort. As all the
efforts of Kazakhstan went
in vain and the score board read 1-0 with Russia leading from the front.
Moving to the second quarter of the game, Russia was seen enjoying the best spell of the
game as they stood successful in breaching the defence of Kazakhstan .
With just two minutes into the quarter, Daria Vasileva made no mistake and
beautifully converted a penalty corner by smacking the ball straight into the
net in the 17th minute and doubled their lead to 2-0. Without any further
delay, Marina Fedorova closed all the gaps and pushed the ball towards the
crossbar yielding third goal for her team in the 21st minute of the game.
Russian girls were seen in high spirits giving no points to the opponents to
score. By the virtue of a penalty corner, Kristina Shumilina with her well
sketched move touched the goal post and struck a field goal in the 24th minute.
With Kazakhstan
making a dry run for themselves , Russian girls escalated their score to 0-4 in
the second quarter.
With the change of the ends, both the teams stepped on the
field with better strategies and managed to keep the ball in their control. Russia ’s Ksenia
Shamina with her brilliant stick work struck the ball into the wide- open net
and secured two consecutive field goals in the 41st and the 43rd minute. After
receiving six jolts, Kazakhstan
tried to get into the game but was unable to open their account as Russia ’s
defence stood tall advancing the scores to 6-0 by the end of the third quarter.
Post losing the match against Russia
and claiming the sixth spot, Kazakhstan ’s
Gulnara Imangaliyeva said, “There was no spirit or synchronization in the
game today and all areas went wrong. We must train harder for stronger fitness
and become a better team for the future. We will have to work on our
consistency and power.”
Excited on claiming the fifth spot, Russian Coach Oleg
Potapov said,“We played our best game today and our players showed their real
mettle in the match. On a lighter note, we started playing better when the
tournament is ending. We implemented our strategies well and managed to
dominate the whole match. The tournament went well for our team and now we are
looking forward to the European Championship in July.”
HI Press release
Ghana down Singapore 2-1 to claim 7th position
The first quarter started with both the teams showing their
attacking intent from both the flanks. With just six minutes into the game, it
was Singapore
who was awarded with a penalty corner and Eunice Teng rushed forward and
passed the ball to Ivy Chan who made a well struck shot converting the first
penalty corner of the game in a 1-0 lead. Without wasting much time, Ghana earned a
penalty corner and struck a goal straight through a crowded area which
came through the stick of Linda Sasu in the ninth minute of the game. The score
was levelled at 1-1 by the end of the first quarter.
As both the teams started brightly and got their early goals
in the first quarter itself, Singapore
managed to earn their second penalty corner but unfortunately failed to convert
it. Ghana ’s
goalie Gertrude Amui showed her sharp reflexes throughout the game and
intercepted the ball before it landed on the target. With neither of the teams
able to score in the second quarter, the score remained stagnant on 1-1.
The third quarter proved to be a tight and edgy affair as
the two teams were seen playing more cautiously and upheld their defence
strongly. Looking at adding one more goal to their score tally, both the teams
continued to assert dominance on each other. Good stick work and an
excellent defence was dished out by the girls of both the sides in the entire
session not yielding a single goal and the score still showed a figure of 1-1
on the score board.
Entering into the fourth and the last quarter of the game,
the girls of Ghana manoeuvred themselves into the right position and Elizabeth
Opoku surged ahead to fire an accurate shot that nestled into the goal post in
57th minute of the game. Ghana
produced a spirited game and concluded the game with a 2-1 win over Singapore ,
claiming the 7th spot in the tournament.
Speaking on claiming the seventh position in the tournament,
a much excited Ghana
Coach Osei Boakye-Yiadom said, “We are very content to have won a game at
last and that too a crucial one. Everyone is happy with this win. This
tournament has been a learning experience, we improved a lot as a team game
after game and there is still lot to learn in terms of skills, techniques,
tactics and the way the Asians plays their game.”
HI Press release
Sunday, March 15, 2015
Indian eves face Poland in hockey final
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New Delhi, March 14, 2015: The buoyant and upbeat Indian Women Hockey Team
blanked Thailand 5-0 to smash into the all important finals of the Hero FIH
Hockey World League Round 2 (Women) being played at Major Dhyan Chand
National Stadium here.
Maintaining an absolute dominance in today’s game
and unbeaten so far in the tournament; India
will play Poland
in the finals of the League tomorrow, 15 March 2015. With this win
the Indian Team have also secured qualification in the all important World
League Round 3 (Semi Finals) to be conducted later in the year.
Led by the very able skipper Ritu Rani, the Indian eves
started off the game on a high with an intention to create pressure on the
opposite team while on a constant watch-out for prospects to score and take a
lead in the game. India
was given a penalty stroke in the 11th minute. Jaspreet Kaur took the strike
and very confidently put the ball in the nets. With this, the host team took a
lead of 1-0 before the closure of the first quarter.
Riding high on the confidence of the lead, the Indian women
were awarded a penalty corner in the first minute of the second quarter. With Sunita
Lakra on the strike and no chance of slip-ups, the chance availed was
efficiently converted into the second goal of the match, doubling the lead
for the team. Playing an intense and a swift game, Poonam Rani skilfully
touched the ball in the 22nd minute directing it towards the goal post as
it swung past the Thailand
goalkeeper to touch the mesh. By way of this dazzling field goal, India was three goals ahead of Thailand at the
end of first half.
The team in blue kept up their momentum in the third quarter
as well. Coming out all attacking, India
continuously took shots at the goal post through the gaps in the Thailand
defence. Thailand
put in all their efforts to restrict the Indian eves but keeping in view
the speed and thrust of their game could not do anything unusual to confine
them from seeking scoring prospects. In the quest of scoring further, the
Indian Women Hockey Team had another goal added to its kitty when Rani
pumped-in a lovely field goal in the 40th minute elevating the score to
4-nil with the home team in the forefront.
In high spirits post today’s victory and confident ahead of
the finalstomorrow, Coach of Indian Women Hockey Team, Roelant Oltmans said, “We
managed to dominate the entire match though the opposition played a very
defensive game and it was difficult to find space in their half. We
successfully materialised the opportunities we received and all the players,
especially Vandana, played very well today. The job is done half done for
us and there are areas to improve before tomorrow’s match. As I
had predicted earlier that India
will face Poland
in the final match and we are expecting a good show tomorrow by both
the teams”.
Remarking on the team’s performance in today’s game, Coach
of Thailand Young Wook Bae said, “Today we played a defensive game and
expected a positive result but after conceding three goals our players
lost confidence but I am happy with the performance. Tomorrow we
will face our known opponent Malaysia
and we will give our 100% to win the match.”
HI Press release
Saturday, March 14, 2015
Welshman White wins maiden ranking snooker title
Mumbai, March 14, 2015: Michael White of Wales, world ranked
22, was in tremendous form and gave a brilliant exhibition of potting with
control and breaking building as he completely whitewashed England’s world rank
8, Ricky Walden 5-0, in the best-of-9-frame final of the 300,000 pounds Indian
Open Snooker World Ranking Tournament, organized by the Billiards and Snooker
Federation of India (BSFI), and being played at the Grand Hyatt Hotel,
Kalina, on Saturday evening.
The 23-year-old Welshman from Neath, was quickly off the
blocks and every time Walden made a mistake he was punished by White who
captitalised on the openings by constructing some neat breaks of 81 in the
first, 77 in the second, 45 and 41 in the third and 32 and 58 in the fourth, to
take a commanding 4-0 lead before a short interval. The 25-minute break did not
help Walden to regain his concentration and focus while White once again
continued to hit the balls with a high degree of precision and came up with
another run of 85, which was the highest of the match, win the frame and to
emerge champion. On the other hand the 32-year-old Walden was completely
out of touch and could muster only 27 points in the match which finished in
less than 54 minutes.
This triumph was White’s maiden world ranking title and will
he return home richer by 50,000 pounds, while Walden pocketed the runner-up
prize of 25,000 pounds. The Welshman, who won his first pro title when he
defeated China ’s Xiao
Guodong in the Snooker Shoot-out in Blackpool ,
England
Earlier in the semi-finals played in the morning, Walden had
to bring out his best to overcome a 0-3 deficit and script a sensational 4-3
win against qualifier and giant-killer Thepachiaya Un-Nooh of Thailand, who was
playing his first ever semi-final of a ranking tournament. The Thai, world
ranked 61, had beaten world number 4 and defending champion Ding Junhui of
China in the first round and world number 12 Mark Davis in the previous round,
before falling to guiles of the England pro, who cleverly adopted a tactical
defensive game. The left-handed Thai cueist returned home richer by 13,500
pounds.
In the first semi-final, White was in full flow against his
countryman and idol Mark Williams, world rank 15, scoring a comfortable 4-2
victory. The former two-time world champion Williams another southpaw, won the
first frame but was unable to stop the younger Welshman, who rattled in a table
clearance break of 126 in the second and then signed off with a 87 in the sixth
to wrap up the match.
Shri Vinod Tawde, Honourbale Minister for Sports & Youth
Affairs, Government of Maharashtra, was the Chief Guest and presented the
Trophies and cash awards to winners and Runner-up.
Results – Final: Michael White (Wales ) bt Ricky Walden (England )
(81(81)-0, 77(77)-20, 86(45, 41)-0, 90(32, 58)-1, 85(85)-6).
Semi-final: Michael White (Wales )
bt Mark Williams (Wales )
4-2 (41-65, 126(126)-7, 66-23, 80(41)-40, 39-68(55), 109(87)-4).
Ricky Walden (England )
bt Thepchaiya Un-Nooh (Thailand )
4-3 (0-78(78), 53(53)-68(62), 0-72(68), 81-0, 73(42)-36, 78(78)-0,
91(41)-47(34).
Caption: Maharashtra Minister for Sports & Youth Affairs Shri Vinod Tawde (right) gives away the winners’ trophy and the cash award of 50,000
pounds to Michael White of Wales at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, Kalina on March 14, 2015.
Poland blank Malaysia 1-0 to reach final
The two teams opened the first quarter of the game with full
strength and resilience to take on the opponents not giving any early break to
the other. Early into the game, Poland
got the first penalty corner in the third minute which was beautifully
converted by the very proficient Captain Marlena Rybacha taking an early lead
1-0. As Malaysia was unable
to cash on any scoring opportunities in the first half, Poland took the
lead 1-0.
With the change of the ends, both the teams made desperate
efforts to put themselves in the right position on the field. With just a
minute remaining in the third quarter to end, Malaysia was awarded with its first
penalty corner but failed to capitalize and missed it by a whisker leaving the
entire team stunned. Efficient in defying the Malaysian attack, the polished
defence of Poland
kept the scores intact to 1-0.
Beginning the last quarter of the game with equal
determination, the Malaysian girls in search of an equaliser struggled to
strike the goal but all their efforts went in vain as the Poland defence
was marshalled skilfully by its goalkeeper. Nevertheless, the Malaysian girls
were seen displaying a good set of stick work by holding on the possession of
the ball and managed to secure another penalty corner but were unsuccessful in
converting it into a goal. Poland
fought superbly with their defence and closed the game by defeating Malaysia 1-0 to
seal its position in the finals.
Excited to enter the finals of the tournament, Poland Coach
Krzysztof Rachwalski said, “We have improved in the tournament with each game
and the result is for everyone to see. We did well in the quarter- finals
against Russia and today
against Malaysia .
We managed to score only one goal but it was enough for us to win the game. I
think we are strong enough to face any opponent in the finals and it would be a
very entertaining match to witness.”
A disappointed Malaysian Coach Md Nasihin Nubli Ibrahim
said, “Today was a very tough game against a strong Poland . We
played our best in the tournament but we failed to capitalize the opportunities
we got. The goal scored by Poland
was unfortunate for our team and it demoralized our players. Still our players
fought till the last minute. I am looking forward
for tomorrow’s match now and end the tournament with a win.”
HI Press release
Sharath beats nemesis Gao to retain sixth spot; Chinese showdown in men’s singles final
Jaipur, March 14, 2015: Achanta Sharath Kamal had to just
settle for an honourable sixth spot after he went down to South Korean Kim
Minseok 3-4 in a thriller at the GAC Group 28th Asian Cup Table Tennis
2015 at the SMS Indoor Stadium here on Saturday. In the last edition too,
Sharath had lost to the Korean to be at the sixth position at Wuhan .
The 49th-ranked Sharath may have lost the 5-6 playoff 11-8,
2-11, 17-15, 7-11, 11-9, 9-11, 10-12, but yet again proved that his
pre-eminence in India
as well as on the world stage was retained. With an impressive result here, he
has boosted his qualifying chances for the World Cup to be held later in the
year.
“It was a little disappointing, but he won their crucial
points that mattered,” said Sharath, who at last found a way earlier in the day
to overcome his nemesis and World No.15 Gao Ning, disposing him of
11-7, 4-11, 11-8, 12-10, 11-5 and assured himself of retaining the sixth
position that he had scured at Wuhan two years ago in the previous edition.
“With today’s triumph against Gao, I have taken the monkey
off my back,” said Sharath. This, in a way, was soothing and enabled the Indian
ace to put his quarterfinal defeat in the morning to World No.5 Jun Mizutani
behind.
Sharath was more than happy to accomplish the feat after
“countless” losses to the Singaporean, even as he admitted that Ning was far
from his best today. “I have lost the count of times he had beaten me. But
I finally found a way past him. I was so fed up with this losing streak that I
had once asked my German coach “when will I get to beat Gao?”
He told me to keep it in reserve for a special day. Overall, I think I played really well and, to be honest, he looked a bit underprepared,” said 49th-ranked Sharath.
What made the difference to the two-time CWG gold winner was
the crucialfourth game. He led 3-1 but his opponent was up to the task and went
ahead at 10-8. That was when Sharath fought back well to take four straight
points.
‘He’s just too good’
Earlier in the day, the Indian ace was denied a semi-final
spot by Japan ’s
Jun Mizutani who was simply too fast as he gave Sharath Kamal minimal time to
exert his powerful forehand top spin. There was, however, a ray of hope for
Sharath who, after leading 6-2, established a 10-8 lead but he was unable to
convert the advantage. Mizutani levelled and avoided a potential crisis.
Despite the Indian saving two game points, Mizutani’s confidence blossomed as
he won with an impressive 11-3, 14-12, 11-2, 11-6 score.
By Sharath’s own admission, he could not have played
any better than he did against his superior Japanese opponent who kept
attacking from both flanks and Sharath had no convincing answers. The Japanese
mixed it up well with a variety of serves and hammered winners, both cross
court and down the line, with pinpoint precision. However, Sharath did get his
only chance in the second game in which he led 6-1 and then 10-8. But a
superlative performance by the 25-year-old not only brought the scores level
but eventually the game on his second game point as he raced to
11-3, 14-12, 11-2, 11-6 win.
“I don’t think I played badly. I would say he was just too
good. He is certainly in a different league,” said Sharath, who had beaten
World No.8 and World No.16 to reach the quarterfinals
yesterday. World No.2 Xu Xin was stretched by Sharath’s conqueor Mizutani
before the Chinese prevailed 11-7 11-8 9-11 11-6 7-11 11-7. Xin takes on
compatriot Fan Zhendong in the final tomorrow. The 18-year-old
sensation sailed past Tang Peng of Hong Kong 11-3, 12-10, 11-7, 11-9. In the
women’s battle, Liu Shiwen of China
will face Feng Tianwei of Singapore .
The Results:
Men singles: Semi-finals: Xu Xin (Chn) bt Jun Mizutani
(Jpn) 11-7, 11-8, 9-11, 11-4, 7-11, 11-5; Fan Zhengdong (Chn) bt Tang Peng
(Hkg) 11-3, 12-10, 11-7, 11-9; Quarterfinals: Xin bt Gao Ning (Sin) 11-7,
11-7, 11-7, 11-4; Mizutani bt Sharath Kamal 11-3, 14-12, 11-2, 11-6; Tang bt
Koki Nawa (Jpn) 11-8, 8-11, 6-11, 11-9, 11-8, 12-10; Fan bt Kim Minseok (Kor)
11-3, 11-3, 11-3, 11-6.
Women singles: Semifinals: Liu Shiwen (Chn) bt Zhu
Yuling (Chn) 11-6, 7-11, 11-7, 9-11, 11-9, 11-6; Feng Tianwei (Sin) bt Ai
Fukuhara (Jpn) 10-12, 11-6, 11-4, 11-13, 8-11, 11-6, 11-7; Quarterfinals:
Liu bt Cheng I-Ching (Tpe) 11-4, 11-9, 11-3, 11-5; Zhu bt Kasumi Shikawa (Jpn)
11-4, 11-6, 11-3, 12-10; Fukuhara bt Seo Hyowon (Kor) 11-8, 11-8, 4-11, 11-3,
17-19, 11-5; Feng bt Doo Hoi Kem (Hkg) 7-11, 11-1, 11-7, 4-11, 11-5, 11-4.
A TTFI Press release
Russia thrash Ghana 7-1 in Hero FIH Hockey World League Round 2 (Women)
Russian women commenced the first quarter of the game on an
attacking note and they received an early penalty corner but missed to
capitalise. Ghana
intensified their play in the next few minutes and looked out for opportunities
to find the nets through the weak Russian defence. Their efforts bore fruit as
Rachael Bamfo stroked a brilliant field goal in the 10th minute of the match to
give her team a lead of 1-0 over Russia . Russia immediately sensed the
importance of levelling the score and Ksenia Shamina did the imperative task
for her team. In the 12th minute, Ksenia scored a field goal to equalise the
scores. Ksenia Shamina struck again to score the second goal for her team in
the 15th minute, another penalty corner conversion as Russia led over Ghana by 2-1 by the end of first
quarter.
In the second quarter, Ghana solidified their defence line
up a bit as their strikers eyed opportunities to score an equaliser. Russia
continued with their game plan and kept taking shots at the goal post. In the
26thminute, Kristina Shumilina scored the third goal for Russia , a penalty corner conversion thereby
widening the score gap between her team and Ghana . The half time score stood at
3-1 with Russia
leading from the front.
Continuing their strong penalty corner conversions, Russia bagged
the sixth and seventh goal when Kseniia Svezhentseva and Ksenia Shamina
effortlessly converted two straight penalty corners awarded to the team in the
54th and 58th minute of the game. With an insuperable advancement of 7-1 over Ghana women, Russia registered a humongous win
in the match.
Speaking on the match, Coach of Ghana Osei Boakye-Yiadom
said, “We knew that it was going to be a tough match. Some decisions were
unfortunate for our team and we conceded too many penalty corners. It is the
finals for ustomorrow and we would like to finish the tournament on a
winning note.”
Upbeat on today’s win, Coach of Russia Oleg Potapov
said, “We converted our penalty corners successfully today and that helped
us win the match. Though the opponent was weak, we didn’t take them lightly.
For the last few matches, we failed to convert penalty corners into goals but
in today’s match the players clicked well and everything went according to the
plan. Today’s victory came late to us but the team has gained confidence after
this win.”
HI Press release
Kazakhstan eves edge past Singapore 2-1
The first quarter began with Kazakhstan trying to build pressure
on the opponent as they managed an early penalty corner for their side. Gulnara
Imangaliyeva took the strike but failed to convert it into a goal. With
maximum ball possession throughout the quarter, Kazakhstan
put in a number of efforts to breach the Singapore defence and in the
concluding minute Olga Khonina, finally managed to reach the net and scored the
first goal of the game. The score at the end of first quarter was 1-0
with Kazakhstan
in the lead.
In the second quarter, Singapore women made a brilliant
comeback when their Skipper Xinni Chua faultlessly converted a penalty corner
awarded to her team in the 22nd minute. This was also the first goal
for Singapore
women in the ongoing League. Subsequently, Kazakhstan was given a couple of
penalty corners but due to some superb defence from the opposite team,
failed to capitalize the opportunity. The half time score was a levelled 1-1.
The final quarter of the match witnessed Singapore women
trying their best to score an equaliser. Kazakhstan women again failed to
materialise two penalty corners in the last quarter. Though Singapore
staged a brilliant game in the last two quarters, it was too late for them to
make a comeback in the game. The quarter remained goal-less. At the blow of the
final whistle, the scoreboard showed a score of 2-1 as Kazakhstan outplayed Singapore .
Speaking on the match, Coach of Singapore Ahmad Marfi
said, “There were small errors which cost us the game but the team did
really well as the defence. We have played against Kazakhstan 5-6
times before and lost all the matches. This match today was the closest in
terms of goal margin. It is considerable a good improvement by the team.
This tournament will be our benchmark for the future and I am happy with the
team’s overall performance in the League till now.”
Ecstatic on today’s win, Kazakhstan player Gulnara
Imangaliyeva said,“It was a very tough match today as we have been playing back
to back matches for the past few days. Most of our players are young and
today they were feeling tired. Thanks to the good weather today that helped us
to perform as per our expectations. Though we are not happy with our run
in this tournament but it’s a decent way to finish this League.”
HI Press release
Welsmen Williams, White to clash in semis
Mumbai: Mark Williams and Michael White, both from
Wales scored fluent wins in the quarter-finals of the 300,00 pounds Indian Open
Snooker World Ranking Tournament, organized by the Billiards and Snooker
Federation of India and being played at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, Kalina.
The senior pro, 39-year-old Williams, world ranked 15, was
in total control throughout his 4-1 demolition of England ’s 38-year-old Robert
Milkin, who is ranked one place lower.
On the adjacent table, the 23-year-old White who is ranked
22 in the world recovered well after going down 2-1 to put it across Chris
Wakelin of England ,
winning 4-2 to set up a semi-final with his compatriot, Williams who inspired
him to play the sport.
Results
Round III: Mark Williams (Wales ) bt Robert Milkins (England ) 4-1
((69(51)-28, 58-45, 77(76)-0, 90(36, 54)-0, 67-12).
Michael White (Wales )
bt Chris Wakelin (England )
4-2 (0-76, 59(55)-7, 0-82(63), 72(71)-22, 99(99)-0, 55-46).
Aditya Mehta bows out, Thailand’s Un-Nooh lone Asian survivor
Ricky Walden
Mumbai, March 13, 2015: While India’s Aditya Mehta bowed out
in the second round, Thailand’s Thepchaiya Un-Nooh kept the Asian challenge
alive by advancing to the quarter-finals of the 300,000 pounds Indian Open
Snooker World Ranking Tournament, organized by the Billiards and Snooker
Federation of India (BSFI), and being played at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, Kalina.
The 29-year-old Mumbai cueist, Mehta, ranked 50th in
the world was no match for England ’s
Ricky Walden going down rather tamely by a 4-2 margin in a second round match
late Thursday night.
The 29-year-old Thai Un-Nooh, ranked 61 in the world, played
without any pressure but with loads of confidence, as he came back after losing
the losing the first frame to sideline 45th ranked Welshman Jamie Jones
4-1, finishing with a neatly compiled break of 123 and for the first time
reaching the first quarter-final of a ranking event.
The 32-year-old Englishman, Walden ranked 8 in the world,
showed awesome touch and quickly got down to business by comfortably taking the
opening three frames before the Indian delayed his march to victory by winning
the next two to narrow the lead. Walden, who had earlier compiled breaks of 63
and 42 in the first two frames, produced another decent effort of 43 in the
sixth to complete a 70(63)-0, 78-27, 77-13, 18-73, 0-76, 81-1 victory.
The Mumbai pro was not too disappointed with the outcome and
quite modestly admitted that he was beaten by a better player. “He (Walden)
started better than me and played well in the first few frames. He potted some
great balls, great balls and scored and I missed and he punished me every
time,” said Mehta.
The Indian pointed out that his performance did not have any
bearing on his loss. “There was nothing wrong with my game. I am number 50 in
the world and he is ranked 8 so you could see that at the end of the day,”
Mehta further stated.
“I have to think about what I could have done
differently. Obviously he’s one of the top players in the world I could not
afford to let him off to a good start, “ lamented Mehta who will now shift his
focus to the World Championship, starting in about two weeks in Sheffield , England
Thepchaiya is now the only player from Asia
remaining in the tournament after the two remaining Chinese players, Li Hang
and Tian Pengfei lost their last 16 round matches, to Michael White and Walden
respectively.
The young 23-year-old White, world ranked 22, enjoyed a good
run of the balls piling up runs of 94, 109, 62 and 77 in dispatching off 64thranked
Chinese Hang, who is a year older by a 4-2 margin, while Walden, who had killed
the Indians interests in the tournament when he put an abrupt end Mehta’s run
blanked Pengfei 4-0.
Mark Davis of England, world raanked 18, extended his
winning streak against former four-time world champion and 12th ranked
John Higgins, coasting to a 4-0 win for a a sixth consecutive victory over the
39-year-old Scotsman.
Results - Round II: Ricky Walden (England ) bt
Aditya Mehta 4-2 (70(63)-0, 78(42)-27, 77-13, 18-73, 0-76(46), 81(43)-1).
Round III: Mark Williams (Wales ) bt Judd Trump ( England ) 4-3
(92(68)-23, 20-112(104), 108(108)-4, 4-73(55), 1-67(67), 59-25, 70(63)-21).
Chris Wakelin (England )
bt Nigel Bond (England )
4-1 (70(50)-52, 73-48, 96(96)-0, 24-69(69), 68(41)-56(55).
Robert Milkins (England )
bt Graeme Dott (Scotland )
4-2 (24-81(69), 67(60)-6, 63-24, 73(68)-6, 5-76(47), 79-7).
Michael White (Wales )
bt Li Hang (China )
4-2 (94(94)-0, 8-102(50), 118(109)-8, 36-89(41), 89(62)-23, 77(77)-0).
Mark Davis (England )
bt John Higgins (Scotland )
4-0 (77(72)-4, 87(87)-1, 62-32, 66(66)-1).
Ricky Walden (England )
bt Tian Pengfei (China )
4-0 (64(46)-17, 65(45)-12, 53-40, 75(75)-20).
Thepchaiya Un-Nooh (Thailand )
bt Jamie Jones (Wales )
4-1 (17-63, 73(55)-10, 69-58, 79(51)-1, 123(123)-4).
Joe Perry (England )
bt Kyren Wilson (England )
4-3 (81(66)-40, 16-63, 42-71, 63(55)-61, 78(38,40)-0, 25-55. 79(55)-0).
Press release
Two box-office hits give Sharath quarterfinal berth
Jaipur, March 13, 2015: Playing his lead role to perfection,
Achanta Sharath Kamal straightaway provided two box-office hits to enter the
quarterfinals when the first show opened in the GAC Group 28th Asian Cup Table
Tennis 2015 at the SMS Indoor Stadium here on Friday.
Developing a “special liking” for the Pink City, India’s ace
paddler was not only in his zone but also struck a good form to first outwit
the world No. 8, Chuang Chih-Yuan from Chinese Taipei, 11-6, 7-11, 11-5,
11-3 and, a few hours later, accounted for world No. 16 Joo Saehyuk from
South Korea 11-3, 4-11, 11-8, 7-11, 13-11 in a thriller.
Understandably elated, Sharath summed it up in one sentence
after the two matches thus: “It has to be one of the biggest days in my
career!”
Drawn in a tough Group B, the world No. 49 Indian had to
draw from his draining resources in the second match which pitch forked to the
last-eight stages for the second successive quarterfinals. The 32-year-old
Indian ace lost his third match 6-11, 7-11, 4-11 to world No.3 Fan Zhendong to
finish second behind the Chinese in group B.
The championships also saw another major upset when world
No. 12 Japanese Koki Nawa outsmarted world No. 2 Chinese Xu Xin, the favourites
to win the title here, 11-6, 2-11, 11-5, 12-10 in group A.
But nothing thrilled the full-house audience more than the
wins posted by Sharath. The Indian seemed down and out to a clever Korean’s
game plan. The defensive Korean had ready answers to all the questions that
Sharath posed—excellent cuts, chops and smart attacks, besides superb
variations, that fetched clear winners for the Korean.
Showing great patience and not allowing Sharath to attack,
he levelled the score 2-2 and led 7-2 in the decider. That was when the Indian
rose from the dumps to play a much smarter game to be on match-point at 10-9.
But the Korean saved it and did so again on the next before Sharath claimed an
“extremely satisfying” victory on the third.
Incidentally, this was Sharath’s first win over his Korean
rival. “He is the best defensive player around and beating Joo was sweeter,”
admitted Sharath, whose last defeat to him came at the Incheon Asian Games last
year. In fact, Joo is the Indian ace’s teammate at Borussia Dusseldorf and he had
learnt a few lessons of how to play against defenders from the Korean.
For the twice Commonwealth Games gold medallist, the day
began on a bright note. Taking on the same opponent en route to finishing an
impressive sixth in the tournament’s 2014 edition in Wuhan , China
Though the Indian attributed his success to the time spent
time in Denmark and Sweden with
Chinese players and coaches in the run up to the tournament, what clinched the
issue in his favour was his positive frame of mind right from the start. “I’ve
lost to Chuang Chih-Yuan many a time in the before but in recent times, I have
done much better against him,” he said. “Last year at the Asian Cup, in the 5-8
matches, I beat him but in our most recent meeting in the German Bundesliga, he
won 3-2,” added Sharth, stressing on today’s win.
“I was playing on home ground; for him it was very
different. He looked nervous initially and I was able to maintain the
pressure,” he added.
As for other Indians, Soumyajit Ghosh and G Sathiyan failed
against their higher-ranked opponents, losing to Tang Peng and Yang Zi,
respectively, in three straight games. Mouma managed a futile win against Iran ’s Neda
Shahsavari 11-4, 11-8, 11-2 in group D to finish second behind group winner
Nanthana Komwon who qualifies for the play-off knockout tomorrow. Poulami,
who failed to win a match, finished last in her group. The fate of both
Soumyajit Ghosh and G. Sathiyan was no different as they too bowed out from
their respective group, without a solitary win.
A TTFI Press release
Friday, March 13, 2015
India crush Singapore 10-0 to enter semifinals
New Delhi, 12 March 2015: A spirited India defeated
Singapore with a huge goal margin of 10-0 and booked its berth in the semi-
finals of the ongoing Hero FIH World League Round 2 (Women) today at
Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium.
The game was totally dominated by the Indian eves. The game
started with two early minute goals coming from the confident Indian side. Just
four minutes into the game, Poonam Rani through a penalty corner conversion
swiped the ball into the net and opened the score card for India . Not
wasting much time, Navjot Kaur in the sixth minute of the game added another
goal to her side by comfortable strike through a field work to double the lead
to 2-0. While all the attempts made by Singapore
went in vain, India
took the scores to 2-0 in the first quarter.
Entering the second half of the game, Singapore displayed a better quality of game as
the girls were in dire need of opening the score-card but India was in no
mood to give away the goals to them. Deepika created some space for
herself and successfully converted the penalty corner in the 32nd minute
advancing the lead to 5-0. This time it was Rani Rani who scored a tremendous
field goal for India
in the 35th minute of the game. The third quarter ended with a score of
6-0 with India
leading from the front.
As the Indian eves were thumping goals at regular intervals,
Singapore
was seen in constant pressure of opening their score card. The fourth and the
last quarter of the game started with an early goal in the 48th minute
where Vandana Katariya surged ahead and made a clear finish resulting in a
field goal. Jaspreet Kaur made no mistake and converted a penalty corner in the
51st minute of the game and escalating the scores to 8-0.
Very satisfied
with a huge score, Indian team displayed good coordination trying to close the
gaps by holding on to the possession of the ball. With just four minutes into
the game to end, Vandana Katariya scored two back to back goals for India in the 56th and
57th minute of the game coming in from a field effort. While the Indian defence
did not allow Singapore to
score even a single goal, India
emerged as the victors of the game and ramp it over Singapore with a 10-0 score on
boards.
Excited on the entry to the semi- finals, Hockey India 's High
Performance Director, Roelant Oltmans said, "We were confident from
the beginning about winning. We tried to defend as good as possible and the
girls demonstrated some excellent hockey skills. Every player made great
contribution and this led to the score of 10-0. I am really proud of the girls
as they are taking women hockey to a higher level."
Post winning the match, Vandana Katariya, Player of the
Match said, "It was team effort that helped me score three goals and
I need to work even harder as I missed many opportunities in the match. Pressure
will be more in the semi- finals as the teams are getting tougher now, but we
will try and deliver even better results ahead."
HI Press release
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