Rashid Khan posts 69 to stay four ahead

Rashid Khan 

New Delhi, February 27, 2014: India’s Rashid Khan posted a three-under-69 in round two to stay four ahead of the rest of the field at the SAIL-SBI Open presented by Incredible India Ministry of Tourism being played at the Delhi Golf Club. Rashid, who had shot a breathtaking 61 on the opening day, closed round two with a total of 14-under-130 at the US$ 300,000 event co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour and PGTI. PGTI members Mithun Perera of Sri Lanka and Bangladeshi Md Siddikur Rahman are in joint second along with Australian Unho Park at 10-under-134.

Round two could not be completed on Thursday as play was suspended due to fading light. Twelve players who are yet to complete round two will resume play at 8 am on Friday.

Rashid Khan (61-69), who teed off from the 10th, struggled with his hitting on the back-nine. He made his first birdie of the day on the 16th from 20 feet but slipped with a double-bogey on the very next hole where a wrong club selection meant his shot landed over the green. Khan came back with a 25-feet conversion for eagle on the first and closed the day on a high with birdies on the seventh and ninth.

Rashid said, “Only three balls were inside 10 feet of the flag today. I wasn’t hitting it close at all. Had another good birdie on seven from 25 feet and hit a good five iron to 12 feet on the ninth and holed the putt. It was a good comeback on the second-nine after being one over on the first-nine. I was not comfortable with my swing. My putting helped me stay ahead. The winds were swirling out there this afternoon, it was affecting us.

“I’ll need to make sure I find more greens and hole more putts in the next two days. Tomorrow morning, I’ll work on my swing by spending half an hour more at the range with my coach.”

Bangladesh’s Md Siddikur Rahman (67-67) fired a second straight 67 to be joint second. Siddikur, a PGTI member, had six birdies and a bogey in round two.

Siddikur said, “Another five under today, I’m happy. It’s good. That’s my target. It was really good, everything was good. Hitting and putting was good. I’m especially happy about my putting. I got my putting back. Yesterday, I struggled a bit. I’ve been working on my swing, which is a bit wrong. I can feel it and made some adjustments in the past few weeks.”

Mithun Perera (66-68), another PGTI member, continued to be in joint second position as a result of his second round of 68 that featured six birdies and two bogeys.

Perera said, “Had bad bogeys on second and 15 from the centre of the fairway. But I had a good finish, like yesterday. On the first-nine, my tee shots were off target but I got back my swing on the back-nine. The key will be my tee shots as I’m using a lot of drivers. If I can be on the fairways, I will have a chance. Rashid is a really good player, he’s number one on the PGTI and this is his home course. I have to play good to give him a fight.” 

Indians Anirban Lahiri (70-66) and Digvijay Singh (68-68) are in joint sixth place at eight-under-136. Lahiri and Digvijay shot bogey-free rounds of 66 and 68 respectively.

SSP Chowrasia lies tied eighth at seven-under-137.

PGTI Press release and photo

Hockey Gangpur-Odisha and Vidarbha Hockey Association start campaign in style

New Delhi, February 27, 2014: Debutant teams Hockey Gangpur- Odisha and Vidarbha Hockey Association started their campaign on a winning note in Division B of the 4th Hockey India Senior Men National Championship commenced at Major Dhyan Chand Hockey Stadium in Lucknow today.

In the opening match of the championship, Hockey Gangpur- Odisha defeated Chhattisgarh 9-2 in their Pool C match. For Hockey Gangpur-Odisha Bruno Hedrino Lugun and Banamali Xess scored twice each while Amarjeet Ekka, Kishor Lakra, Bikash Toppo, Roshan Minz and Ashish Anmol Minz contributed a goal each in their teams victory. Puducherry scored through N Sellamuthu and N Kamalakannan a goal each.

Bengal defeated Tripura 4-0 in another match of Pool-C.

In Pool-D match, Chhattisgarh played a 1-1 draw against debutants Central Reserve Police Force. Chhattisgarh took a 1-0 lead in the 53rd minute with a field goal scored by Sachin Rathaur but two minutes later Rohen Singh Thangjam scored a field goal for Central Reserve Police Force to level the game.

In the second match of Pool D, Dalbir Singh scored two goals helping Vidarbha Hockey Association to register a 2-1 win over Delhi.

In the third match of Pool D, Maharashtra overcame Kerala 8-0. Kunal Jagdale scored maximum three goals followed by Rajendra Ekka (2), Navneet Swarnkar (1), Manpreet Singh (1) and Vinod Nimbore (1).  

There are 22 teams participating in the Division B of the 4th Hockey India Senior Men National Championship 2014.

Today’s Results

Pool-C Hockey Gangpur- Odisha 9 Bruno Hedrino Lugun (5, 26 min), Amarjeet Ekka (16 min), Kishor Lakra (31 min), Bikash Toppo (39 min), Roshan Minz (40 min), Ashish Anmol Minz (43 min) and Banamali Xess (49, 56 min) vs Puducherry 2 (N Sellamuthu (18 min), N Kamalakannan (65 min)

Bengal 4 Joga Singh(16 min), Sunil Shah (24, 53 min) and Sunil Kujur (66 min) vs Tripura 0

Pool D Chhattisgarh 1 Sachin Rathaur (53 min) vsCentral Reserve Police Force 1 Rohen Singh Thangjam (55 min)

Vidarbha Hockey Association 2 Dalbir Singh (6, 44 min) vs Delhi 1 Naveen Kumar (4 min)

Maharashtra 8 Navneet Swarnkar (5 min), Rajendra Ekka (23, 27 min), Kunal Jagdale (36, 52, 58 min), Manpreet Singh (41 min) and Vinod Nimbore (64 min) vs Kerala 0.

HI Press release

Rashid on a roll, blasts personal best 11-under-61 for first round lead

 Rashid Khan

New Delhi, February 26, 2014: Rashid Khan began his 2014 Asian Tour season with a bang as he recorded a personal best of 11-under-61 in the opening round of the SAIL-SBI Open presented by Incredible India Ministry of Tourism. Rashid’s first round exploits at his home course, the Delhi Golf Club, helped him establish a daunting five-stroke lead at the US$ 300,000 event co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour and PGTI. PGTI member Mithun Perera of Sri Lanka fired a six-under-66 to be tied second along with Japan’s Akinori Tani.

Rashid, the 2013 Rolex Rankings champion on the PGTI, was off to a flying start with four birdies on the front-nine. His solid hitting saw him land the ball within five to 10 feet of the pin on several occasions. The 23-year-old went one better on the back-nine as he picked up an eagle on the 14th and five more birdies. Khan sank a 20-footer for birdie on the 13th and followed that up with a 14-feet eagle putt on the par-5 14th. He thus ended up one short of the course record of 12-under-60 set by Liang Wen-Chong of China at the 2008 Indian Open.

“I didn’t leave myself too many long putts today as my hitting was spot-on. I didn’t focus too much on the leaderboard but just played my game. I’m delighted to have improved on my previous single-round best of nine-under which I shot in Sri Lanka earlier this month. I made a few changes to my swing during the practice round on Monday under the guidance of my fellow professional and senior Ashok Kumar. The changes have helped me hit the fade shot better,” said Rashid, who finished runner-up at the 2013 SAIL-SBI Open after losing in a playoff to Anirban Lahiri.

Rashid went on to add, “This is my first year as a card holder on the Asian Tour and it’s great to start the season in this manner. Winning a tournament on the Asian Tour is my main goal this year. The Order of Merit win on the PGTI last year gave me a lot of confidence. I’ve improved with every passing year and I want to do the same in 2014.”

Mithun Perera, a winner of three successive titles on the PGTI this month, continued his good form on Wednesday. He started off with a birdie on the 10thwhere his second shot landed within a few inches of the pin. Perera sank two more birdies and a bogey on the back-nine to make the turn at two-under. The 27-year-old gained four shots on the last three holes as he drained a 35-feet eagle putt on the eighth and made birdies on the seventh and ninth.

Perera said, “I had a really good start from the 10th hole, the second shot into the green was a given birdie. Six under in my first event of the 2014 season, I’m happy. This is my best at the DGC. I need to keep it going for the next three days. Last three weeks have been so good for me. Every week I’ve had eight-under rounds and I had the confidence to bring into this week’s tournament.”

Bangladesh’s Md Siddikur Rahman, another PGTI member, returned a five-under-67 to occupy joint fourth place along with Scott Barr of Australia.

There are seven Indians among the 10 golfers in tied sixth place at four-under-68. The seven Indians in tied sixth are Sanjay Kumar, C Muniyappa, Digvijay Singh, Shamim Khan, SSP Chowrasia, Chikkarangappa S and Abhijit Singh Chadha.

Women rallyists take on big boys at 12th Maruti Suzuki Desert Storm

Gurgaon's Sarika Sehrawat Vohra, India's only woman rallyist in Xtreme dune racing at The 12th Maruti Suzuki Desert Storm

Jaisalmer, February 26, 2014:  Ten days ahead of International Women’s Day, a group of feisty women at the Maruti Suzuki Desert Storm are redefining woman power by taking on the big boys at what is still primarily a male sport – rallying.

The 12th Maruti Suzuki Desert Storm was flagged off from Delhi on Monday, with 250 champion rallyists from all over the country and also abroad fighting for top honours in one of the most prestigious motorsport events of the country. The six-day marathon motorsport event will end at Jaipur onMarch 1, covering about 2,200 kilometers through the dune outback of Sardarshahar, Bikaner, Jaisalmer and Jaipur.

Leading the pack is Sarika Sehrawat Vohra, India’s only woman rallyist in high-speed dune racing. The Gurgaon-based entrepreneur has been racing since 2002.

Among 55 teams of champion rallyists from all over the country and abroad, Sarika is the only woman driving in Rally Xtreme, the all-out speed category of the event. Her navigator is Delhi-based Deepali Gupta, an IT professional working with Bank of Scotland.

Sarika confesses she is a speed-freak, and is passionate about marathon motorsport races. She is driving a Maruti Gypsy for the rally.

Mr Manohar Bhat, Vice President Marketing of Maruti Suzuki, said that total number of competitors at the Desert Storm 2014 is the highest-ever in its 12-year history. It stood at 220 last year. “The high number of women competitors at the event is encouraging. Our motorsport events showcase our commitment towards youth empowerment and women empowerment," he said.

Team Army brings in its share of woman power to the Maruti Suzuki Desert Storm with Capt Madavi Singh and Capt Komal S, both from The Corps of Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (EME). While fitness training is a major issue for all rallyists preparing for a marathon motorsport event, Capt Madhavi says the training wasn’t rally-specific for them. “In the army, fitness training is a daily thing. That was not a concern. Desert driving was new to us, and we were able to learn it during the Army trials at Bikaner,” said Capt Madhvi.

For Capt Komal, competing at the Desert Storm is a dream-come-true. “I was also chosen to compete at The Maruti Suzuki Raid De Himalaya 2013, but during the second round of training for the event was my wedding day,” she informed with a smile. Capt Komal hopes to celebrate her first wedding anniversary at The 16th Maruti Suzuki Raid De Himalaya in October this year. Both officers are competing in Rally Enduro, which follows the Rally Xtreme route in a Time-Speed-Distance format. They are driving a Maruti Gypsy for the rally.

The petite Garima Avtar, a Sufi singer, golfer and entrepreneur based at Noida, is a regular at motorsport events across the country, including the Maruti Suzuki Raid De Himalaya, the Maruti Suzuki Desert Storm, the Mughal Rally in Kashmir and the Royal Rajasthan Rally. Garima said the excitement and the challenge of the rallies kept her hooked to the sport. “My annual calendar is marked with the rallies I must do, and then make space for holidays,” she said. Garima’s navigator Sukhbans Mann is a home-maker based at Gurgaon. 

The 2014 edition of the Desert Storm started with 55 teams in Rally Xtreme (4X4) and 35 teams in Rally Moto (Motorcycles). These two categories are based solely on fastest timing.

In addition, 35 teams in Rally Ndure and 25 in Rally Xplore took the start on day one. Both these categories follow the Time-Speed-Distance format. Rally Ndure is the more challenging category here, since it follows the Xtreme route. The Xtreme (4-wheelers), Endure and Xplore teams comprise two rallyists each – the driver and the navigator. 

Sunny Sindhu leads

On Day Three of the rally, Sunny Sidhu of Chandigarh was leading Rally Xtreme, followed by Delhi's Sandeep Sharma, driving a Maruti Gypsy. In Rally Xplore, Sanjay Takale and Mustafa of Team Maruti Suzuki are leading, driving an SX4. Second in this category are Rajesh Chalana and Yogesh Gupta, again driving an SX4 for Team Maruti Suzuki. Third in Rally Xplore is Nitin Yadav with navigator Ravi Bansal, driving a Tata Aria.

In Rally Moto, Bangalore's CS Santosh is leading, followed by Helmut Frauwallner of Austria and Jes David of Jaipur. Defending champion Mohit Verma of Chandigarh lost his ranking at the third place due to a mechanical problem in his motorcycle.