Sportiqo, a blockchain-based fantasy sports platform has announced ace Indian cricketer Robin Uthappa as their brand ambassador. Sportiqo marked the beginning of its operations in India in the month of February and so far, amassed 32,000 active users owing to its beta launch. The stylish batter from Karnataka, Robin is a generational talent, wanted by every cricket league in the world. Uthappa was a part of the Indian squad which won the ICC World T20 in 2007. He is known for his masterful batting performances and his great impact on his team’s success.
Speaking on the association, Robin Uthappa said, “Sportiqo is the perfect platform where I am able to find a cohesive link between sports and technology. The stock market is something that is often portrayed as being meant for a particular segment of the audience but with Sportiqo sports fans across age groups would not only be able to learn how the stock markets work but at the same time be able to use their sporting knowledge and skills to do it in a fun and engaging manner.”
He further added, “Making the youth learn about investing and trading using cricket is a great idea. India needs creative options to improve the financial literacy of the masses and I am glad that Sportiqo is addressing that gap. I am proud to be associated with the platform.”
“We are delighted to welcome Robin Uthappa to the Sportiqo family as our new brand ambassador. He is one of the most exciting cricketers of his era. said Anindya Kar, Chief Product Officer and Co-Founder of Sportiqo. “With his disruptive and instinctively innovative approach to his sport, Robin Uthappa embodies the same pioneering spirit that will drive Sportiqo to keep pushing boundaries in the sector.”
Sportiqo will also launch a host of digital campaigns with Robin Uthappa in the near future.
Sportiqo has so far, raised $1.25 million (Rs. 10 crores) in the pre-seed round from angel investors with a focus on user acquisition in its first phase post-launch. The cricket stock market platform is already live for the ILT20 League, and Pakistan Super League (PSL) and additionally, in the coming time, Sportiqo will add a portfolio of other sports and leagues as well such as the English Premier League and the Indian Premier League among others.
source: http://www.adgully.com / AdGully / Home> Marketing / by Adgully Bureau / March 21st, 2023
Bopanna thus surpassed Daniel Nestor of Canada, who had claimed the 2015 Cincinnati Masters to become the oldest champion at the age of 42.
Matthew Ebden, of Australia, left, and teammate Rohan Bopanna, of India, hold up the men’s doubles winner’s trophy at the BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament.(Photo |AP)
Indian Wells :
India’s Rohan Bopanna became the oldest ATP Masters 1000 champion when he and his Australian partner Matt Ebden claimed the men’s doubles crown at the BNP Paribas Open here.
The 43-year-old Bopanna and Ebden, 35, defeated top-seeded Wesley Koolhof of the Netherlands and Neil Skupski of Britain 6-3, 2-6, 10-8 in the final on Saturday.
“Truly special. It’s called Tennis Paradise for a reason,” said Bopanna, who was playing in his 10th ATP Masters 1000 final.
“I’ve been, over the years, coming here and seeing all these guys win for so many years. I’m really happy that Matt and I were able to do this and get this title here.
“It’s been some tough matches, close matches. Today we played against one of the best teams out there. Really happy that we got the trophy.”
Bopanna thus surpassed Daniel Nestor of Canada, who had claimed the 2015 Cincinnati Masters to become the oldest champion at the age of 42.
“I spoke to Danny Nestor and I told him sorry I’m going to beat his record,” he joked.
“Winning the title, that stays with me, so really happy with that. ” It was the 43-year-old’s fifth Masters 1000 doubles title and first since he won in Monte Carlo in 2017.
This was the third final of the year for the Indo-Australian duo.
He now holds 24 tour-level trophies in his cabinet.
The Indo-Australian pair stunned defending and two-time desert titlists John Isner and Jack Sock in the semi-finals, while getting the better off Canadian singles stars Felix Auger-Aliassime and Denis Shapovalov in the quarters.
Bopanna and Ebden had defeated Rafael Matos and David Vega Hernandez in their opening match.
A former World No.3, Bopanna jumped four places to No.11 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Doubles Rankings.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Sports> Tennis / by PTI / March 19th, 2023
Bommai inaugurates Appachattolanda Cup Kodava Hockey Festival at Napoklu
Madikeri:
Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said that Kodava Development Corporation, a long-pending demand of the people of the district, will be a reality soon.
“I will issue an order on the setting up of the Kodava Development Corporation at the earliest,” he said after inaugurating the Kodava family hockey tournament hosted by the Appachattolanda family at General Thimayya Stadium in Cheriyaparambu of Napoklu last evening.
“Kodavas are physically strong and protect the nation. The Government is committed to the welfare and growth of the Kodava community and the Kodava Community Development Corporation that will strive exclusively for the overall development of the unique Kodava community has been a long-pending demand from the community and steps would be taken to realise it,” he added.
Picture shows former Indian Team hockey coaches M.P. Ganesh and A.B. Subbaiah greeting the players.
Heaping praises on the concept of a family hockey tournament, the CM said that the concept is wonderful and unique and brings Kodava families under one roof. “Kodava families are well-knit families. At a time when relationships are waning, the tourney has helped bring together families. Families should be united and relationships should bring together the people,” he said. “This is a special tournament as it is organised by the Kodava families. These families enjoy a good relationship, and family bond and the heritage of the Kodava community is being promoted through the game of hockey. The culture, tradition, and practices of the Kodavas unite all. Their attire and food are special,” he added.
“It is happy to note that this tournament is going on for the last 23 years. Families must unite and relationships must prosper. This is the culture of India. This kind of tournament is not seen anywhere in the world. Hence, the State Government has released Rs. 1 crore for the tournament,” Bommai said.
The hockey festival is being held from Mar. 18 to Apr. 9 on three grounds and a record 336 families or teams have registered for it. This is the 23rd edition of the event which had a four-year break from 2018 onwards owing to natural calamities in the district followed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Earlier, the tournament began with a grand procession. Besides this year’s participants, the family teams which have participated in the tournament in the previous years also took part in the procession. Heads of the family teams gave the green signal for the hockey festival by firing 23 rounds of gunshots in the air.
The idea of a family tournament to bring together different Kodava families was conceived by the late Pandanda Kuttappa, popular as Kuttani, and the first edition was held in 1997 and has since then grown into a major event. The first exhibition match was held between the 37th Coorg Field Regiment and Kodava Academy-11. The second exhibition match was held between Indian Junior Hockey team and Karnataka team consisting of Olympian players from Kodagu.
The CM was felicitated by handing over a silver hockey stick and silver ‘odikathi’ on the occasion. Bommai was dressed in Kodava attire, complete with ‘Kupiya-chele’, ‘peechekathi’ and ‘mandethuni’. Several cultural programmes were performed.
Minister S.T. Somashekar, MLAs K.G. Bopaiah, Appachu Ranjan, MP Pratap Simha, MLC Suja Kushalappa, former MLC Veena Achaiah, DC Dr. B.C. Satish, SP Ramarajan, ZP CEO Akash, ADC Nanjundegowda, CCF B. Niranjan Murthy, Kodava Hockey Academy Director Cheeyanda Satya, Hockey Festival Convener Appachattolanda Manu Muthappa, Appachattolanda family Pattedara Erappa, ex-Advocate General and Congress leader A.S. Ponnanna, Bangalore Kodava Samaja President M.T. Nanaiah, Padmashri Rani Machaiah, former hockey coaches M.P. Ganesh and A.B. Subbaiah were present.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> News / March 19th, 2023
The Kodava community in the hilly district conducts the inter-family hockey tournament every year where players from over 200 families participate.
The annual Kodava hockey festival has no bar on age or gender. The only rule of forming a team is that all members must be from the same family. | Photo Credit: File photo
Napoklu, a small town 21 km away from district headquarters Madikeri, is all set to host what is termed the world’s largest field-hockey tournament, as the annual Kodava hockey festival will be held from March 18 to April 9 after a four-year gap.
The town has only three mud grounds. On Thursday, workers were seen preparing the grounds for the tournament, while temporary bleachers were up on all sides of the ground where 30,000 spectators can be accommodated, said Navin, a member of the festival organising committee, while overseeing preparations at the Napoklu General Thimayya Ground.
“In all, three grounds will be utilised for the hockey tournament and they will also be used as a backup in case it rains,” he said. Multiple galleries, lighting, speakers, and display boards have been set up on the ground. An estimated ₹1.5 crore have been spent to organise the event by the family.
The Kodava community in the hilly district conducts the inter-family hockey tournament every year where Kodava players from over 200 families come together to play. From 2018, the hockey festival was not held due to large-scale devastation caused by heavy rainfall and the COVID-19 pandemic.
The sporting event has no bar on age or gender. The only rule of forming a team is that all members must be from the same family.
This year, the Appachettolanda family is organising the tournament under the aegis of Kodava Hockey Academy. “From every family, young boys and girls, men, women, and professionals, and former hockey players who have represented the State or country, will be part of the family team. Through this event, we are bringing all the Kodavas together. Most of the community members who are outside the district working in various professions come to Kodagu to be part of the sporting event like a festival,” said Appachettolanda Manu Muthappa, president of the Hockey Festival Committee.
The late Pandanda Kuttappa conceived the idea of the Kodava family hockey tournament, which morphed into a major sporting event and festival in the country. “Mr. Kuttappa started the Kodava Family Hockey Tournament in 1997 and was organised by the Pandanda family first in a belief that tapping the inherent love among the Kodavas for hockey could help bring the families and the community together,” Mr. Muthappa noted.
The tournament also emerged as a platform for the community members to discuss trade and business interests besides scouting for marital alliances, according to Maletira Srinivas, secretary of Kodava Hockey Academy. “In the first tournament which was held in 1997, nearly 60 teams took part. The format of the tournament was such that every year, one of the Kodava families had to host the event. Now, over 200 families participate where 3,000 players play hockey,” Mr. Srinivas said.
“Starting with the first tournament, the numbers have increased, reaching a high of 281 in 2003, where this event became the world’s largest hockey tournament. Lasting three weeks, it is a single-elimination tournament and concludes on April 9,” he added.
CM to inaugurate
The Kodava Hockey Namme (festival) is hosted by a different family each year and named after it. Families apply to the Kodava Hockey Academy expressing interest and are allotted the tournament after evaluation. There is no permanent venue; the festival has been held across the district in previous years.
On March 18, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai will inaugurate the festival, which will open with an exhibition match between India Junior XI and Karnataka Men’s XI. The organisers said the festival is held at an estimated cost of ₹ 1.5 crore all raised through funds. While the winning team of the festival this year will be given a cash prize of ₹3 lakh, the runners-up will get ₹2 lakh, and the second runner-up will get ₹1 lakh.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> India> Karnataka / by Darshan Devaiah B P / March 17th, 2023
Ponnappa, 33-year-old former World Championship bronze medallist, has formed a new partnership in women’s doubles with 19-year-old Tanisha Crasto.
Ashwini Ponnappa along with her new partner Tanisha Crasto in Pune | Senior Badminton National Championships
Through the course of her career, Ashwini Ponnappa has been part of many firsts in women’s doubles for Indian badminton. Ponnappa and Jwala Gutta, became the first Indian women to win a badminton BWF World Championship medal (bronze in 2011). She has won gold, silver and bronze medals at the Commonwealth Games and also the women’s team bronze medal at the Incheon Asian Games in 2014. She has been part of Uber Cup bronze medal-winning squads.
But now the 33-year-old, a veteran of the sport in India, finds herself in the nascent stage of a women’s doubles partnership. In December, she made the decision to pair up with 19-year-old Tanisha Crasto for women’s doubles.
The change sees the once world No 10 women’s doubles player now find herself ranked 141 as a pair with Crasto, albeit they’ve played just two international competitions together – a quarterfinal finish at the Super 500 event in Indonesia in January, followed by a first round exit at the Thailand Open Super 300.
A third event was the quarterfinal finish at the 84th Senior National Championships, at the Balewadi Sports Complex in Pune on Sunday as they put up a good fight before losing against the in-form top-seed pairing of Gayatri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly.
It’s a long way back to the top, but in an interview with Scroll in Pune she asserted she’s looking forward to climbing back up the ladder, while also exploring a new role in commentary.
Excerpts from the interview:
How has the new partnership been working for you?
It’s good. Tanisha is young, she’s very energetic. It’s nice to play with that energy. We haven’t really had many tournaments together, we’ve played two and this is the third. But I’m excited to be here at the Nationals, it’s been a while since I played at this competition.
Earlier you had Jwala Gutta as a partner who was senior to you, then N Sikki Reddy who was not much dissimilar in terms of age. Now you have a partner who is 19. Are you also playing the role of mentor?
You could say that. I would say there’s a vast difference from when I started playing with Jwala to the youngsters now. They’ve all been playing international tournaments from when they were 17 or 18. They’ve all been there, done that. The doubles game has changed and the approach has changed. There’s not a lot of mentoring, she is good in mixed doubles and she’s done well there. Women’s doubles is a little different, but it’s good to have someone who moves into the net. She has that energy and speed on the court.
With age have you changed your approach to the game?
Of course. It’s inevitable for that to happen. I can’t be compared to a 19-year-old in terms of fitness and energy on court. I definitely have to be smarter on court towards the game in order to make sure that I can physically take the toll that badminton has on the body. I have to be very mindful of my training and how I approach the game.
Is it about the warmups and cooldowns getting longer now for you?
Yeah. Probably. But I’ve always been someone who had a longer duration for warmup. But cooldown definitely still needs to get better.
Recently we saw a different side to you – as a commentator. How was that experience?
I happened to be at the tournament and they asked me if I’d like to give it a shot. I felt no harm in doing that, although I feel that it’s not my cup of tea in terms of how I speak. I’d love to get better at it.
But I loved the experience. It was fun being on the other side of the TV. Watching players play you see things differently. You see patterns which you otherwise don’t look out for unless you’re getting ready for a match. That was interesting for me.
I sat for five matches during the Thailand Open, it was interesting for me to watch patterns match out of match. Like if one side was slower or faster, how players dealt with it. You understand that the player who is actually smarter on that day in dealing with the conditions has the upper hand. So that was very interesting that way.
Do you feel there were more expectations when you’re in the commentary box? Since people know here’s someone who has played at the highest level, is there an expectation for some insight which you’d not get otherwise?
Yeah, I am supposed to be the expert. The colour commentary part of it. It does get tricky because, that’s what I meant that it’s not my cup of tea. Not in a bad way, but being articulate about what I see, I’m not a journalist, I’m don’t have the lingo for it. So sometimes I feel, ‘what am I saying?’ Sometimes it’s so repetitive. But it was nice. Although I was a bit nervous, it was an enjoyable experience.
Is that something you’re looking to pursue later on?
Maybe later. Honestly, I don’t know. Right now, I’m definitely focusing on the game. But if I get these opportunities in between to commentate, I’ll definitely give it a shot.
What are the kind of things you and Tanisha have to do off-court just to get the chemistry going to gel on-court? And what are the targets?
This was our third tournament together. We’ve sent out entries for tournaments where we haven’t got an entry. But Tanisha will be playing in mixed doubles (with Ishaan Bhatnagar) in those tournaments. We haven’t had so much time in general to build the partnership because it is brand new, we just started. There’s still a long way to go, we still need that bonding time.
Is that, perhaps the target?
I would say the first target is to get an entry.
You mentioned the doubles game has changed. How?
Over the years the whole approach has changed. When Jwala and I were playing, we were kind of like the path-breakers in a way for doubles. There wasn’t a lot before us. Nobody we could look up to, nobody who had ever won. We had a lot of firsts together. But the game-changer has been that youngsters have been given a lot of exposure to tournaments. They’ve been playing tournaments since they are 17 – that was unheard of back then. We didn’t even have those tournaments in India.
Right now we have four international tournaments in India. You’re giving youngsters an opportunity to get that hunger at a very young age because you’re giving them a taste of what international badminton is. Also, everyone is going out, everyone is sponsored. That’s changed.
That’s why you see a lot of youngsters playing and taking it up. Otherwise, our generation, people in the past, they trained a lot, but never played tournaments. I wouldn’t say you didn’t have that talent back then, you just didn’t know. They were just training, they didn’t have the exposure, no push to go out. That has changed, and that’s why we see a rise in a lot of doubles players playing and doing well.
It’s because they’ve been pushed from a young age, getting out to participate, get that exposure, start training at a young age. These girls are 19. At that time, at 19, nobody was really encouraged to go out.
Yet you’ve remained relevant throughout this. What’s been the changes you’ve had to make in the way you approach the game to continue playing at the highest level?
I would say, I still need to get to the top. I have, in the past. But currently I’m starting from scratch. Ground zero. It’s challenging because you’ve been there and you’re coming back all the way down. It’s a reset.
source: http://www.scroll.in / Scroll.in / Home> Badminton / by Shahid Judge / February 27th, 2023
Priya Kushalappa is seen teeing off to inaugurate the 21st Edition of Kodagu Golf Open Championship – 2022, sponsored by Association of Kodagu Golfers of J.W. Golf Club, at J.W. Golf Club this morning.
B.M. Nagesh (President, JWGC), M.R. Mohan Kumar (Hon. Secretary, JWGC), Keerthy Kumar (Hon. Treasurer, JWGC), K.S. Sudheer Bhat (Chairman, Tournament & Handicap), H.C. Subramanya (Committee Member, JWGC), M.S. Yehswanth (Committee Member, JWGC), M.A. Bopanna (Committee Member, JWGC), Dr. P.A. Kushalappa (President, Association of Kodagu Golfers of JWGC), M.B. Nanaiah (Treasurer of Association of Kodagu Golfers of JWGC), C.B. Changappa (Secretary, Association of Kodagu Golfers of JWGC) and other JWGC Members were present during the inauguration.
173 golfers are participating in the two-day championship
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Photo News / December 10th, 2022
In order to motivate budding athletes, Olympian Ashwini Nachappa’s Sports Academy had organised the Track and Field Championship event for kids under 12, 14 and 16 years at KALS Grounds in Kaikeri, Gonikoppal, on Feb. 7.
Students from various schools in Kodagu, Mysuru, Bengaluru and Mandya participated in the event.
The following students from Mysuru district, coached by Puneeth of Mysore University, have secured a total of 3 Gold, 5 Silver and 8 Bronze medals:
Girls Category
U-16: Charvi – Bronze in 600m; U-14: Ishana Devaiah Pykera (Excel Public School) – Gold in 600m and Silver in 200m; H. Saha (St. Joseph’s School) – Bronze in 600m; U-12: Nischitha Gowda (Vijaya Vittala School) – Bronze in 600m and 100m.
Boys Category
U-16: M.N. Vipul (Sadvidya High School) – Gold in 100m and in 200m along with Individual Championship; Madhu – Silver in 100m and 200m; Kishan – Bronze in 800m; U-14: Ayish – Silver in 200m; Ishaan – Bronze in 100m; U-12: Chiranth – Silver in 600m; Adithya, Shireesh – Bronze in 600m.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> News / February 21st, 2023
On Friday, Indian tennis player Rohan Bopanna and his Australian partner Matthew Ebden took home the men’s doubles championship in the Qatar Open 2023 tennis competition in Doha. The pair defeated Botic van de Zandschulp of the Netherlands and Constant Lestienne of France 6(5)-7(7), 6-4, 10-6.
It was Rohan Bopanna’s second victory in the Qatar Open. He had finished second last year with Canadian Denis Shapovalov in the doubles competition after winning it in 2020 with his Dutch partner Wesley Koolhof.
Throughout his career, Rohan Bopanna has already won 23 doubles championships. It was his first time playing alongside current Wimbledon doubles winner Matthew Ebden. At Tel Aviv, Pune, and Adelaide, the Indian tennis player won three championships last year. Bopanna’s first championship of 2023 was the ATP 250 victory in Qatar.
Bopanna and Ebden also advanced to the Rotterdam Open ATP 500 final last week, but they fell to Austin Krajicek of the USA and Ivan Dodig of Croatia in the match tiebreaker following the winning point.
The third-seeded Indian-Australian combination in Doha on Friday had a break advantage at 6-5 in the first set before being pushed back and dropping the set in a tiebreaker. In the second game, both defences improved, and the teams maintained their serves until the ninth game. Bopanna and Ebden, though, triumphed in the tenth game to force a match tiebreak.
Bopanna is ranked No. 37 in the world and No. 17 in the ATP doubles rankings. The match tiebreaker was won in 99 minutes by Ebden after they successfully converted four of six break-point opportunities.
source: http://www.sportscafe.in / Sportscafe / Home> Tennis> National> News / by SportsCafe Desk / February 25th, 2023
The issues and problems affecting women in sports in the country came up for discussion with Olympian wrestler Vinesh Phogat focussing on sexual harassment faced by women sportspersons and badminton star Jwala Gutta pointing at the lack of a proper attitude towards female athletes.
Former sprinter and Olympian Ashwini Nachappa pointed at the need for change in the mindset of administrators and in the governance of sports.
All these issues were raised during the ‘Fight like a Woman – Guts, Grit and Glory’ session during the second edition of ABP’s ‘Ideas of India’ summit here.
Speaking on the occasion, Arjuna Awardee and Commonwealth gold winner, Vineesh Phogat opened up about her own struggles of sexual misconduct that goes unnoticed in the field of sports.
“Every day was an internal battle to not let powerful people break you with their antics and torture,” she said.
After playing at a senior position for several years, she added “I felt in a secure position to be able to speak about the issues so girls at the start of their career don’t face what I had to go through.”
Vinesh believed that “A clean-up of society is essential for women to flourish in sports and speak about sexual misconduct.”
Jwala Gutta, also spoke about her struggles in the #MeToo movement. �
“I was threatened where ultimately I had to knock on the doors of the High Court,” she said.
“Sports in our country is considered as a good hobby or habit for girls until you win a medal, and then suddenly you become ‘Bharat ki Beti’,” added Jwala, Arjuna Awardee and Commonwealth Games gold medal winner.
The panel was further enlightened by Nachappa, former international athlete and Arjuna Awardee, who spoke about the evolution in sports over the past few decades.
“I think the process of a complete overhaul of the sports federation has begun as we see a lot more women across the sports board,” she said.
In 2010, she started the ‘Clean Sports India Movement’ with 8-9 other sportspersons to speak about the issues in the federation.
The Indian hockey player, Sushila Chanu Pukhrambam and the Pro Squash player and Arjuna Awardee and Commonwealth gold Winner, Joshna Chinappa also highlighted the positive change they witnessed.
“We have come a long way from when we started out,” they said.
Further commenting on the changes required in the sports administration in India, Nachappa said, “Its important that more professionals come into the management of sports, under an umbrella that is autonomous, which actually manages and holds federations accountable.”
Adding to this, Vinesh said, “If a sportsperson or professional leads the federation, it can create a positive impact on the industry as they understand the needs of an athlete and can even support them emotionally.”
A need for better coaches and support staff in the industry was also highlighted by the panel. “We need a good programme for coaches to overcome the lack of the same, only then we will be able make good athletes.”
The summit had an invigorating line-up of speakers with prominent figures from the world of business, politics, artists from the Hindi film industry, authors and other eminent sectors. The two-day event primarily addressed India’s stand as a burgeoning economy and global leader in shaping the future.
source: http://www.morungexpress.com / The Morung Express / Home> Sports / by IANS / February 25th, 2023
All of 37, Mayur Subbaiah, once a part of India’s medal-winning hockey team, now takes pride in working for the South Western Railways as Deputy Chief Inspector. He was a vital cog in Indian hockey as a drag specialist and an expert in penalty corner conversion.
Mayur might not have been born under a lucky star as the most sought-after Indian hockey player, but he has made his mark in the Indian Hockey arena and his love for the game and sense of duty keeps him going. He continues his passion for the game and does not miss a chance to wield the hockey stick and wants to do something worthwhile for his home district of Kodagu, the cradle of hockey.
Born to Bollajira Jaya Subbaiah and Rathi Subbaiah at Balaji village in South Kodagu on 18.7.1986, Mayur did his primary at Lions School, Gonikoppal from 1990 to 1995 and later went to Bangalore to join Junior Sports Authority of India (SAI) Training Centre in 1996 for hockey selection and he was the youngest and talented player.
He did his schooling at St. Joseph’s Indian High School from Seventh to Tenth Standard and played for several School, District, State and National-level School games. His position in the game was right half and back. Coach Manohar Katige recognised Mayur’s talent and game skills and motivated him. “I hold him in great respect and fondly recall the memories of Manohar Sir who groomed me,” Mayur reveals.
Making the mark very young
“I used to dream of playing for the Karnataka Team and later on Indian Team. I was the youngest player in the school team and many seniors and my coach encouraged me and I had a chance to play for the senior SAI Team in my ninth standard itself. I worked hard and got selected for senior SAI team in 2000 and was a regular player for that team,” he says.
“I saw many senior players on the SAI campus and my inspiration was Anjaparavanda B. Subbaiah, the former Indian hockey goalkeeper and coach. His passion, confidence and positive attitude further motivated me and I had a deep desire of wearing the Indian jersey. At SAI, I saw many Indian top players play like Dhanraj Pillai, Ashish Ballal, Sabu Varkey, Prabhjot Singh and Baljit Singh in action and that was inspirational,” he recalls.
Mayur has played for several Sub-Junior Karnataka, Junior Karnataka and Senior Karnataka hockey teams and he was a specialist in drag-flick. He has played multiple nationals in all categories Under-16, Under-19 and Senior National. He was a part of the Sub-Junior India team in Singapore in 1999 and emerged winners, played for Junior Indian Hockey Team Under-21 match in Dhaka in 2004 and was in the World Cup Under-21 in Chennai.
Lost out due to political lobbying
Though he had a vast experience in playing, Mayur could not play much for India due to political lobbying. “I was best in the ground and was the best in drag-flick and dribbling and no one could match my skills. Still, the selectors preferred some other players over me and this demotivated me. But I managed to make my mark in Indian hockey, despite the politics played by the selectors to include their family members in the national team. If I had support then at my peak, I would have been an ex-Olympian now,” Mayur says with a wry smile.
Mayur was upgraded to the senior SAI camp at the young age of 17. “Len Aiyappa taught me the drag-flick (penalty corner conversion). It involves a player crouching down low next to the ball. It is then picked up by the shaft of the hockey stick and pushed along the ground, while the stick acts like a sling. This helps accelerate the ball. These penalty corners are always taken by a specialist player, known as the drag-flicker. I am proud to say that drag-flick always falls upon the shoulders of someone who is proficient,” Mayur says with confidence.
Camp with commandos
A memorable experience was his time in the National Security Guard (NSG) 45-day Army fitness camp in Manesar with senior Indian hockey team probables where Mayur had the opportunity to play with Dhanraj Pillay, Jugraj, Dilip Tirkey, Ignace Tirkey and many more senior players. This was to make the players mentally tough and increase their endurance levels. “I got an A-1 certificate at the camp,” he adds.
“Being at Senior SAI, I was even playing for the Air India team, Bombay. Bombay was part of the Air India team and I got a job at South Central Railway (Secunderabad) when I was just 18 years and two months. I got through in talent quota and was directly appointed by the Railway Board, New Delhi in 2005 and was the youngest sportsperson of Railway Sports Promotion Board,” he recalls.
Contribution in the Railways teams
As the youngest employee in the Railways, playing for South Central Railway, he gained more experience and laurels and entered the Indian Railways Hockey Teams. Mayur played in All-India tournaments and Senior National Hockey tournaments to win several medals.
“I got the Best Player of the Year Award from the Railway Board. In 2007, I got a call from the Indian Hockey Federation for the Indian National Camp for Olympic Qualifiers Camp and Asia Cup. I got selected for the Asia Cup held in Chennai in 2007 and continued my hockey journey in the Indian Railways and South Central Railway. After playing many All-India tournaments and winning several medals, I got transferred from South Central Railway to South Western Railways,” he says.
“The South Western Railways is the nearest station to my native Kodagu. From 2012 to 2019, I played for this Division and had a successful hockey career for over 22 years. I am now concentrating on my duty as Deputy Chief Inspector. I have received many awards like the DRM Award, PCCM Award and even the GM Award. The motivation provided by the Railway administration helps me keep my dreams alive and every day is a learning experience. Whatever I am today is because of the Indian Railways,” he says.
On future plans, Mayur wants to give back to society. “I want to extend a helping hand to my village, my town, my land and my community which have brought me so much name and fame,” he signs off.
Words of praise from the mentor
“We have had drag-flickers in the team but they are not well-versed in other areas, but Mayur Subbaiah is exceptional. He has the uncanny ability to play in all areas, under any circumstance. If he is provided with a chance in the senior team, he will definitely make a world of difference. I coached Mayur when he was representing SAI and he does not lack in any area because he has got strong basics coming from SAI. His dedication to learning more in the game is tremendous. He has got the passion, is consistent, aggressive, hard-working and has the game.”
[Two-time Olympian and former Indian Goalkeeper Anjaparavanda B. Subbaiah said this about Mayur Subbaiah to a sports magazine]
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Feature Articles / by B.C. Thimmaiah / February 16th, 2023
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