Category Archives: Sports

Captains, coaches named for WSH teams

Sports

New Delhi, Nov 26 (PTI):

India’s top midfielder Sardara Singh has been appointed the captain of Bhopal outfit, while former India coach Jose Brasa of Spain is all set to train the Chennai team in World Series Hockey to be held from December 17 to January 22 next year across several cities in India.

Besides Brasa, world’s leading coach Roelant Oltmans will also be seen imparting his knowledge to Lucas Vila-led Delhi while former India skipper Jude Felix will coach Bangalore, to be captained by Arjun Halappa.

Meanwhile, former Pakistan captain Rehan Butt will be leading the Chandigarh outfit.

The appointments were made at a franchise workshop held today and the Yannick Colaco, COO of Nimbus Sport said that the franchises are happy with the appointment of the captains and coaches.

“The franchises are delighted with their appointment of the captains and coaches. The dynamic combination of the world’s most explosive players and the best coaches will provide inspirational leadership to the respective teams,” he said.

The WSH will involve eight teams, consisting of 200 leading players — Indian and international — who will showcase their talent in 61 matches. It will be a multi-city franchise-based League.

source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Home> Sports / Sunday 27th, 2011

Bopanna & Qureshi win

Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Sports

A LANDMARK WIN: The triumph in Paris is Asiam Qureshi’s and Rohan Bopanna’s first Masters title. AFP
PARIS, November 13th, 2011
Maiden Paris Masters for Roger Federer

Rohan Bopanna and Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi won their first ever ATP Masters tournament beating Julien Benneteau and Nicolas Mahut 6-2, 6-4 in the final here on Sunday.

The seventh-seeded pair took just 65 minutes to see off the French wildcards and pocket its third title of the season. Bopanna and Qureshi had won the Gerry Weber Open at Halle and the Stockholm Open before this event.

Bopanna and Qureshi broke in the third and fifth games to open up a 4-1 lead.

They were twice 0-30 on serve, but held on to close the set out.

Benneteau and Mahut, who had shocked top seeds Mike and Bob Bryan en route the final, gave a better account of themselves in the second set.

At 4-4, Mahut’s double-fault offered Bopanna and Qureshi a break point, which they gratefully accepted.

They then served the match out in the next game despite a few anxious moments.

One-sided final

Meanwhile, Roger Federer won the singles title for the first time here by defeating Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-1, 7-6(3) in a one-sided final.

It was the Swiss star’s third tournament win of the year after Doha in January and his Basel hometown event last week.

It was also his 18th Masters title win, second only to Rafael Nadal who has won 19 times, and the 69th title of his career.

“This is the realisation of a dream for me and it’s been so long that I have been waiting for it,” said Federer, after receiving the Paris Masters trophy from French basketball star Tony Parker.

“Honestly, I am surprised myself at just how well I am playing.”

The win makes Federer just the second player after Andre Agassi to win both the French Open at Roland Garros, which he took in 2009, and the Paris Bercy title.

The results: Final: Roger Federer bt Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-1, 7-6(3).

Semifinals: Jo Wilfried Tsonga bt John Isner 3-6, 7-6(1), 7-6(3).

Doubles: Final: Rohan Bopanna & Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi bt Julien Benneteau & Nicolas Mahut 6-2, 6-4.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / AGENICES / AFP/ Sports> Tennis/ November 1th, 2011

For the Kodavas, hockey is where the heart is

Sports

It is no secret that playing hockey comes naturally to the Kodavas. The national sport is a passion for them and many of the great Indian players hail from Kodagu. MP Ganesh, MM Somaya, CS Poonacha, AB Subbaiah, BK Subramani, PK Kalaiah and KK Poonacha are some among them.

Even now, Kodagu continues to produce hockey players in large numbers and there is always representation in the Indian team. But what attracts Kodavas to hockey? Former Indian captain and coach Ganesh explains: “Kodavas have a strong tradition of serving in the armed forces from the British era. Hockey was popular in the army then. At that time, only the army got to represent the country. So, our community has a strong liking for the game.”

Like many other players, Ganesh says he is what he is because of hockey.

“Hockey is life for me. I am known and recognised, thanks to this great game. It has taught me a lot of values in life,” he says. Having played for India in the World Cup and Olympics when the country was at its best in world hockey, Ganesh is not happy with the current state of the sport in the country. The number of players from Kodagu in the national team has come down slightly and he urges more kids to play hockey seriously.

When families become teams

The Kodava Hockey Festival is a unique tournament that is conducted in the district every year. It is a big tournament in which families enter as a team. The highest participation has been 281 teams in an edition. This event has even made its way into the Limca Book of Records.

The inaugural edition was held in 1997 and the man who started it was Pandanda Kuttappa, a hockey referee. The idea was to have a platform where all families can meet. After the inaugural tournament, the Kodava Hockey Academy was started to regulate and oversee future events.

The tournament has grown over the years and so has the prize money, which is currently about `1.5 lakh for the winning team. Apart from the cash prize, motorcycles and cars are given away as special awards for player of the tournament, highest goal scorers, fairplay trophy etc.

The 2011 edition of the tournament (15th edition) was held at Ponnampet and was hosted by Machamada family. A total of 228 families took part this time. In 2012, the Iychetira family will conduct it.

One can only imagine the festive atmosphere at an event as big as this. Apart from the sport, there are a lot of other activities like dog shows, helicopter rides, army bands performing, and laser and cultural shows. Food courts are also set up.

Former India goalkeeper AB Subbaiah, from the Anjaparavanda family, has played in the tournament 11 times. He says, “It is a different experience. All families assemble there and there is an audience of about 30,000 to 35,000 or even more. We get to meet a lot of our friends and current and past players. It is a great occasion.”

For the future, a large plot has been identified in South Kodagu and there are plans to set up the Kodava Tradition and Heritage Centre. It will have two international-standard hockey grounds, a heritage centre and museum.

source: http://www.dnaindia.com / by Vivek Phadnis / Home> Bangalore> Report> DNA / Monday, Nov 14th, 2011

Bopanna, Advani named `Global Shapers`

Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Sports, , , , , , ,

Bangalore:
Davis cupper Rohan Bopanna and ace cueist Pankaj Advani have been inducted into the `Global Shapers`, an exclusive community of exceptional youth in their 20s, established by the World Economic Forum (WEF).

Although Bopanna is 31, an exception has been made in his case, it was clarified. Advani, 27, has seven World titles to his credit.

According to the release, the community comprises of a selected band of exceptional youth from across the world, possessing unique qualities and extraordinary achievements that set them apart from the mainstream.

Representing all walks of life, these individuals are highly committed to developing their leadership potential towards serving society and adhere to the highest standards of moral and intellectual integrity, it added.

“We are becoming increasingly aware that solutions to our global challenges must purposefully engage youth, at all levels — locally, regionally, nationally and globally. This generation has the passion, dynamism and entrepreneurial spirit to shape the future,” Professor Klaus Schwab, WEF Chairman said.

IANS

source: http://www.zeenews.india.com / by IANS / Tuesday, Nov 01st, 2011

Chikka grabs Western India Golf title

Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Sports

MUMBAI:

Seenappa Chikkarangappa, the reigning National champion completed a comprehensive 11-shot win over fellow Bangalore player, Khalin Joshi in the LIC – Western India golf championships at the BPGC on Friday.

Chikka, who was having a less than satisfactory last few weeks, carded a five-under 65, and totaled a whopping 20-under 260. Khalin shot one-under 69 in the final round and finished at 271, 11 shots behind the winner.

Completing a 1-2-3 for Bangalore golfers was Udayan Mane (68), who added another good finish to his recent win on the IGU circuit. Mane totaled 274.

Chikka’s win fetched him 50 points towards the IGU order of Merit, while Joshi took 40. Dominic Foos (65, 279) and Angad Cheema (73, 279) tied for fourth at 279 and the sixth place was taken by Manav Das (71, 280).

source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / by TNN / November 05th, 2011

Smashing serves

Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Sports

Despite star players giving it a miss, the Karnataka Badminton league holds promise


Ashwini Ponnappa

Ashwini Ponnappa commanded a price. The Commonwealth Games gold medallist (in the women’s doubles alongside Jwala Gutta) has star value and provided the glamour quotient to the inaugural edition of the Karnataka Badminton League (KBL). She fetched a whopping Rs 2.5 lakh for her appearance in the first week of the league, which runs from November 5 to 19.

“She has a star value and will keep the rest of the team motivated. That is why we bid for her,” says Vishal Vincent Tony of the Aratt Fighters, the franchisee that successfully bid for Ashwini. “Her presence in the team, even if it is only going to be for the league stages (Ashwini leaves for the Hong Kong Super Series on November 12) should do wonders to the morale of youngsters in the team. She is only participating in the mixed doubles category. We have also bagged Jacqueline Rose Kunnath, who commanded the second highest bid of Rs 1.06 lakh to play the women’s singles, there is no reason why we cannot do well,” says Vincent.

Beside the two women stars, Rohan Castellino was picked to provide the thrust in the men’s singles.

If Aratt Fighters spent huge sums on women players, franchisees such as Fly Power Warriors and Li Ning Lions did not invest on big names and instead opted for a balanced team. “This being the inaugural year, there was a lot of apprehension and uncertainty. We chose a couple of young guns to deliver for us and hopefully they will,” says Choudhary, a member of the Fly Power Warriors, for whom Rajas Jawalkar and Sindhu Bharadwaj will lead the singles challenge in the men’s and women’s categories respectively.

P. Kumar of Kumar Sports, owner of the Li Ning Lions, said: “Li Ning is the leading shuttle-cock manufacturer in China and is making its presence felt in the Indian market. This league could provide the perfect platform. We are happy with the team.”

Agarwal and Bhandari joined hands to form the AB Chargers and picked the top ranked men’s singles player, Mohit Kamath, alongside women’s player Mahima Aggarwal and doubles specialist Vineeth Manuel. “There were some hiccups but overall, I am quite satisfied,” says Bhandari after the players auction that lasted nearly six hours.

With Aditya Prakash and Prakash Jolly going to White Peacock and K2 Smashers respectively, one felt the Hennur Banaswadi Cosmopolitan Club (HB Challengers) were the ones to lose out, with just Rishiket Yeligar and B.S. Phalgun leading the challenge in the men’s singles. But Srinivasan (Secretary) and Krishna Kumar (coach), who once formed a strong doubles combination with George Thomas in the ’90s, felt the players would deliver. “We win some and lose some. It is a learning curve for us. We will be better equipped next time,” says Manjesh, who represented the K2 Smashers.

“There were too many caps,” was the general feeling and the phenomena resulted in active players like Poorvisha Ram and Ruth Misha going unsold. On the flip side were the withdrawal of the eighth team, Team Victor, from the fray and some internationally renowned names like Aravind Bhat and Anup Sridhar giving the league a miss for varied reasons.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / MetroPlus> Life & Style / by Avinash Nair / November 02nd, 2011

Ahli-Sidab hog the limelight

Nri's / Pio's, Sports

Dhyan chand celebrations: Guest of Honour Leslie Claudius receiving a memento from chief guest Swati Kulkarni, charge de affaires at Indian Embassy. Right, winners Ahli-Sidab Club with the trophy and dignitaries. – O.K.Mohammed Ali/ TIMES OF OMAN


MUSCAT: Ahli-Sidab Club beat Coorg (Orange) 3-1 via sudden death to lift the trophy during the Dhyan Chand Day celebrations held at the Ahli-Sidab ground yesterday.

The hockey celebrations organised by the Indian Social Club Bhojpuri Club in association with Al Omaniya Financial Services and the Indian Embassy ended with an hockey exhibition by the school girls from Indian School Muscat and Indian school Al Seeb.

Ahli-Sidab and Team Coorg Orange both qualified for the final which was witnessed by chief guest Swati Kulkarni, guest of honour Olympian Leslie Claudius, special guests Hamad Hamad Al Ghafri, Mustafa Al Lawati, Mohammed Shambeh Al Raisi, hockey veteran S.A.S. Naqvi, officials from Oman Hockey Association, representatives of the sponsoring companies and a host of hockey lovers who cheered on their teams.

“It was a very exciting game, both teams played very well and that is how a good game of hockey should be played,” said Leslie, who also thanked the organisers.

The technical committee had ISC sports secretary Imtiaz Usman, Salih Thacher and Azra Aleem, who also had the spectators enthralled with their running commentary.

During the prize distribution Guest of Honour Leslie Claudius along with Charge de Affaires Swati Kulkarni and others handed the trophies to the winners, runners-up, and other individual stars.

Mohammed Ayad from Ahli-Sidab was declared the best goalkeeper where as the best defender was Nadeem from UTSC.
Taking the best forward award was Mobin from Team Coorg Orange.The Man of the final for his outstanding display of hockey was Shankar from Team Coorg Orange and the biggest award of all the Man of the Tournament was handed over to Saleh, who represented Ahli-Sidab.

The tournament was sponsored by Al Omaniya Financial Services, Passage to India Restaurant, Natural Stone LLC, Raha Poly Products, Sadolin Paints, Al Ansari Group of Companies, Air India, Purshottam Kanji Exchange, Al Taqdeer Fashions and Gulf Cricket Academy.

Speaking after the tournament, Mohammed Irshad, the convener of the Bhojpuri Wing, said: “We have been organising this special day every year and I thank all those who have come forward to support the event. I also extend my thanks to Team Coorg, UTSC and Ahli-Sidab for making the day memorable.”

Mohammed Irshad also mentioned that he was honoured to have Olympian Leslie Claudius as the guest of honour this time.
“He (Leslie Claudius) was kind enough to oblige and accept our invitation to be part of the Dhyan Chand Day programme,” he said. “I must also acknowledge the moral support provided by the Indian Embassy.”

source: http://www.timesofoman.com / Times News Service / October 29th, 2011

Bopanna and Qureshi clinch Stockholm Open

Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Sports

Indian doubles star Rohan Bopanna and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi of Pakistan have clinched their second ATP doubles title of the season at the 2011 Stockholm Open on Sunday.

Rohan Bopanna and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi has clinched 2011 Stockholm Open tournament on Sunday, after beating Brazil pair Marcelo Melo and Bruno Soares in the final in straight sets with a 6-1 and 6-3. The Indo-Pak pair has clinched third doubles ATP title at Stockholm, after winning 2011 Gerry Weber Open in Halle and Johannesburg Open in 2010. The top seed Bopanna and Qureshi has won the championship final in just 57 minutes and bagged €29,400 prize money and taken 250 ranking points each.

The 31-year-old Rohan Bopanna also won ATP doubles title in 2008 along with the Eric Butorac of Untied States at Los Angeles. The Indo-Pak pair will play next tournament at the Bank Austria Tennis event, played on Indoor hard courts schedule to begin on 25th October. Bopanna and Qureshi will battle against their Stockholm Open finalist Marcelo Melo and Bruno Soares in the opening round of Bank Austria Tennis tournament on Wednesday in Austria.

Bopanna and Qureshi are playing outstanding tennis in the doubles matches, where the pair also reached the semi finals of the 2011 US Open tournament, before falling to Poland pair Fyrstenberg and Matkowski in straight sets.

source: http://www.livetennisguide.com / filded under Tennis News by Terry Lawrence / Monday, October 24th, 2011

Gurbani proves her prowess

Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Sports

Kandy, October 22nd, Agencies

Chikka second in men’s section
Gurbani Singh showed great stamina as she beat Isza Fariza Ismail of Malaysia on the 34th hole on Saturday to win the 124th Sri Lankan Amateur Golf championships.

With this victory, the young Indian re-established herself as one of the leading amateurs in the region. She had earlier won the semifinals on the 16th hole.

In the men’s category, India did well as S Chikkarangappa finished runners-up with a total score of 292 over 72 holes.

Chikkarangappa’s effort included a 66 in the third round.

Gurbani beat Thom Yuet of Malaysia five and three in quarterfinals and then Shanika Fernando of Sri Lanka in the semifinals.

Poor show

All three Indians — Sujjan Singh (77-72), Anirban Lahiri (71-79) and Himmat Rai (77-73) — came up short in the second round as the cut came three-over 147, to make an early exit from the inaugural CJ Invitational in Gyeonggi-do (Korea).

Himmat was done in by a disappointing eight, a triple bogey on par-5 14 and he ended with a six-over total.

Lahiri had a nightmarish round with three bogeys in first four holes and then two doubles on the seventh and ninth with another bogey in between on eighth.

He was eight-over for front nine, followed by a third double bogey on 10th to go 10-over. But he eagled 12th, birdied 14th and 16th before bogeying 18th.

Meanwhile, 25-year-old Korean Lee Ki-sang used a stunning start to snatch the third round lead from American star Anthony Kim and tournament host K J Choi.

Atwal slips to 20th

Arjun Atwal failed to keep the momentum going as he slipped from joint lead to 20th position at the end of the second round of the Children’s Miracle Network Classic in Florida.

Atwal could manage just two in the second round, even as he gave away two bogeys.
Meanwhile, Justin Leonard had a nine-under 63 as he tied for the team with Henrik Stenson and Bio Kim at 12-under 144 for 36 holes. Stenson shot 64 and Kim 65.

Kapur misses cut

Shiv Kapur, fighting to save his card on the European Tour, suffered a setback as he missed the halfway cut at the Castello Masters on the European Tour in Valencia.
His modest first round 72 was followed by a 73 that led to him to missing the cut by two shots.

Local favourite, Sergio Garcia shot a eight-under 63 to move into the halfway lead and put himself in position to win his first title in almost three years.

Smriti tied 30th

Smriti Mehra managed to overcame her finishing blues to make the cut at the Sanya Ladies Open golf tournament in Sanya, China.

The veteran golfer shot rounds of 73 and 71 to be even-par 144. Smriti is tied 30th alongside the winner of last year’s Hero Indian Open, Laura Davies (70-74) and former LPGA player, Jennifer Rosales (73-71).

China’s Pan Yanhong maintained her one-stroke lead over Thailand’s Kongkrapan Patcharachuta at the end of second round.

Pan signed out with a three-under 69 for a two-round total of 136, one stroke ahead of Patcharachuta.

source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Home> Sports

India Route Crowned the World’s Ultimate Riding Wonder at THE 2011 SHELL ADVANCE MALAYSIAN MOTORCYCLE GRAND PRIX

Sports, World Opinion

After several months of searching, Shell Advance, the leading motorcycle lubricant brand, unveiled Coorg to Munnar via Ooty, India, as the world’s ultimate Riding Wonder at an exclusive event held at the 2011 Shell Advance Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix.

In Sepang, Shell Advance guests joined a panel of experts from Ducati, Dorna, Shell Advance and the Sepang International Circuit, as well as selected media from China, India and Indonesia, in a discussion to decide which route would be crowned the world’s ultimate Riding Wonder from the list of the top 7 Riding Wonders voted for by the public.

The panellists’ votes were combined with the public votes from 8 countries to reveal Coorg to Munnar via Ooty, India as the winner. It received many public votes and was chosen by two of the seven panellists because of its varied scenery, mixture of mountain climbs, twisting corners and diverse wildlife along the route.

One lucky guest, Alessandro Donadello from Italy, also won the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to visit India and the Ultimate Riding Wonder.

Tanmay Jaswal, Shell Advance Global Marketing Manager: “When Shell Advance launched the 7 Riding Wonders of the World campaign, we were asking biking enthusiasts to help us find the riding roads, tracks and routes around the world that best complement our ethos of Responsiveness, Control and Enjoyment.

We were overwhelmed with the response that we received and the results across all 22 routes were so close throughout the competition, but unfortunately there can only be one winner.

We would like to congratulate Alessandro on winning and look forward to giving them the chance to experience the world’s ultimate Riding Wonder in India.”

Panellist Nicky Hayden, Ducati Corse rider, said: “I’ m really pleased that Coorg to Munnar via Ooty, India has been named the world’s ultimate Riding Wonder. There are so many great rides out there and I love the tracks, but think it was a good choice”

Alessandro Donadello “I can’t believe that I’ve won, I have never won anything in my life before. Thanks to Shell Advance I am here in Malaysia, and now my first trip trip to India It?s like a dream come true. It will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience that I’ll never forget!”

Source: Shell
source: http://www.bikeland.org / October 22nd, 2011