Difficult task to select best 18 for qualifiers: Nobbs

Sports

New Delhi:
India’s hockey coach Michael Nobbs has a problem of plenty after impressive debuts by youngsters in the ongoing Test series against South Africa and he says it would be difficult to select the best 18 for next month’s Olympic qualifiers.

As many as four players — Harbir Singh, SK Uthappa, Kothajit Singh, Chinglesana Singh Kangujam — made their debut in the series against South Africa and Nobbs said these young players deserve an India cap.

“In this series, we tested everybody, we deliberately designed it to see who can take a grip of the opportunities and win their position and some players did,” Nobbs said.

“We have probably the best option now and there are around 25-26 players who can play for India.

“Uthappa was brilliant, Kothajit was good too, these are some of the players who have put themselves in the mix to be selected and it would be difficult to pick the best 18 Indian players for the Olympic qualifiers now,” he added.

With the youngsters making the most of the opportunity, it would be interesting to see what happens when injured players such as Rajpal Singh make a comeback and Nobbs agrees it would take a lot of hard work for them to earn back their place in the side.

“Rajpal will need to put a lot of hard work to replace someone who is ahead of him right now. In hockey, we have a saying that never lend your stick to someone because you might not get it back. He has time to do it,” Nobbs said.

With the series already in India’s pocket after the 4-3 victory last night, Nobbs said he will experiment in the fifth and final Test tomorrow.

“We have already won the series, so I will have the latitude to experiment and try out some new combinations. Danish Mujtaba, Manpreet Singh and Rupinder Pal Singh will play tomorrow,” Nobbs said.

With little less than a month left for the Olympic qualifiers, Nobbs said defence is one area which India need to work on before the tournament kicks off on February 18.

“We are allowing our defence to be penetrated and I think, this is one area, where we have a fair bit of work to do in the next four weeks,” he said.

Asked if he was satisfied with the performance of the players in the Test series, Nobbs said a lot of combinations have come up and he has to figure out the options for the qualifiers.

“We played a lot of combinations and we have a good base now, we are looking at the patterns. Manjeet Kullu, Harbir, Ignace – all are good options. We are looking forward and heading in the right direction,” he said.

Nobbs said the series against South Africa was a tough one and a good preparation for the qualifiers.

“This was a tough series and a good drill for us. South Africa is a very good team, they are placed just below us. If we can beat them, I think we can beat teams like Canada, France, Poland, Italy and the United States, whom we are playing in the qualifiers,” he said.

India, the highest-ranked team in the tournament at 10th, have been grouped with Canada, France, Poland, Italy and the United States in the men’s section of the first of the six Olympic Qualification tournaments.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/ Home> Sports> Hockey / PTI / January 21st, 2012

‘Ko Ko Koli Kothi Village Belle Harshika ‘Balle Balle’

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg

The chirpy heroine of Kannada cinema who gives a lovely performance in any given role and wins like how got distinction in her Engineering studies Harshika Poonacha has given a sensible performance in ‘Ko Ko’ movie. As a village belle Harshika giving her mind to ‘Kitty Bhava’ in the film was so inspiring to director R Chandru and he kept a song for the actress for her talent in abundance.

It is a short and sweet role ‘Ganga’ in KKKK remains in the mind of Kannada audience for Harshika Poonacha. When Kitty decides to take up his IPS and not marriage with Ganga, it is Ganga who throws a challenge and says she will marry in front of Kitty when he comes back to the village. So when Kitty returns to village in the second half of KKKK there is some electrifying moments. All is under the impression that Kitty and Ganga get married. But screenplay of the film that is captivating in the film says something else. Ganga hot tempered marries the boy looked for her in front of Kitty and that is a suspense for Cauvery (Priyamani). There is of course all round of applause for Harshika Poonacha in the media reviews too.

Happy and content in Kannada filmdom Harshika Poonacha armed with Engineering degree made her beginning in arch lights from ‘PUC’ Kannada cinema. She was really at the first years of Engineering when she accepted PUC Kannada cinema. Jugari, Thamassu, Jackie, Murali Meets Meera got released. The films to release are Crazy Loka, Adwaitha, Beet, Mavalli, Hubballi Hudagaru and Parie for Harshika Poonacha.

In coming four years as the lone daughter of my parents I would take up more interesting roles and settle down for marriage.

Harshika Poonacha is also in to social service activities. She is a member of Lions Club and ambassador of Yuva Global.

From Ko Ko Koli Kothi I got very good name. I am told I look very innocent and beautiful. I am also a performer is the encouraging appreciations I have received says Harshika Poonacha.

source: http://www.SuperGoodMovies.com/ Kannada Movie News> Talent> News / January 21st, 2012

Kodavas hook youth with instant hockey

Sports

15 families from Kodagu are organising a five-a-side tourney in keeping with the city’s frenetic pace. The idea is to revive interest in the game

Kodavas are born with hockey sticks, goes a local saying. So, it’s no surprise that Kodagu has produced some of our finest hockey players apart, of course, from coffee, oranges and beautiful people. To keep alive that association and to revive interest in the sport, 15 Kodava families are organising a five-a-side hockey tournament to suit Bangalore’s fast pace from Jan 24 to 26 at the Hockey Stadium in Richmond Town.

K D Ganapathy told Bangalore Mirror, “We are a team of 30 members from 15 different families of Chickpet in Virajpet. We call ourselves the Coorg Challengers Chickpet Association (CCCA). The families’ motive is to revive interest in hockey among Bangaloreans and donate the profit from these tournaments to orphanages and blind schools. Today, we are what we are because of hockey and we want to give back to the sport by instilling that spirit in as many youngsters as we can.”

The team includes former Indian hockey players like K K Poonacha who is currently coaching the Oman national team, B J Kariappa, assistant to Indian hockey coach Michael Nobbs, K D Ganapathy, K M Somanna, C C Muthanna and others who have played for several universities and public sector units.

Birth of a tournament
“It all started four years ago when we found that hockey was a rare game in Bangalore except in a couple of schools,” Ganapathy said.

“At that time, we decided that the game or tournament should not be restricted to Kodavas alone. We approached clubs, schools and colleges, inviting youngsters to play hockey. However, there were problems of numbers and time as players weren’t able to last for the entire stretch of the game. That’s when we thought of a mini-hockey tournament, the CCCA Cup,” Ganapathy recalled.

Rink hockey
Five-a-side hockey tournaments are popular in Australia and New Zealand and are called rink hockey in Mumbai.

Unlike the regular 11 players in the traditional format, there are only five players in a team and they play across a field measuring 25X80 sq ft — a quarter of the original field. And each session lasts 7.5 minutes, said Bopanna, another member of the association.

Each team has to pay an entry fee of Rs 2,500 and winners get Rs 50,000 as cash prize.

“Last year, 24 teams participated and the profits were handed over to Thejaswi Seva Trust in Kumaraswamy Layout and Field Marshal Cariappa Hockey Trust in Virajpet to nurture potential hockey-players,” Ganapathy said.


source: http://www.BangaloreMirror.com / Home> News> City> Story / by Niranjan Kaggera / posted on Thursday, January 19th, 2012

Madikeri: National-level Jaycee Award for Hockey Star Arjun Halappa

Inspiration / Positive News and Features, Records, All, Sports, Uncategorized

Team Mangalorean – Madikeri
Inputs and pic from B M Lavakumar

Madikeri:

Arjun Halappa, India international hockey player from Kodagu, has been selected for Indian Jaycees top award ‘Outstanding Young Person’ (OYP).

The award was handed over by Jaycee national president Velayudham to Arjun at the 56th national Jaycee convention held in Hyderabad. Every year the Jaycees organization selects ten top achievers from the country to receive this award.

Arjun was selected by the national-level selection committee in recognition of his significant contribution to the field of hockey for several years. One of the yardsticks was his achievements in hockey at a young age.

The Junior Chamber International’s Bangalore metro chapter, under its founder-president A P Kariappa, had nominated Arjun Halappa for the award. The selection committee was headed by Supreme Court advocate and former Jaycee national president Ravishankar.

A P Kariappa, Arjun’s wife Bhavana Arjun, Ponnampet Nisarga Jaycees president Rafiq Toochamakeri and other Jaycees from zone 14 and others were present on the occasion.

source: http://www.Mangalorean.com / January 18th, 2012

Ichettira Family to organise Kodava Family Cup Hockey

Sports

Madikeri, Karnataka :
The Ichetttira Family will organise this year’s Kodava Family Cup Hockey Tournament in Ammathi during April. The President of the Tournament Committee I K Anil announced this in a press conference here today.
This will be the 16th edition of the Kodava Hockey Festival, which is certified by the Limca Book of Records as the biggest Hockey Cup in India.
The festival will be inaugurated on April 21 and will be ending on may 13. Around 250 teams are competing in over 23 days of exhilarating hockey.
Current and former Indian hockey players will participate and add grandeur of the tournament. The tournament attracts over three lakh sporting enthusiasts from all walks of life.
Even the family members settled at outside places will be arriving to participate and witness the event especially during their respective family players game.
Mr Anil said the main aim of the tournament is to promote the sport of hockey and celebrate fellowship, culture and sport.

source: http://www.CentralChronicle.com / Sports / January 16th, 2012

Chikka to begin quest for hat-trick at All India Amateur Golf

Sports

India’s most impressive amateur in recent years, Seenappa Chikkarangappa begins his quest for the first hat-trick in more than 80 years when he starts as a strong favourite to retain his All India Amateur Championships title from Wednesday.

Chikka, who is leading the IGU’s Order of Merit, is going for the first hat-trick since 1930, when E L Watts, completed his fourth successive win.

Since then no player has won the All India Amateur Championships three times in a row.
At the Indian Golf Union’s flagship event, the International challenge will include four teams from outside India.

The strongest will be from England, to be represented by Jack Colegate and Curtis Griffiths, who are both members of the England A Squad.

Other foreign teams include Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, whose players have won the title in the past. Bhutan has also sent a strong contingent.

One of the oldest amateur championships in the world, the All India Amateur Championship started in 1892 and is run by the Indian Golf Union.

It has a 36-hole stroke play qualifying competition over the first two days from which the leading 32 players proceed to the match play knockout event.

Chikkarangappa, currently No.1 on the Indian Amateur Tour Circuit, said, “I am happy to come back to the Chandigarh Golf Club once again and hopeful to win the All India title third time in a row.”

Last year in Bangalore, Chikka, considered one of the brightest prospects in Indian golf, retained the title he won in 2010, beating fellow Bangalorean Pritam Haridas in the final.

When Chikka won the title in 2010 at 17, he was the youngest ever winner of the All India Amateurs.

With Indian amateurs showing great promise over the last 18 months, the tournament will bring to the fore the strength of Indian amateur golf.

In 2011, Chikka, after winning the All India title in his hometown in February, also won the Inter-State, Southern India and Western India titles, besides losing in the final of Goodricke East India.

But Chikka will not have it easy and will be a given a run for his money by the likes of Honey Baisoya, who stunned Chikka in the final of Goodricke East India Matchplay.
Baisoya was also second at the Northern India.

Another Bangalore lad, Khalin Joshi has also been in good form, finishing second to Chikka at both Southern and Western India championships.

He would be hoping to have his revenge on the biggest stage of Indian amateur golf.
Among the others, who could upset the form book are Angad Cheema, who topped the RCGC Cup, the experienced Manav Das, seasoned Gagan Verma and the dangerous Udayan Mane, winner of the Maharashtra Open and semi-finalist at 2011 All India Amateurs.

Among the dark horses will be Ashbeer Saini, semifinalist at the Northern India, Sidharth Semwal, runner-up at the Maharashtra Open, and the young Trishul Chinappa, also of Bangalore.

England last sent a team six years ago, and before that in 2004 England’s James Smith reached the semi-finals.

The only English winner of the title has been former England captain Malcolm Lewis, who triumphed at Calcutta in 1981.

source: http://www.DeccanHerald.com / Home> Sports / Chandigarh, January 16th, 2012

MTV launches Gatecrash to brings festivities closer to the youth

Arts, Culture & Entertainment

Mumbai:
MTV is launching MTV Gatecrash – which gives its fans a privileged access to the most exciting events across the world. Be it a musical festival, a carnival, a cultural extravaganza, MTV brings the festivities closer to the youth by allowing them to jump the queue through MTV Gatecrash. The name as it sounds grants a special access to the choicest winners to enjoy the festival in all MTV style.

Think youth festival, Think MTV. In last few months, MTV has been an official partner to F1 race – the start-studded sporting event. Recently, MTV was the official partner to the most prestigious EDM festival – Sunburn. MTV has also been the media partner to the Metallica performance – which was also broadcast on the channel later. In addition to this will now be MTV Gatecrash , which will include series of events that will run through the year making a pit stop at different music festivals. It’s simple! Where there is a music or youth festival, MTV Gatecrash will make sure to be there and be part of it.

MTV Gatecrash kickstarts this month with the music festival STORM, a camp out music festival for 2 days to be held on 21st& 22nd Jan, in the hills of the beautiful district of Coorg in Karnataka. The festival will have over 30 artists from across the globe performing on multiple stages. The Festival will have bands and DJs like Indian Ocean, Leslie Lewis, The Raghu Dixit Project, Judge Jules, Henrik B, BREED, Pearl, Nikhil Chinnappa and others.MTV Gatecrash with STORM is a multimedia initiative with a full blown campaign across TV and Digital.

AdityaSwamy, EVP AND Business Head, MTV India, explains, “Young people are experience junkies and since virtual experiences are the norm today, real ones are becoming even more special .. With MTV Gate Crash we will give people of chance to touch and feel the magic of the best in live entertainment, get inspired the creativity of the performers create social currency out of this once in a lifetime experience.”

Speaking about the concept of Storm, Lavin Uthappa, Managing Director of LiquidSpace Entertainment said “With a strong conviction towards preserving the environment, team-Storm takes the concept of “responsible Tourism experience” to a new level. This initiative is also to strongly address a few of present global concerns and doing our bit to prevent environmental degradation through innovative strategies and technology. It’s a complete experience for all age groups, young or the old with Multiple Stages, Food corners, a Flea market, an Adventure zone and Camping area where each individual at the festival enjoy music, nature, food and Adventure.”

Along with being a music festival, Storm and MTV will also promote a strong conviction towards preserving the environment, with eco-friendly venue, minimal usage of plastic and innovative recycling techniques; Storm Festival promises to fulfil the green-cause. The festival is a total “drug- free zone” and has a zero tolerance policy against those who breach it.

MTV Gatecrash will be one of the forerunners in innovating different ways to bring the best available events for the fans in India. MTV GATECRASH promises to be an open ticket to experience the best sounds, great symphonies and a story you can live to tell.

source: http://www.medianewsline.com / by Swati Arya / January 16th, 2012

MTV kicks-off Gatecrash with music fest ‘Storm’

Arts, Culture & Entertainment

Mumbai:
MTV has initated a new property called ‘Gatecrash’, which will give fans a privileged access to most of the musical events across the world.

‘MTV Gatecrash’ will kick start this month with the two-day music festival ‘Storm’ to be held on 21 Jan in the hills of the beautiful district of Coorg in Karnataka. The fest will showcase an eclectic mix of 37 artistes from across the globe performing on two different stages. The fest will include electronic band, artistes and DJs like Indian Ocean, Leslie Lewis, The Raghu Dixit Project, Swarathma, Richard Durand, Faridkot, Thomas Gold, Pearl, Nikhil Chinapa, Soulmate and others.

In last few months, MTV has been an official partner to F1 race, Sunburn and also a media partner to the Metallica performance – which was also broadcast on the channel later. So, in addition to this, will be MTV Gatecrash which will include series of events that will run through the year making a pit stop at different music festivals.

MTV Gatecrash with Storm is a multimedia initiative with campaign across TV and Digital.

MTV India EVP and business head Aditya Swamy said, “Young people are experience junkies and since virtual experiences are the norm today, real ones are becoming even more special. With MTV Gate Crash we will give people of chance to touch and feel the magic of the best in live entertainment, get inspired the creativity of the performers create social currency out of this once in a lifetime experience.”

source: http://www.radioandmusic.com/ Home> Editorial> News / by RnM Team/ January 16th, 2012

Army day greeting

Amazing Feats, Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Historical Links / Pre-Independence, Inspiration / Positive News and Features, Leaders, Records, All, Uncategorized

Imphal: January 14:

On the occasion of Army Day 2012, Lt Gen Dalbir Singh, AVSM, VSM, GOC 3 corps, conveys his greetings and best wishes to all ranks of the Army. The Army Day which is schedule on 15 of January every year in recognition of Lieutenant General (later Field Marshal) K.M. Cariappa becoming the first Indian commander-in-chief in 1949.

GOC 3 Corps, in his message, brought out that all ranks of Army should feel proud of being a soldier of this great and glorious Indian Army. The released also said that “all ranks of spear corps have been working together with the local civil administration and the people of the land to bring in greater growth and prosperity in Northeastern region.

GOC 3 Corps also expressed his appreciation to the dedicated efforts of each soldier towards this noble cause.

The released further said that Army has been a source of inspiration and has contributed to society’s development in a number of ways. Army’s efforts to undertake infrastructure developmental projects, to motivate school children, to recruit Jawans, to conduct vocational training, to provide medical & veterinary services at remote locations and to encourage women empowerment has made significant difference in the overall growth of the region. The General also added, “We salute the brave soldiers who have made the supreme sacrifice in the performance of their duty”.

source: http://www.kanglaonline.com / by Imphal Free Press / January 14, 2012

Indian Army: Poised to safeguard the nation and uphold democratic norms

Amazing Feats, Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Historical Links / Pre-Independence, Inspiration / Positive News and Features, Leaders

New Delhi, Jan.14 (ANI):

In India, the month of January witnesses two things in ample measure – the biting cold and a spirit of nationalism. National fervor is whipped up by the Republic Day celebrations with parades and revelries generating tremendous enthusiasm.

Yet another ode to nationalism is the Army Day celebrations held across the Nation on January, 15. It was on this historic day in 1949 that the Indian Army divested the control of the British with General (later Field Marshal) K. M. Cariappa taking over as the first Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army from Sir Francis Butcher.

A number of parades, memorial lectures, equipment displays, investiture ceremonies organised by the Army on this day elicit tremendous response from the general public.

The Army Day is also a time to audit the achievements of the Army in the year gone by. The pace for this very sensitive exercise is set, in no small measure, by the traditional press conference of the Chief of Army Staff (COAS). This year, the press conference by General VK Singh, COAS, was held at the majestic Manekshaw Stadium on January, 12. Many issues of relevance came up during the press conference.

In the year gone by, the Army continued with its operational engagement in such pockets of the Nation where inimical forces are not desisting from spreading the cult of terrorism. 65 brave soldiers of the Army made the supreme sacrifice while upholding the safety and integrity of the Nation in 2011. These included 11 officers, 06 Junior Commissioned Officers and 45 brave soldiers.

Due to relentless anti terrorist operations by the Army, the year gone by was the most peaceful in the Kashmir Valley since 1990. Jammu province witnessed 74 per cent decline and the Kashmir Valley witnessed a 33 per cent decline in terror violence as compared to 2010.

Terrorism related violence in 2011 dropped to an all time low of around 190 incidents. Beyond internal security, the Army also upheld its tradition of being the first to respond to natural calamities. It made a sterling effort to restore the situation in earthquake afflicted Sikkim and also some flood affected regions of the country.

Operationally, the Army made quantum progress in critical aspect of modernisation and transformation designed to make the force more lethal, mobile and network centric.

Some new structures were put to test and validation. A primary validation initiative was Exercise Sudarshan Shakti which culminated in mid December, 2011. The exercise was witnessed by none other than the President of India, Pratibha Patil. It successfully validated a number of new concepts that were earlier on the drawing board.

The fighting capability of the Army was enhanced during the year by better surveillance, improved night fighting capability, air defence capability and human resource development. The Army is now better poised for tactical decision making and deeper strikes.

The Army rendered significant assistance in preparing Police and Para-military Forces (PMF) in tackling internal strife. About 33000 police and paramilitary personnel were trained for counter Naxal operations.

Advisories were given when sought and footprint in the region was improved by an increase in recruitment. However, the army desisted from getting directly involved in counter Naxal operations since it would weaken its bond with the people and negatively impact its preparedness for its primary task of defending the country’s borders against external aggression.

The environment in the neighbourhood continued to pose a challenge to India’s security. Even though Pakistan remained instable, its internal problems did not lead to a letdown in support to cross border terrorism.

The army remained ready for all eventualities; it constantly monitored the border and had complete information about the 42 camps in Pakistan occupied Kashmir which facilitate infiltration.

The circumstances dictated enhanced vigil in Jammu and Kashmir and also the continuance of enabling legislations like the Armed Forces Special Powers Act which provide protection to the soldiers performing extraordinary duties under extraordinary circumstances.

The line of actual control with the Chinese did generate issues of perceptions but confidence building measures remained in place even as necessary steps to build up defence capability in the form of force accretion and improvement of infrastructure were put into motion.

The army attempted to reach out to other countries in India’s extended neighbourhood through the medium of joint exercises and exchange of ideas on tackling terrorism and insurgencies.

The army also continued with its sizeable contribution to the United Nation (UN) peace efforts with more than 7000 personnel deployed in UN missions abroad.

The internal health of the Indian Army was addressed by emphasis on the core value systems which form the bedrock of its culture. A clear message was sent out that rank and power will not come in the way of punishing those who indulge in misdemeanours and acts of impropriety.

The army’s thrust towards sports and adventure was encouraged and the result was as many as 112 medals in the National Games. Five army sportsmen have already been selected to represent the country in the London Olympics.

The Indian nation is going through some testing times. The Indian Army is prepared for all eventualities and for effectively performing its responsibilities towards the nation.

The people of India see the Indian soldier as the epitome of all that is the best in the country due to his demonstrated qualities of courage, self sacrifice, integrity, strength of character and commitment to the cause of the nation.

It is the bounden duty of the nation to ensure that the blood spilled by the soldier as also his contribution to the national cause does not go waste. To ensure the same all out efforts should be made to maintain him at a highest pedestal professionally, socially and psychologically. By Jaibans Singh (ANI)

source: http://www.newstrackindia.com / ANI / New Delhi / Saturday, January 14th, 2012