National Petanque Championships begin in Gaya

Gaya: The 13^thSenior and 11^th Sub-junior National Petanque Championships got off to a colourful start at Devghat (Vishnupad) here.

Organising secretary Vinay Kumar Singh welcomed the guests while Vijay Kumar felicitated them by presenting mementos. Indian Petanque Federation (IPF) president Girish Parmar, IPF general secretary Bharat Chauhan and Vinay Kumar Singh released the balloons in the air to inaugurate the tournament.

About 500 players from 20 states have been participating in the tournament.

The opening match of the tournament was played between hosts Bihar and Delhi.

Kumar Vijay re-elected AKFI joint secretary

Patna, April 23, 2017: Bihar State Kabaddi Association secretary Kumar Vijay has been re-elected as joint secretary of Amateur Kabaddi Federation of India (AKFI) in its general body meeting held in Jaipur on Sunday.

Dr Mridul Bhadoria and Dinesh Patel have been re-elected as president and secretary respectively.

Other office-bearers: KE Prabhakar (chairman, Andhra Pradesh), Subrato Mukherjee (Bengal), Kishore Patil (Maharashtra), Bhubaneswar Kalita (Assam),  Niranjan Singh -Delhi (all vice presidents), Gyaneshwar Mudiraj Kasani-Telangana (treasurer), SS Lakkad (MP), Kuldeep Gupta (J&K), A Safiullah (TN) and Rukmini B Kamath-TN (all joint secretaries).

KV Kankarbagh, Notre Dame Academy win basketball titles

Patna, April 23, 2017: Kendriya Vidyalaya, Kankarbagh, and Notre Dame Academy clinched the boys and girls titles respectively of  the Inter-School Basketball Challenge at the Patliputra Sports Complex courts here on Sunday.

In the boys' final KV Kankarbagh beat Loyola High School 23-13 while Notre Dame Academy defeated St Joseph's Convent High School 21-12 in the girls' summit clash.

Sujuki Kumar (KV) and Tanya of Notre Dame Academy won the best player of the tournament awards in their respective category.

Noted heart specialist Dr BB Bharti (Ford Hospital) and Abhihesk Kumar, deputy chief account officer-ECR, gave away the prizes. 

SSPF announces Schools India Cup 2017 in five different sports

New Delhi, April 23, 2017: SSPF today announces India’s largest grassroots school sports tournament School India Cup 2017 in 5 different sports. In its 2^nd season SSPF is all set to go ahead with three new sports such as volleyball, basketball, athletics along with cricket and football. This is for the first time that a sports competition or tournament is being organized on a national level.

As compared to the 1^st season the number of schools is participating this year is almost double with is near 4 thousand schools from different states and districts of the country.  To encourage such participation of schools and children SSPF came up with a National tournament of every sport under its National Talent Search and Nurture Program.

“We are committed to serve the nation and sports is one of the medium where we need to emphasis so as we can bring glory to the country on International sports arena,” said SSPF chairman Om Pathak.

“We are proud to announce a nationwide sports tournament Schools India Cup to be played in 5 different sports under SSPF”, he said.

Former India Football captain and SSPF National Football Council Chairman Bhaichung Bhutia is excited with this program which is designed to give exposure to the real talent at grassroots at the right time and in right manner.

In a very short span of one year, SSPF has expanded individual sports and received the honor of National Sports Promotion Organization (NSPO) by Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports. Now, Schools India Cup is the largest tournament across the country which will further add integrity to this program by opening avenues of opportunities of recognition to the participating school children in education and career

Former Indian Footballer Renedy Singh who is associated with SSPF as a secretary of SSPF National Football Council said, “Conducting such kind to structured sports tournament across the country will further strengthen the commitment of SSPF to produce more young talents who will represent India on International platform”.

The NTSN 2016-17 competitions are slated to start in two phases this year- January & April 2017. In the first phase districts which have completed 8 or more school teams have play. Rest of the districts will play in the second phase of the tournament which will be starting by the end of the April 2017 in all the above mentioned 5 sports.

Press release

Anura Rohana springs a surprise with a scorching 65, wins first title in over two years; Patna's Aman finishes T19

Pune, April 23, 2017: Sri Lankan Anura Rohana sprung a surprise on the final day of the Pune Open 2017 by setting the Poona Club Golf Course on fire with a scorching six-under-65. The fabulous effort by the seasoned campaigner fetched him his first title in two and a half years as he closed the tournament with a total of 10-under-274.

  

The second place was shared between Bengaluru’s Khalin Joshi (66) and Panchkula’s Angad Cheema (69) at eight-under-276 at the Rs. 30 lakh event.

Anura Rohana (71-68-70-65), lying tied seventh and three off the lead after the penultimate round, had a vision at the start of the final round that he would shoot a 65. As it turned out, his vision came true earning him his fourth title on the PGTI.

The 43-year-old Colombo resident’s day didn’t begin as per plan as he dropped a shot on the opening hole. What followed was a brilliant display of Anura’s all-round skills as he accumulated four birdies on the front-nine including two from 10 to 15 feet.

Rohana, who hails from the Royal Colombo Golf Club, started turning the tables on the others with a brilliant tap-in birdie on the 11th where he made an astounding recovery with his approach after a poor tee shot. Anura, the runner-up last week in Kochi, then chipped-in from 60 yards for eagle on the 15th to take the sole lead.

A bogey on the 16th didn’t deter Rohana as he notched a final birdie on the 18th to come home the winner by two strokes. Anura thus bagged the winning cheque worth Rs. 4,50,000 and moved up from eighth to fourth in the PGTI Order of Merit.

Rohana said, “I’m delighted to win after a long gap of two and a half years as my last win came in October 2014. I had been playing well of late with top-5 finishes in my last two events on the PGTI. I had my chance in Kochi last week but was unfortunate to finish second. The new putter that I started using from the Indian Open onwards last month has had a huge impact on my game. My putting is much better than last season. I’m also playing with less pressure now as I finally have a sponsor.

“This morning, I somehow thought of the number 65 as the combination for locking my suitcase. At that moment, I told myself that this might just be the number I end up shooting today. That’s exactly what happened.

“I started believing I could win, when after a duff tee shot on the 11th, I landed my approach within three feet and made birdie there. That was the turning point for me. Then of course the eagle on the 15th set up the finish for me.

“Incidentally, I qualified for the Indian tour for the first time in 2002 after playing the Qualifying School at the Poona Club Golf Course. So it’s special to win an event here.”

Khalin Joshi (68-70-72-66) produced an impressive 66, punctuated by six birdies and a bogey, on the final day, to rise from overnight tied 12th to joint second. His tied second finish ended up lifting him from third to second position in the PGTI Order of Merit.

Angad Cheema (69-68-70-69) hung on to his overnight joint second place as a result of his fourth round of 69. Cheema, playing in the leader group, was the only challenger to Rohana in the closing stages as he trailed him by just one shot at one point. However, playing at two-under through 12 holes, he could only manage pars on the last six holes that put paid to his chances.

Bengaluru’s Udayan Mane (65) shot the day’s joint best score along with champion Anura to end up in tied fourth at seven-under-277 along with rookies Viraj Madappa (68) of Kolkata and Damian Naicker (70) of South Africa.

Madappa now leads the Emerging Player of the Year race with earnings of Rs. 1,92,085.

Delhi’s Shamim Khan continued to lead the Order of Merit after posting a tied eighth finish with a total of four-under-280. As the season breaks for the summer after seven events, Shamim leads the money list with earnings of Rs. 16,01,850. Khalin Joshi is second with earnings Rs. 12,79,331.

Round three leader Mukesh Kumar of Mhow had a forgettable final round of 75 in Pune that saw him drop to tied 11th at three-under-281 at the end of the week.

Last year’s champion Harendra Gupta (71) of Chandigarh also took a share of 11thplace.

Pune-based professionals Saurabh Bhaduri and Sameer M Shaikh finished tied 42nd at eight-over-292.

Mumbai’s Anil Bajrang Mane finished tied 52nd at 12-over-296.

Patna's Aman Raj tied 19th along with three others with an aggregate score of 1 over 285. His four day cards were 72, 66, 72, 75. On the last day Aman carded 4 over 75.

Prize Presentation picture caption:

Anura Rohana receives the winning cheque and trophy from Mr. Uttam Singh Mundy, CEO, PGTI (left) and Mr. Navin Thakur, AVP - Kolte Patil Developers (right)

Mukesh Kumar storms into the lead; Bihar's Aman at T12

Mukesh Kumar

Pune, April 22, 2017: Indian golfing legend Mukesh Kumar will be staring at his second title in two weeks on the PGTI when he tees it up in the final round of the Pune Open 2017 at the Poona Club Golf Course on Sunday.

The man from Mhow, Madhya Pradesh, who won PGTI’s event in Kochi last week, stormed into the third round lead in Pune thanks to a dazzling six-under-65, the tournament’s best score so far, that moved his total to seven-under-206.  

The chasing pack consisted of South African Damian Naicker and Panchkula’s Angad Cheema, who were one shot adrift of the lead in tied second at six-under-207. While rookie Naicker posted a 67 on Saturday, Cheema came up with a round of 70.

Mukesh Kumar (72-69-65) has set himself up nicely for a come-from-behind win for the second week running. The man, who broke his own record by becoming the oldest winner on the PGTI at age 51 years and eight months in Kochi last week, produced a breathtaking 65 in Pune on Saturday to move up 13 places from overnight tied 14th.

Mukesh, trailing the leaders by four shots at the start of the day, stumbled with an early bogey on the third before turning it around with four successive birdies from the sixth to the ninth as he kept landing his approach shots within five feet of the pin.

The winner of one Asian Tour title and more than 100 domestic titles raced to the lead with three more birdies on the back-nine.

“It was one of those days when I got up feeling that I would shoot a seven-under today. I shared the thought with my caddie and he further encouraged me. I then made an unbelievable par-save from a tough spot on the first and that really got me going. The string of birdies thereafter added to my confidence.

“Importantly, it was my brother Dinesh Raghuvanshi’s advice that did wonders for me. He is from Pune and thus familiar with this course. He told me to be a little conservative off the tee and not think about hitting it long and then attack the pins with my second shot. I followed his advice and reaped the rewards,” said a confident Mukesh, who won the last PGTI event staged at the Poona Club Golf Course in November 2012.

He added, “It’s a tight course and a three to four under in round four would give me a really good shot at the title. On Sunday, I will look to play safe on the first four holes. If all goes well, I will certainly play an aggressive game thereafter. It will be a contest against the course and not any player in particular.”

Damian Naicker (69-71-67) took a huge leap from overnight tied 10th to tied second as a result of his 67 in round three. His best round of the season featured two eagles besides four birdies and four bogeys. The pro from Johannesburg sank a 12-footer for eagle on the seventh and then drove the green on the par-4 10thbefore nailing a 20-footer for his second eagle of the day.

Naicker said, “I struck it really well today after the initial bogeys and that created numerous scoring opportunities for me. Playing my first season in India has been a learning experience so far. I got to learn a lot playing alongside the seasoned Mukesh Kumar today. It was a valued lesson on how to negotiate the tough conditions here at the Poona Club Golf Course.”

Angad Cheema (69-68-70), the overnight joint leader, also kept himself in the hunt with a steady 70 despite dropping one spot. Angad eagled the seventh from 20 feet to make the turn at one-under. However, he lost his way somewhat with a double-bogey on the 11th where he found the water and made a three-putt.

Cheema finally recovered ground with two more birdies including one on the closing 18th from 25 feet.

Cheema said, “The double-bogey on the 11th took away the momentum from me. I was not at my best today and struggled a little with the ball-striking as compared to round two. But I’m glad that I’m still very much in contention.”

Delhi’s Shamim Khan (71), the joint overnight leader, shared fourth position with Greater Noida’s Sudhir Sharma (69) and Allahabad’s Samarth Dwivedi (68) at five-under-208.

Last year’s champion Harendra Gupta (68) of Chandigarh was in tied 12th place at three-under-210.

Pune’s Saurabh Bhaduri was in tied 25th at one-over-214 while the other Pune-based professional Sameer M Shaikh occupied tied 43rd place at five-over-218.

Mumbai’s Anil Bajrang Mane was also placed tied 43rd.

Patna's Aman Raj carded one over 72 to finish the day at tied 12 along with two others. Aman's score in the last three days was 3 under 210 (72, 66, 72).

Loyola face KV in boys final; Notre Dame take on St Joseph's in girls basketball challenge final

Patna, April 22, 2017: Loyola High School will take on Kendriya Vidyalaya in the boys' final of the Inter-School Basketball Challenge at the Patliputra Sports Complex court here on Sunday.

Notre Dame Academy will face St Joseph's Convent in the girls' final.

In the boys' semfinals played on Saturday, Loyola High School beat St Michael's High School 18-13 while Kendriya Vidyalaya beat Trinity Global School 18-12.

In the girls' semifnal matches, St Joseph's Convent defeated Kendriya Vidyalaya 18-10 while Notre Dame Academy beat Carmel High School 15-10.

Loyola High School, Notre Dame Academy, St Joseph's Convent win

Patna, April 21, 2017: Loyola High School, Notre Dame Academy, St Joseph's Convent, Trinity Global School, St Michael's School and Kendriya Vidyalaya won their respective matches in the Patna Basketball Challenge Inter-School Tournament at the Patliputra Sports Complex courts here on Friday.

Earlier, Professor Dr Sachchidanand Sinha inaugurated the tournament. JD(U) leader Kamakhya Singh and Bihar State Kabaddi Association secretary Kumar Vijay were present on the occasion. Basketball Association of Bihar secretary Sushil Kumar welcomed the guests.

Results (boys):  Loyola High School beat BD Public School 28-21, BD Public (first) beat BD Public (second)  16-8, Trinity Global beat Tribhuvan 18-14, St Michael's beat Don Bosco Academy 30-08, Kendriya Vidyalaya beat Loyola School 19-9.

Girls: Notre Dame Academy beat Bishop Scot 16-2 and St Josephs's Convent beat Carmels High School 14-5.

Shamim Khan, Angad Cheema are halfway leaders; Patna's Aman Raj jumps to joint third spot at Pune Open

Angad Cheema

Pune, April 21, 2017: PGTI Order of Merit leader Shamim Khan of Delhi and Panchkula’s Angad Cheema emerged halfway leaders at the Pune Open 2017 after both shot second round scores of three-under-68 at the Poona Club Golf Courseon Friday. The duo led the field by one stroke at five-under-137.

The cut was set at two-over-73 with 54 professionals making it to the money rounds.

Angad Cheema (69-68) gained four places from his overnight tied fifth place as a result of his 68 in round two. Angad, a former winner on the PGTI, didn’t have the best of starts as he dropped two strokes on the first three holes. The 27-year-old rallied with five birdies thereafter.

After a couple of good chip-putt birdies on the seventh and ninth, Cheema, drove the green on the par-4 10th to set up his third birdie of the day. Two birdie conversions from seven to 10 feet on the 13th and 14th elevated Angad to joint first. The Panchkula lad, however, missed out on taking the sole lead when he three-putted for par on the closing 18th.

  

“I’ve played really well on the first two days but on both days there’s been one stretch that has troubled me and that’s the first three holes. I bogeyed those three holes yesterday and today again I bogeyed the second and third. I really need to improve on that stretch and play it smarter there,” said the lanky Cheema.

He added, “I’ve been working on figuring out a few things with my coach. I’ve worked on my swing and my consistency. I’ve shot one good score and then not been able to repeat that effort in the following rounds in recent events. I’m now more confident when swinging a club.

“I’ve hit 14 to 15 greens in regulation on each of the first two days. I would like to continue doing the same in the next two rounds. However, I need to watch out on the first three holes.”

Shamim Khan (69-68), like Cheema, also followed up his first round 69 with a 68 on day two to move up four places to joint first. Shamim, who won the last PGTI event staged at the Poona Club Golf Course in 2012, made steady progress through the day.

He picked up two birdies on his back-nine, the second of which was from 20 feet, before adding two more on the first and seventh. The approach on the first was the highlight of his round as he landed it within a foot from a distance of 175 yards. Khan’s only blemish was the three-putt for bogey on the eighth.

Shamim, who won in Kolkata last month, said, “I’ve won here before so that will be a big psychological advantage for me going into the last two rounds. I struggled a bit yesterday since chipping was tougher in the afternoon with the greens being faster. But it was a better round today.

“I quite enjoy playing at this course as the layout and the shape of the holes suit my game. I played some terrific approach shots today that set up many scoring opportunities. It’s been a very consistent season for me so far and I would like to keep it going,” added Shamim, who has a win and four other top-5s to his credit from the six starts this season.

Patna’s Aman Raj shot the day’s joint best score of five-under-66 to share third place with Bengaluru’s Khalin Joshi (70) at four-under-138.

Viraj Madappa of Kolkata, one shot behind in tied fifth, was the other player who fired a 66 on Friday. He shared fifth place with round one leader Sudhir Sharma (72) of Greater Noida and three others at three-under-139.

The Chandigarh duo of defending champion Harendra Gupta (74) and KPS Sekhon (74) slipped from overnight tied second to tied 18th at even-par-142. Bengaluru’s Udayan Mane was also in tied 18th place.

The two Pune-based professionals who made the cut, were Saurabh Bhaduri, who was placed tied 25th at one-over-143, and Sameer M Shaikh, who was a further shot back in tied 31st. Mumbai’s Anil Bajrang Mane occupied tied 39th place at three-over-145.

Preparations on for Prime Minister Cup U-19 Football Tournament

Patna, April 21, 2017: The CAPF U-19 Football Tournament for Prime Minister Cup will be held at the Patliputra Sports Complex's outdoor stadium here from May 1 to 12.

This is a talent hunt tournament which is being organised by Sashastra Seema Bal Frontier, Patna.

Bihar Football Association secretary S Imtiaz Hussain said eight boys and as many girls teams would take part in the championships.

For making the tournament a grand success, SSB DIG Sudhir Kumar, Commandant Manoj Kumar and HVK Singh inspected the ground, indoor hall of the complex and hostel on Friday.

They have asked the complex authorities to prepare the ground and provide basic amenities in all hostel rooms.

Bihar's javelin thrower Anjani wins silver in youth athletics

Patna, April 21, 2017: Anjani Kumari of Bihar won silver medal in javelin throw event of the 14th National Youth Athletic Championships in Hyderabad on Friday. 

Anjani threw the spear to a distance of 39.19 metres to bag the silver medal. N Hemamalini of Tamil Nadu got the gold medal with a throw of 44.03 metres while Gayteri Panwar of Punjab claimed the bronze medal with a throw of 38.28 metres.

Sudhir Sharma takes pole position on day one of Pune Open; Patna's Aman Raj at T33

Sudhir Sharma

Pune, April 20, 2017: The opening round of the Pune Open 2017 was characterized by windy conditions and the resultant high scores. While Sudhir Sharma of Greater Noida took pole position courtesy a resolute four-under-67, the trio consisting of defending champion Harendra Gupta of Chandigarh, Bengalurean Khalin Joshi and KPS Sekhon, another Chandigarh golfer, were in tied second at three-under-68.

Sudhir Sharma, who was also the joint first round leader at last week’s PGTI event in Kochi, put in a great effort to negotiate the tough conditions at the Poona Club Golf Course on Thursday. Sudhir, a two-time winner on the PGTI Feeder Tour, began the week with a splendid up and down for a par-save on the first.

The 29-year-old, working on returning to his old swing after a year’s gap, struck it well on the front-nine to set up some short birdie putts, including four from within five feet. After making the turn at four-under, he had a quieter back-nine which featured a birdie and a bogey each. His longest putt of the day was the 22-feet birdie conversion on the 15^th.

Sharma said, “It’s the kind of start I was looking for. I started well last week as well but slipped towards the end of the tournament after some poor hitting. My driving was good today and I hit it pretty close on a number of occasions thus negating the tough scoring conditions.

“However, it was a little disappointing to miss some birdie opportunities towards the close of the round. I missed out from 10 feet and less on the last three holes. It’s all about confidence now. Playing one shot at a time and focusing hard will be the key now,” added Sudhir, who slipped from joint first in round one to tied 23^rd in round four at last week’s event in Kochi.

Title holder Harendra Gupta made a promising start with a three-under-68 to take a share of second place. Gupta pulled off a magical recovery for birdie on the opening hole where he had a blind second shot from the adjoining fairway. He managed to land that 17 feet from the pin thanks to a low hook and converted the putt.

Three more birdies and a bogey followed for Harendra who is playing the 2017 season with a new set of irons.

Gupta said, “I played the first five holes really well but then there was a flurry of missed opportunities. So it was a kind of mixed day for me. The superb recovery on the first hole was crucial. Had that second shot gone wrong, I could’ve been in deep trouble and may have ended up with an over-par score. It’s now about building on the decent start.”

KPS Sekhon made an astonishing recovery despite an early triple bogey on the 11^th, his second hole of the day, where he had found the hazard, to post a 68. He was at two-over through 13 holes when he came up with a dream run of five straight birdies to end up with an impressive three-under.

“My putter was on fire from the fifth hole onwards as I made two consecutive 10-feet conversions. I just rode on the momentum after those putts fell in.

“I had not been putting well before this event since I was putting too much pressure on myself on the greens by thinking about the results. But today I focused on just stroking it well and didn’t really think about the results. I was more relaxed and process-oriented today rather than being result-oriented. That helped my performance,” said the 41-year-old Sekhon.

Khalin Joshi shot four birdies and a bogey to also share the second spot along with Gupta and Sekhon at three-under-68.

PGTI Order of Merit leader Shamim Khan of Delhi was bunched together with seven other golfers in tied fifth at two-under-69.

Maharashtra-based golfers, Gurki Shergill of Pune and Mumbai’s Anil Bajrang Mane were both in tied 22^nd at even-par-71.

Patna's Aman Raj was placed tied 33rd along with 10 others with a score of at par.

PGTI release

Inter-School basketball Challenge from today

Patna: Buddha Sports Academy will organise inter-school basketball challenge for boys and girls at Patliputra Sports Complex courts from Friday.

10 boys and  six girls teams are taking part in the tournament which will be inaugurated by professor Sachchidanand Sinha, former scientific officer, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre. Bihar State Kabaddi Association secretary Kumar Vijay will be the guest of honour in the opening function.

The final of the tournament will be held on April 23.

Selection trials for Patna U-19 football team on April 22

Patna: Selection trials-cum-coaching camp of Patna team for Prime Minister Cup U-19 Football Tournament will be held at Patna College ground on April 22 from 7 am.

The tournament is slated to be kicked off from May 1.

Players born on or after January 1, 1999, can take part in the trials, according to Bihar Football Association secretary S Imtiaz Hussain. 

He said players would have to bring their Aadhar cards for verification of their age.

He said former Santosh Trophy players Suryakant, Asgar Ali and Anwar Hussain would be the conveners of the camp.

Players take out Aakrosh march for government jobs

Patna, April 19, 2017: Hundreds of players took out protest march (Aakrosh march) to draw the attention of the government on the lackadaisical attitude of the general administration department for not releasing the list of selected players for government jobs.

The state government had launched a scheme a few years ago to provide jobs to medal winners and talented players in different government departments.

The scheme had worked for two years and after that players did not get appointments despite applying for the job.

Players under the banner of Bihar Players Association (BPA) took out procession from Patliputra Sports Complex and the rally culminated into a meeting at the Moinul Haq Stadium. 

BPA president Mritunjay Tiwari alleged that the Bihar government's general administration department officials had thrown the scheme in to a cold bag.

He alleged that the general administration department recently held meeting with players' representatives but nothing positive came out from the meeting.

He said BPA would soon chalk out further action plan to press for the genuine demands of the players.

Bihar move into junior hockey semifinals

Rohit Pathak

Patna, April 19, 2017: Hockey Bihar tamed Hockey Bengaluru 5-4 via sudden death to move into the semifianls of the 7th Junior National Hockey Championships in Bhopal on Wednesday.

The game rose to a great height as both the teams displayed brilliant hockey throughout the match. The match ended goalless in the first half.

Gulshan Ekka put Bihar into the lead in the 57th minute while P Rao equalised it in the 62nd minute 1-1.

When the match failed to produce result in the regulation time, penalty strokes rule was applied. But incidentally both the teams struck three goals each.

Later in the sudden death Bihar scored the match winner,

For Bihar Tipu Ali scored two goals, Gulshan Ekka and Anwarul Shah netted one each.

The kudos to Bihar victory, however, went to custodian Rohit Pathak who saved 4 goals in the penalty strokes.

In the semifinals, Bihar will take on Punjab and Sindh Bank.

Bihar youth athletics team leaves for Hyderabad

Patna, April 18, 2017: Bihar team for the 14th National Youth Athletics Championships left for Hyderabad on Tuesday to participate in the championships to be held there from April 21 to 23.

Team (girls) Antima Kumari, Sweety Kumari, Nikita Kumari, Anjani Kumari, Anita Kumari.

Boys: Ankit Mishra, Pruoshottam, Suadama Kumar Yadav, Abhishek Kumar, Aahuti Ranjan, Krishna Kumar, Sanjeet Kumar, Mohit Kumar, Ravi Prakash, Abhinay Kumar, Rajesh Kumar, Anand Singh, Shibu Shahi, Prince Verma, Kundan Kumar Singh, Md Murshid Khan, Upendra Kumar Yadav.

Dilip Kumar , Sanjay Rai (coaches) and Mukesh Kumar Singh (manager).

Pune Open golf returns for second edition

Pune, April 18, 2017: The Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI), the official sanctioning body of professional golf in India, will be staging the second edition of the Pune Open at the prestigious Poona Club Golf Course from April 20 – 23, 2017. The Pune Open, the seventh event of the PGTI’s 2017 season, carries a prize purse of Rs. 30 lakh. The Pro-Am event is scheduled for April 19.

  

The Associate Partners for the event are 24K by Kolte Patil, LIC, Pirelli, Bank of Maharashtra and Websym. Hotel Crowne Plaza Pune City Centre is the Official Hotel Partner.

  

The tournament will see some of India’s leading professionals in action such as defending champion Harendra Gupta, Shankar Das, Mukesh Kumar, Honey Baisoya, Udayan Mane, Shamim Khan, Ajeetesh Sandhu and Khalin Joshi, to name a few.

  

The foreign challenge will be led by the Sri Lankan trio of Anura Rohana, N Thangaraja and K Prabagaran, Australia’s Kunal Bhasin and South African Damian Naicker.

  

The host city of Pune will be represented by Gurki Shergill (winner of 8th TATA Open 2009), Pravin Pathare, Sameer M Shaikh, Rajiv Datar and Sagar Raghuvanshi.

 This is a 72-hole stroke-play tournament featuring a field of 125 professionals. The cut will be applied after the first 36 holes. The top 50 players and ties will make the halfway cut and continue to play for another 36 holes.

  

Mr. Uttam Singh Mundy, CEO, PGTI, said, “The city of Pune has produced some promising golfing talent over the years. The second edition of the Pune Open will help generate greater interest for professional golf in the city and act as a catalyst for players from the region to realize their full potential. We thank the Poona Club Golf Course for partnering with us in staging the Pune Open and look forward to a successful tournament.”

Mr. Navin Thakur, AVP-Marketing, Kolte-Patil Developers Ltd, said, “We are happy to associate with PGTI for Pune Open Golf Championship. We look at this tie up more than a sponsorship, for us this is a collaboration to boost golf as a sport. 24K, a luxury brand from Kolte-Patil that develops high end projects, has introduced the 9 hole golf putting green in 24K Opula which is under construction basis the learning from the customer interests from earlier delivered project. With the profile of people who choose 24K as a abode, we have to set high standards, these are reflected in our 24K properties through the quality of construction, our value added services and just about every aspect. With this collaboration we aim to boost golf as an emerging sport in India.”

The Poona Club Golf Course, the venue for the event, is spread over 100 acres and dotted with majestic banyan trees and other flowering trees. The course, which is one of the top championship venues in the country, is well appreciated for its water bodies and fast and true greens. The course has staged many National level professional, amateur and junior events over the years.

Photo caption: Mr. Uttam Singh Mundy, CEO, PGTI (centre), speaks at the Pune Open 2017 press conference. The other gentlemen at the head table are (left to right) professional golfer Mr. Udayan Mane, Mr. Santosh Datta, Chairman, Tournament Committee, Poona Club Golf Course, Mr. Narotam Chowdhary, Golf Captain, Poona Club and professional golfer and defending champion Mr. Harendra Gupta.

PGTI release

5-day AIFF D License course ends

Patna, April 17, 2017: All India Football Federation (AIFF) D License course organised by Bihar Football Association (BFA) ended with 20 players appearing in written and practical examinations here on Monday.

This was the first such type of course organised by the BFA this season. 

Seventeen men and 3 women footballers participated in the five-day course.

Written test of the trainees was conducted at the Youth Hostel while practical was held at New Police Lines ground.

AIFF instructor Abhay Kumar gave the basic knowledge of coaching rules to the trainees while referee Ravi Kumar took the the theory class on football rules. Santosh Trophy goalkeeper Sudipto Majumdar shared his experience on goal keeping with the trainees.

BFA secretary Imtiaz Hussain said the results of the this D License course and the course that held earlier this year, would be declared soon.

He said BFA would organise 15-day Asian Football Confederation (AFC) C Level football coaches course in Patna from July 5.

Junior football selection trials

Hussain further said that the selection trials-cum-coaching camp of Bihar team for the Junior National Football Championships to be held in Chhattisgarh from April 27, will be held in Gidhaur (Jamui) from April 19.

Nand Kishore Prasad, in-charge SAI Centre, Gidhaur, has been made in-charge of the training. Santosh Kumar of AG Office Patna has been named as coach, he added.

Bihar players to take out Aakrosh march on April 19

Patna, April 16, 2017: Feeling dejected by the general administration department's dilly dally attitude to provide jobs to talented players under state government's sports quota scheme, players drawn from different disciplines will take out Aakrosh march under the banner of Bihar Players Association (BPA) on April 19.

BPA president Mritunjay Tiwari said the meeting with general administration department on April 12 had failed to break dead lock.

"We have left no other choice except to start agitation again", he said.

He said BPA has convened a meeting on April 20 to chart out further course of action.

8-member Bihar team for Gymkhana Classic Squash

Patna, April 16, 2017: Bihar State Squash Racket Association on Sunday announced the state teams for Gymkhana Classic Championships to be held in New Delhi from April 20 to 25.

Team (men): Shyam Kumar Jha, Aditya Raj.

U-17 (boys): Prakash Kumar.

Women: Sunny Mehta, Soni Kumari, Manisha, Puja Dubey and Puja Kumari.

Coach: Avinash Kumar

Bihar prove too good for Madhya Pradesh

Hockey Bihar team

Patna, April 16, 2017: Bihar thrashed Hockey Madhya Pradesh 5-2 in 7^th Hockey India Junior National Men’s Hockey Champioship in Bhopal on Sunday.

Bihar team was leading 3-0 in the first half.

Md Sidik put Bihar into the lead in the 17^th minute. He scored another goal in the 27^th minute to make it 2-0.

Turtan Minz struck in the 31^st minute to take the tally to 3-0.

After the breather, Md Sidik found the target again in the 38th minute to increase the lead to 4-0. Gulsahn Ekka fired the 5^th goal in the 48^th minute to complete the tally 5-0.

Earlier on Friday, the tournament (men's B division) kicked off at the Aisbagh Stadium (Bhopal), with a flurry of goals marking the beginning of the championships. 

The first action of the day came with Hockey Bihar beating Hockey Andaman & Nicobar 26-0 in their Pool E encounter. Hockey Bihar started the scoring early, Anwarullah Shah striking the first in the third minute. Shah would go on to score five times in the game (3’, 10’, 39’, 50’, 67’) and was ably assited in the scoring by their captain Md. Sidik’s six goals (19’, 23’, 29’, 51’, 55’, 57’).

In the other early game, Kerala Hockey outlasted Hockey Mizoram 2-1 in a closely fought Pool A encounter. Hockey Mizoram struck first with a 19th minute field goal from Lallawmkima. Just before half time though Kerala got an equaliser courtesy of an M Abhijith PC conversion. Both the teams were evenly matched in the second half, with neither able to break the deadlock. It took till the 57th minute for Kerala to sneak the winner, Christo Sebastian scoring off a PC to give them the victory.

Hockey Patiala beat Tripura Hockey 18-0 in their Pool F encounter. Patiala’s Rahul (13’, 36’, 53’), Baljeet Singh (50’, 60’), Gurshahzad Singh (8’, 43’) and Sandeep Kumar (4’, 51’) were prominent among the scorers.

In another high-scoring encounter, Services Sports Control Board got the better of  Telangana Hockey 12-2. Kuldeep’s five goals (24′, 32′, 33′, 56′, 64’) and H Mani Singh’s three (3’, 18’, 21’) gave SSCB the emphatic win.

The Pool H game between Assam Hockey and Sports Authority of Gujarat – Hockey Academy ended in a 2-2 draw.

Bihar volleyball teams for Junior National announced

Patna, April 15, 2017: Bihar teams for the 43rd Junior National Volleyball Championships to be held in Ernakulam from April 18 to 25, have been announced here on Saturday.

Bihar Volleyball Association secretary Ramashish Prasad Singh said Shivesh Kumar would the manager while Rajesh Kumar would be the coach of the girls' team.

Teams (boys): Ankit, Abhishek, Sunny, Pawan, Ramashankar, Rohit, Sandesh, Sameer, Nitish, Gaurav, Ram Kumar, Pushpit Pallav. Vikash Kumar Singh (manager) and Surendra Choudhary (coach).

Girls: Babli, Riya Kumari, Vinita, Supriya, Tetri Kumari, Goldy, Deepa Bharti, Beauty, Pinki, Julie, Koma; Kumari and Ojaswini Kumari.

Photo: Aftab Alam Siddiqui

Players felicitated with Baldev Sahay awards

Patna, April 15, 2017: Players and sports promoters of the state capital were awarded with Baldev Sahay Sports Awards at a function held at Social Club, Kadam Kuan, here on Saturday.

Justice (retired) Uday Sinha, Bihar Lawn Tennis Association (BLTA) president Dr AB Prasad, Dr SB Pandey, Md Khurshid Alam and Rameshwar Dayal were present on the occasion. Professor Yuvraj Dev Prasad presided over the function.

Awardees: Panna Lal (football), Suraj narayan Lall and Ashish Sinha (cricket), Surendra Sinha (bridge), Sofia Khan and Mallika Ambasta (tennis), Kunal Aikat (tennis coach) and Neeraj Kumar Pappu (sports promoter).

The Kadam Kuan Social Club also celebrated its 83rd foundation day on Saturday.

Photo: Aftab Alam Siddiqui  

Mukesh Kumar’s class act helps him bag his second title; Patna's Aman Raj finished tied 10th

Kochi, April 15, 2017: Indian golfing giant Mukesh Kumar of Mhow produced a class act, a bogey-free five-under-67, in the final round of the PGTI Cochin Masters presented by CIAL Golf Club, to come home the victor by one shot at 12-under-276.

Mukesh thus gave his preparations for next week’s Panasonic Open in Japan a major boost. It was a record 19th PGTI win for Mukesh and his second in Kochi after 2015.

Sri Lankan Anura Rohana claimed the runner-up spot at 11-under-277 after his final round of two-under-70 at the Rs. 40 lakh event.

Mukesh Kumar (70-68-71-67), lying overnight tied third and two off the lead, made a determined start with two birdies on the first six holes followed by an astonishing par-save on the seventh where he recovered from the water hazard and sank a 20-footer.

Mukesh began closing the gap with leader Rohana on the back-nine. He landed his approach shots within two feet on both the 10th and 13th to make birdies and thus take a share of the lead. Kumar went ahead when Anura dropped a bogey on the 14th.

The winner of over 120 titles finally sealed it with a birdie on the 16th followed by an excellent par-save from over the green on the par-3 17th. Mukesh’s 67 also happened to be the day’s best score.

Mukesh, also a winner on the Asian Tour, said, “I was quite confident from the start of the round. I knew I play better when I’m not in the leader group as the pressure is less and one doesn’t think too much about the leaderboard.

“When I landed it in the water hazard on the seventh but still managed to save par from 20 feet, I knew it could be my day. After making birdie on the 13th I realized that I was tied for the lead with Anura. That spurred me on as I attacked the pins and went on to make another birdie on the 16th.

“I’ve really enjoyed playing here at the CIAL Golf Club. I was quite upset at missing the cut last year after winning in 2015. I was therefore eager to win this year. This win will now encourage me to raise my game further at next week’s Panasonic Open in Japan which is an Asian Tour and Japan Golf Tour co-sanctioned event,” said Mukesh, who won his last title at the Asian Tour’s Panasonic Open India in Delhi in December.

Mukesh, who took home the winner’s cheque worth Rs. 6 lakh, has now climbed from 11th to fourth position in the PGTI Order of Merit. Mukesh, who is currently 51 years and eight months of age, also broke his own record of being the oldest player to win on the PGTI. He set the record with his last win on the PGTI in October 2016 when he was 51 years and two months old.  

Anura Rohana (70-70-67-70), the overnight joint leader, slipped to second place on Saturday after shooting a 70 that featured four birdies and two bogeys. Rohana was looking good at three-under after the first eight holes but then dropped bogeys on the ninth and 14th to concede the lead to Mukesh.

The turning point of the day was probably when Anura’s bunker shot just stopped at the lip of the hole on the 16th and thus denied him a crucial eagle for a share of the lead. He couldn’t catch up with Mukesh thereafter.

Chandigarh’s Harendra Gupta, the other overnight joint leader, ended the week in third place at nine-under-279 after his final round of 72.

Om Prakash Chouhan (68) of Mhow clinched fourth place at seven-under-281.

Last year’s champion Feroz Ali Mollah (73) of Kolkata finished tied 23rd at two-over-290.

Patna's Aman Raj carded one over 73 on the fourth day aggregating 2 under 286 to finish tied 10th on the leader board along with 3 others.

Prize Presentation picture caption:

Mukesh Kumar receives the trophy and cheque from Mr. V J Kurian, IAS, MD, CIAL. Also seen in the picture are (left to right) Mr. Michael Lestourgeon, Associate Director of Sales, Courtyard by Marriott, Kochi Airport, Mr. Joseph Peter, DGM - Commercial, CIAL, Mr. Sunil Chacko, CFO, CIAL, Mr. A M Shabeer, Executive Director, CIAL, Mr. Uttam Singh Mundy, CEO, PGTI, Mr. Sabu Thomas, Administrative Officer, CIAL Golf Club, Maj. Gen K J Koshi, AVSM, Advisor - CIAL Golf Club 

Sharath’s efforts come to naught in Asian TT

New Delhi, April 15: A. Sharath Kamal, the last Indian in fray, bowed out in the pre-quarterfinals to end India’s campaign at the ongoing Seamaster 2017 Asian Championships at Wuxi today.

The Indian lost to Lam Siu Hang of Hong Kong 2-3 (6-11, 11-9, 9-11, 14-12, 10-12) after waging a spirited fight.

Though Sharath began on a bad note losing rather quickly his first game, the Indian made amends and came back strongly against the Hong Kong paddler, who exacted revenge in a similar fashion winning the third game with minimal points to go 2-1 up.

A more determined Sharath was attacking well on his backhand and almost cornered his opponent by saving two match matches to level the score 2-1. Rattled as he was the Hong Kong paddler kept a slender lead in the decider and in spite of Sharath managing to deuce at 10-10, Lam took the next two crucial points, one each on his own serve and once breaking Sharath’s to enter the quarterfinals.

TTFI release

Siwan girls clinch Bihar State Women’s Football crown

Patna, April 14, 2017: Siwan clinched the 11^th Bihar State Women's Football Championship for S Ejaz Hussain Cup defeating West Champaran through an extra time goal 1-0 in Begusarai on Friday.

Amrita Kumar scored the match winner in the 4^th minute of the extra time after both the teams locked goalless in the regulation period.

The match began in fast pace as both teams were seen looking for opportunity to open the account. Both the teams applied their best in the first half utilizing their wings but the elusive goal eluded them. The first half ended 0-0

The second half too saw impressive football from both the teams. Siwan had some upper hand but their forwards failed to convert some opportunities into goal.

After the barren second half, 10-10 minutes extra time rule came into force. Amrita Kumar latched onto ball near the West Champaran post and shot it perfectly into the rival goal to make it 1-0.

The later part of the match saw West Champaran girls striving hard to score the equaliser but that went in vain.

Begusarai district magistrate Md Naushad Yusuf, Begusarai Superintendent of Police Ranjeet Kumar Mishra, Bihar Olympic Association and Hockey Bihar secretary Mushtaque Ahmad, Bihar Football Association secretary Imtiaz Hussain and other officials witnessed the final match and later gave away the prizes.

Begusarai team got the fair play trophy.

Referees: Md.Ashfaq Alam, Madhu Kumari, Roshan Gupta and Niraj Kasishap

Anura Rohana’s 67 catapults him to joint first with Harendra; Patna's Aman Raj at T6

Anura Rohana of Sri Lanka

Kochi, April 14, 2017: While overnight leader Harendra Gupta of Chandigarh hung on to the lead with a quiet 72 on day three, he was joined at the top by Sri Lankan Anura Rohana who carded a splendid 67 that catapulted him four places from his overnight tied fifth position. The duo was two shots clear of the rest at nine-under-207.

The chasing pack featured Delhi’s Honey Baisoya, who followed up his second round 67 with an equally impressive 68 on Friday, and Mukesh Kumar of Mhow, the 2015 champion, who returned a 71 in round three. Baisoya and Mukesh shared third place at seven-under-209.

The seasoned Anura Rohana (70-70-67), lying tied fifth at the halfway stage, bridged the gap of five shots between himself and the leader with his awesome five-under-67 in the third round. The 43-year-old from Colombo, keen to end his two and a half year title drought, made some long birdie conversions on the fifth and sixth which were neutralized by bogeys on the seventh and ninth.  

However, his round took flight on the back-nine. Anura first birdied the 10th from 10 feet and then followed that up with an incredible run of birdies on the last four holes. He struck it well on the 15th and 16th, to pick up strokes on both the par-5s and move to three-under for the day. The three-time winner on the PGTI finally ended the day in a blaze of glory with two more birdie conversions from eight to 10 feet on the 17th and 18th.

Rohana said, “The low score came just at the right time for me. I’ve been feeling good about my putting since the event in Chittagong earlier this month where I finished in the top-5. Today I converted five birdie putts from a range of eight to 15 feet. My approach shots were also quite accurate. I kept landing them close to set up birdie putts.

“I hold the record for the lowest score at this course, an eight-under-64, which I shot during the 2015 PGTI Cochin Masters. I’ve had that at the back of my mind all week. I know I can shoot low scores here and that has been encouraging me to play well.

“I kept missing birdie putts from within 10 feet from the 11th to the 14th but I didn’t let that affect me as I came back well with a fantastic run of four successive birdies at the end. It’s now going to be a fascinating contest with Harendra who came from behind to beat me in Pune exactly one year back.”  

Harendra Gupta (70-65-72) was looking good when he moved to two-under for the day after a brilliant bunker shot on the sixth that left him a tap-in birdie. But a wrong club selection that resulted in a bogey on the seventh changed the course of his round. Gupta, the overnight leader by three, could not conjure any more birdies from there on. In fact, he went on to drop another shot on the 14th.

     

Harendra said, “My driving and tee shots were not as good compared to the second round. I found the hazard a couple of times today. I feel the bogey on the seventh took away the momentum from me as I kept thinking about it through the round.

“However, I’m still very much in contention and a score of four to five-under in the final round would give me a good chance of winning.”

Three-time winner Honey Baisoya produced a flawless 68 to move up from overnight 11th to tied third. He was joined by veteran Mukesh Kumar in joint third. Mukesh had four birdies, a bogey and a double-bogey during his round of 71 on Friday.

Delhi-based Shivendra Singh Sisodia (73) was in fifth place at five-under-211.

Rookie golfer Tapendra Ghai of Gurgaon produced the day’s best score of five-under-66 to be placed tied ninth at two-under-214.

Defending champion Feroz Ali Mollah (73) of Kolkata closed round three in tied 23rdplace at one-over-217.

The third day of the tournament was not so good for Patna's Aman Raj as he scored one over 73 to be placed joint sixth along with Raju Ali Mollar and Om Prakash Chouhan. Raj's total score was 3 under 213.