Loyola girls reign supreme in BB Yadav TT

Patna: Loyola High School won the girls’ team event title of the BB Yadav Memorial Inter-School Table Tennis Tournament defeating DAV School (Board Colony) 3-2 in a pulsating final at Bihar Young Men's Institute hall here on Saturday.

In the boys' section, St Xavier's School "A", DAV Board Colony "B", St Michael's School "A" and DAB Board Colony "A" cruised into the team event semifinals'

Singles matches also began today as in the sub-junior boys' section, Mohit, Shivam Puskar, Siddarth, Sagar. Vidhan, Priyanshu, Raj Chakraborty amd Mehul Kumar moved into the second round winning their respective first round matches. 

Earlier, in the girls’ team semifinals, DAV Board Colony beat Litera Valley 3-0 and Loyola High School "A" beat St Michael's School 3-0.

St Xavier's School 'A' in BB Yadav TT quarterfinals

Patna: St Xavier's School "A" team entered the quarterfinals of the boys' team event of the BB Yadav Memorial Inter-School Table Tennis Tournament at the Bihar Young Men's Institute Hall here on Friday.

In girls' section DAV School (Electricity Board Colony) occupied their place in the semifinals.

Earlier, Bihar Table Tennis Association (BTTA) vice president KM Sinha inaugurated the tournament. Organising secretary Tarun Kumar, former state champion Somnath Roy and Raj Kumar Singh were present on the occasion.

In boys’ section, St Xavier's School  beat St Michael's School 3-0 (Adil Ibrahim beat Raj Shekhar 11-7, 11-5, 11-7, Kumar Aayush beat Hajma 11-9, 13-11, 11-7 while the pair of Adil and Vikas beat the pair of Sagar and Hajma 11-6, 11-6, 11-7).

In girls' section team event, DAV beat Loyola High School B 3-0 (S Priya beat Rashmi Rathi 8-11, 11-2, 8-11, 11-5, 11-4, Twinkle beat Komal 11-4, 11-1, 11-5 and Twinkle and A Priya beat Rashmi and Srishti 11-5, 11-6, 11-5).

Other results (girls): Litera Valley beat Krishna Niketan 3-2, Loyola School "A" beat Litera Valley 3-2

Boys: St Xavier's beat St Michael's 3-0, St Xavier's beat Litera Valley 3-0 and St Michael's beat Litera Valley 3-0.

Coal India-SAI National TT Academy MoU signed

New Delhi, May 4: Taking yet another positive step, the Sports Authority of India (SAI), signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Coal India Limited (CIL) and the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) for an ultramodern all-encompassing academy, to be set up in Kolkata.

The MoU is initially for a period eight years and could be extended on mutual agreement of the parties concerned and it was signed by Roque Dias, Executive Director (Special Project Cell), S.N. Singh, General Manager CIL and Dushyant Chautala, MP and president of TTFI at Shastri Bhavan on Tuesday in the presence of Injeti Srinivas, Secretary Sports and SAI Director General, Suthirtha Bhattacharya, CIL Chairman-cum-Managing Director and M.P. Singh, Secretary General of TTFI.

Named Coal India-SAI National Table Tennis Academy, it will start functioning from Kolkata’s Salt Lake Stadium premises of SAI, with Coal India pumping in over Rs. 7 crore towards constructing a training centre that can accommodate 24 tables and house 48 residential trainees, all in the age group of 10-14 years. But come August, the academy will be able to induct 24 residential trainees before gradually increasing its capacity to 48, according to the MoU.

SAI, on its part, will provide adequate space within its Netaji Subhas Eastern Centre at Salt Lake to construct the training centre with all modern facilities, besides appointing support staff, coaches, making available a complete scientific support, flooring, etc. 

Under the MoU, SAI is expected to meet the obligation of appointing two officials, seven coaches, a two-member staff and eight sparring partners, including some from abroad. The space provided for hostel at its premises will be large enough to comfortably accommodate 50 trainees with separate floors for boys and girls.  

CIL, on the other hand, will support the cause financially under CSR and take care of all capital expenditure and sports equipment and other operating costs for the initial period of three years which is extendable.

“We have been funding various other sports projects under CSR. We are happy to be associated in this academy, which is will be one of its kind in India,” said CIL’s Singh after signing the MoU.

It will be TTFI’s duty to provide all technical assistances, including helping in talent scouting, establishing periodical tie-ups with international coaches and granting affiliation to the academy in order to help its trainees participate in all national ranking championships under the Academy banner. 

This, in turn, will mean that the academy boys are eligible for international exposure as and when selected.

“All parameters to check the quality of coaches and experts and periodical review of trainees will be in place,” said TTFI president Dushyant Chautala.

Since the academy is residential in nature, it will provide for schooling of all its trainees, possibly adopting the open school method with provisions to monitor and supervise the academic progress of trainees on a regular basis.

“As per SAI policy, our idea is to promote all Olympic disciplines because we want a steady stream of international quality players. So table tennis has very good potential and this academy will be one such hub to produce quality players, We also arrange national and international workshops, seminars for trainees, coaches and technical officials to update their knowledge,” said the SAI Executive Director.

Picture caption: 

Sports Secretary Injeti Srinivas, TTFI President Dushyant Chautala and S.N. Singh of CIL afer signing the MoU at Shastri Bhavan as TTFI Secretary  General M.P. Singh and CIL chairman Suthirtha Bhattacharyna look on.

 TTFI release

Harmeet breaks into double-digit world ranking

New Delhi, May 3: Harmeet Desai joined the select band of Indians to break the barrier of three-digit world ranking mark to be at No. 95. A. Sharath Kamal and Soumyajit Ghosh are the other two men paddlers who had their places sealed long back with their consistent performances. Incidentally, this is the first time ever that three Indians figure in under-100 world ranking.

With his sterling presentation at the Wuxi Asian Championships, both in team events as well as in singles, Harmeet moved five places ahead after being at No. 100 on the men’s ranking list.

Sharath, who is still the top-ranked Indian at No. 54, has lost a place—he was No. 53—while Ghosh, despite his title winning performance at the Chile Open on Sunday, has made a small jump ahead, moving to No. 83 from No. 84.

But the worst sufferer is Manika Batra who, from world No. 93, has been pushed to No. 103. The other women paddlers have done nothing worthwhile to move up the ladder.

In Youth Boys, Arjun Ghosh has moved several places to break the 100-mark barrier as he is ranked No. 98 in the world. Manav Thakkar, Abhishek Yadav, Ronit Bhanja, Anirban Ghosh, Siddesh Pande, Jeet Chandra, Birdie Boro and Manush Shah have gained in world rankings but none matching the performance of Arjun Ghosh.

In Youth Girls, Ayhika Mukherjee has improved upon her world rankings by going up two places from No. 37 to No. 35, along with Moumita Datta (No. 147), Seleena Depthi (No. 177) and Diya Chitale (No. 209). Surprisingly, Archana Kamath has lost a few places from No. 56 to be No. 59.

In Junior Boys, Manav Thakkar has made big amends to figure at No. 29 while Manush Shah at 115,  identical gain of 10 places for both players.

In Junior Girls, Archana is now among the top 20 in the world, a good two-spot jump, following India’s performance at the Belgium Open in Spa last month. Along with her, Moumita Datta who helped the team win gold, has gained 18 places and is currently at No. 79. Others who have gained from the Spa championships were Selena Deepthi (No. 93) and Diya Chitale (No. 116). The girl from Maharashtra was languishing at No. 147 until the May list was published.

For the first time, both H. Jeho and Payas Jain in under-15 boys’ section and Anusha Kutamble and Vanshika Bhargava in under-15 girls category have entered the world ranking list while Diya, who was the lone Indian at No. 26, has gained three spots to be at No. 23.

TTFI release

 

Patna junior basketball teams announced

Patna: Patna District Basketball Association on Tuesday announced its junior boys and girls’ teams for the state championships. A coaching camp for the selected players will begin from May 10 at Patliputra Sports Complex basketball courts.

Boys: Raunak, Chandan, Rahul Kr, Rahul Kr Sahni, Shashi Bhushan, Mahipal, Mannu Singh, Abhijeet Kr Singh, Ronit, Vikash Kumar, Suzuki Kr, Rajwendra Kr, Pratik Kumar, Nishant Kr, Ashim Banerjee

Girls: Nisha kri, Deep Jyoti, Aditi Kri , Sriyesh Chauhan, Shilpa, Anjana Kri, Kajal, Vhanshika,  Mallika, Aliba, Tasnim, Shifali, Tanya, Harshi Sharma and Sarika

Ghosh wins Chile Open singles gold; takes doubles gold with Amalraj

New Delhi, May 1:  Top-seeded Soumyajit Ghosh added silverware to his collection of honours when he beat compatriot Anthony Amalraj 4-2 (8-11, 13-11, 11-6, 11-9, 4-11, 11-7) in the men’s singles final at the Seamaster 2017 ITTF Challenge Chile Open in Santiago last night.

This success for Ghosh has meant that he became the third Indian to win a men’s singles title at an ITTF Challenge Series or ITTF World Tour tournament while Amalraj became the fourth Indian to reach such a final.

Sharath Kamal was runner-up in 2007 at New Delhi, losing to Singapore’s Gao Ning in the final; three years the top-ranked Indian in the world had won in Egypt overcoming Hong Kong’s Li Ching in the title c lash. At the 2016 ITTF World Tour Belgian Open, G. Sathiyan struck gold in de Haan when he accounted for host nation’s Cédric Nuythinck to claim the top prize.

In fact, the No.3 seed Amalraj made a better start to the final proceedings winning the opening game but lost a close second which helped the momentum swung towards his adversary. Undoubtedly the second game was crucial. But Amalraj had another chance coming his way in the fourth which, like the second, he could have turned to his advantage.

But, when trailing 8-9 in the fourth, Amalraj opted for time-out and even managed to win the next point to level score only to let the opportunity slip by. Yet to Amalraj’s credit, he won the fifth game being the more consistent player but in the sixth Ghosh emerged on top, all guns blazing.

Attacking quickly from the backhand and staying close to the table, Ghosh won the opening four points. Amalraj secured the next two. Soon confusion followed and Ghosh, who was awarded the next point, advised the umpire that the ball had hit his shirt and in true sporting spirit.  With the score at 4-3 in favour of Ghosh, a determined Amalraj attacked well to recover and level 7-all. But that was all he could do as the next four points went Ghosh’s way and with that the title was secured.

“I had to start the sixth game aggressively because I kept thinking about my first big international title. It was hard to win against Amalraj. It took some time to adapt to the ball, harder than the one we used before enabling more power but less spin,” said Ghosh

“Now I’m the third to win such a tournament. I’m really happy. But being the top seed, I felt the pressure all though,” added a beaming Ghosh.

FIRST DOUBLES GOLD

Earlier, both the Anthony Amalraj and Soumyajit Ghosh combined brilliantly to win the men’s doubles title at the Santiago event, when the Indian duo accounted for the Bulgarian combine of Philipp Floritz and Romania’s Hunor Szocs 4-0 (13-11, 10-12, 14-12, 11-9).

As anticipated, all four games were close but arguably the third proved to be the most vital as it gave the Indians the cutting edge advantage in the contest.

In the fourth game, with the India pair leading 3-0, Floritz signalled for time out and the Europeans gained to some extent when they levelled 7-7 with the next four points being shared. At 10-9, it was match point to Amalraj and an opportunity for Ghosh to shut the shop. And, luckily, a forehand from Floritz flew long and the Indians rejoiced.

It is pertinent to note that for the first time India had won a men’s doubles title on either the ITTF Challenge Series or ITTF World Tour.“This is big for us. It’s the first time we have won such a title and a first for India, too,” said an elated Ghosh.

Twice before, on the ITTF World Tour at Indore in 2009, Sharath Kamal and Subhajit Saha had experienced defeat in the final when the pair had lost to Singapore’s Gao Ning and Yang Zi. More recently in Tweeds Heads, Australia, Soumyajit Ghosh in partnership with Harmeet Desai had lost to Hong Kong’s Ho Kwan Kit and Lam Siu Hang in the title contest.

Amarlraj put it more aptly. “For me, it was the first final and first gold. In more than 10 years of my international career, it has always been China, Japan or Germany. Now that India has won, it is good for the future of table tennis in India,” said Amalraj.

Picture captions:

1. Soumyajit Ghosh on top of podium at Chile Open, Santiago and (R) Anthony Amalraj who finished runner-up;

2. Amalraj about to return to Ghosh in singles's final.

3. Ghosh in action against Amalraj in single's final

TTFI release and photo

  

Shiv Kapur triumphs at Yeangder Heritage, ends 11-year title drought in Asia

Shiv Kapur

Miaoli, Chinese Taipei, April 30: Shiv Kapur’s excruciatingly long wait for a second Asian Tour title finally ended at the inaugural Yeangder Heritage on Sunday.

Kapur (71-70-67-64), who had won his previous and only Asian Tour event in his rookie season back in 2005, came home the winner by two shots at the National Golf Country Club in Miaoli, Chinese Taipei, with a sensational bogey-free final round of eight-under-64 that saw him end up with a total of 16-under-272.

Malaysian Gavin Green and Korean Yikeun Chang finished joint runners-up at 14-under-274 at the US$300,000 event.

The 35-year-old Kapur, who began the day in tied third, two off the lead, put together eight birdies in round four, including five on the last seven holes, to register the tournament’s lowest single round score of 64 en route his victory.

Interestingly, Shiv birdied the par-five 13^th hole for four consecutive days. The 2002 Asian Games gold medallist also closed out the match in style, holing a tricky seven feet downhill birdie putt on the 18^th.

Kapur, who had won two European Challenge Tour events in 2013, now has four international titles to his credit. His winner’s cheque of US$54,000 from the Yeangder Heritage has pushed him up from 21^st to 13^th place in the 2017 Asian Tour Order of Merit.

Shiv said, “This win means a lot to me. Honestly it hasn’t sunk in yet because I’m still in a bit of a daze. It has been a frustrating last couple of years so it is nice to be back where I belong. There are so many good talents on the Asian Tour and it is getting harder and harder to win each year.

“There is a certain calmness on the golf course. It think that helped me and it also helped because I was not playing in the last group. That gave me an opportunity to just go and make birdies. I looked at the leaderboard on the 17^th hole and I was already 15-under and two ahead.

“I came close on 17 and hit a great drive and second shot on the 18^th hole. I had a downhill seven feet birdie putt on the last and made that. I can look back and say I did this right but you need some luck to win.”

In September last year, Kapur went for a liver surgery and returned in mid-December after resting for three months. Before the surgery, he lost his European Tour card.

Kapur added, “I really struggled last year. I came back from a liver surgery in September and was lying on a hospital bed. It was frustrating because you couldn’t play. Now I’ve come back after six months and to win the way I did is satisfying. When you are away from the game, it gives you doubts about yourself especially when things are not going your way. This win comes at the right time.”

Kapur, who was named the Asian Tour Rookie of the Year in 2005, soon after winning his first Asian Tour title in December that year, said, “It has been a long time since I won on the Asian Tour. It has been such a long wait but you tend to appreciate it more. You will have questions and doubts from yourself and other people but I answered those questions more to myself than anybody else with this win.

“After you haven’t won for so long, you might think that the best is behind you. When I first won, I was in my early 20s as well and the older guys were chasing me down. Now I’m the old guy! I played with Gavin Green in the third round and I can’t talk enough about what a great player he is. Today I played with two young Thai players so there is a lot of talent on the Asian Tour.

“It is becoming harder and harder to win. The young kids come into tournaments to win. They come through the ADT system and that’s such a great platform for them to learn how to win. When they come out on the Asian Tour, it is not a big surprise to them anymore.”

Congratulating Shiv on his well-deserved victory, Mr. Uttam Singh Mundy, CEO, PGTI, said, “We at the PGTI congratulate Shiv for his win at the Yeangder Heritage. The victory is a result of his dedication and perseverance.We look forward to seeing him win many more titles in the years to come.”

Sujjan Singh (67) and Himmat Rai (71) were the next best Indians as they claimed tied 22^nd at five-under-283.

Among the other Indians in the field, Chikkarangappa (68) finished tied 27^th at four-under-284, Khalin Joshi (70) bagged tied 39^th at two-under-286, Rahil Gangjee (70) was tied 52^nd at two-over-290 and Chiragh Kumar (77) ended tied 60^th at five-over-293.

Shiv Kapur - 4 International Wins

Asian Tour

·         Volvo Masters of Asia 2005

·         Yeangder Heritage 2017

European Challenge Tour

·         Gujarat Kensville Challenge 2013 (Kensville G & CC)

·         Dubai Festival City Challenge Tour Grand Final 2013

PGTI release