Category Archives: Sports

Happy Birthday Rohan Bopanna: Things to Know About India’s Tennis Ace As He Turns 40

Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Records, All, Sports, World Opinion
Rohan Bopanna (Photo Credits : Getty Images)
Rohan Bopanna (Photo Credits : Getty Images)

One of India’s most decorated tennis player’s Rohan Bopanna celebrates his 40th birthday today (March 4, 2020). Bopanna is one of the country’s most acknowledged players in the doubles and mixed doubles format. The tennis star achieved a career-high ranking of No.3 in doubles on July 22, 2013. Bopanna has been the part of Indian Davis Cup team since 2002 but burst onto the scene during the 2007 Hopman Cup when he partnered Sania Mirza and won the mixed-doubles game against the Czech Republic. On Rohan Bopanna’s birthday, we take a look at some lesser-known facts about him. Rohan Bopanna Gets Wild Card in Doubles at Tata Open Maharashtra 2020.

Born in Bengaluru, India, Bopanna began playing tennis at an early age as his father wanted him to pursue an individual sport. The tennis star’s first ATP title came during the 2008 Countrywide Classic tournament in Los Angeles in the men’s doubles category where he partnered Eric Butorac. Rohan Bopanna partnered with Pakistan player Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi in 2007 and the duo went on to win a number of titles including four Challenger titles and the Johannesburg Open win in 2010.

Lesser-Known Facts About Rohan Bopanna

– Rohan began playing tennis at age 11 as his father wanted him to pursue an individual sport.

– Six-time grand slam champion Stefan Edberg was his idol while growing up.

– Rohan Bopanna made his debut in 2002 Davis Cup against Australia and turned pro in 2003.

– Bopanna won his first ATP title at the 2008 Countrywide Classic tournament where he partnered Eric Butorac.

– Bopanna has a total of 19 career titles in the doubles category.

– Rohan Bopanna teamed up with Aisam-ul-Haq Quereshi of Pakistan and reached his maiden Grand Slam final at the 2010 US Open.

– In 2010, Rohan Bopanna and Aisam-ul-Haq Quereshi won the Peace and Sport’s Image of the year award.

– Bopanna won the 2017 French Open Mixed Doubles title with Canadian Gabriela Dabrowski.

– Rohan Bopanna is married to Supriya Annaiah.

The Indian Tennis Ace has kicked off 2020 in style winning the Qatar Open Men’s Doubles title along with Dutchman Wesley Koolhof in January. Bopanna is slated to partner Sania Mirza during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and will look to get his hands on the elusive gold medal. The duo previously finished fourth during the 2016 Olympics in Rio.

source: http://www.latestly.com / LatestLy / Home> Sports> Tennis / by Team LatestLy / March 04th, 2020

It’s forced time-out in the cradle of Indian hockey

Sports
General Thimmayya Stadium, a multi-purpose facility, in Madikeri wears a deserted look.
General Thimmayya Stadium, a multi-purpose facility, in Madikeri wears a deserted look.

The COVID-19 scare has cast its shadow on the cradle of the Indian hockey

Kodagu comes alive in April and May when scores of families vie for the top honours in the famed Hockey Utsava, which goes for weeks.

Mukkateera Kodava Hockey Utsava has been suspended, said Mukkateera Hockey Namme President Mukkateera Chotu Uthaiah.

The Shantheyanda Hockey Utsava was held at FMC maidan in Madikeri in 2016, Biddatanda Utsava in 2017 and Kulletira Hockey Utsava was held in 2018. The Harihara Mukkateera Hockey Utsava in 2019 was cancelled due to flash floods.

This year, Mukkateera family had planned to hold the Hockey Utsava at Balagodu maidan in Virajpet taluk from April 17. But, owing to the COVID-19 due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the annual event has been suspended.

Biddatanda Tammaiah, a hockey buff, said, “Hockey tourney among Kodava families is organised to bring all Kodava families under one platform and also to unearth budding talent in the region. The tournament has been deferred due to the COVID-19 outbreak.”

Apart from hockey, the cricket tournament by Arebhashe community, Kodagu Gowda football tournament and other kreedotsavas, organised in April and May, are also hit.

Yarava sports meet in Gonikoppa, Marata Kreedotsava at Moornadu, Muslim Football Tournament, cricket tournament and Tulu sports meet also face uncertainty.

The lockdown has affected the Kodava Open Badminton Tournament organised by Napoklu Kodava Samaja Sports, Cultural and Recreation Association on April 10, 11 and 12. Hockey stadiums and grounds come to life in summer in Kodgau. In fact that is the only window, Kodavas get to showcase their talent. Monsoon brings sporting activity to a halt in the region which witnesses heavy rainfall.

“Owing to the lockdown, we cannot venture out to practice. Once the region gets showers, we cannot practice. How can we maintain fitness?” laments Rathan, an athlete.

source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> Sports / by Adithya K A / DHNS / March 30th, 2020

Graduation Day

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Sports

The 13th Graduation Day of St. Maria Montessori, Kindergarten and Nursery Teacher Training Institute, Kalidasanagar, will be held at Ganabharathi on Adichunchanagiri Road in city on Mar. 7 at 4 pm.

Kodava Samaja President K.M. Belliappa will inaugurate. Dr. M.P. Raghavendra of Maharani’s Science College for Women will be the guest speaker.

Former Director of the Centre for Soft Matter Research-Bengaluru Prof. K.A. Suresh will preside.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> In Briefs / March 05th, 2020

Inter-Kodava Associations Games Meet: Nellakki Kodava Koota Wins Overall Championship

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Records, All, Sports

NellakiKodavaKootaKF22mar2020

Nellakki Kodava Koota in Vijayanagar 2nd Stage won the Overall Championship in the Mysuru Inter-Kodava Associations Games Meet held at Cauvery Institutions Grounds in Kuvempunagar here recently.

Kodava Samaja Cultural and Sports Club had organised the Adengada Seethamma and Achaiah Memorial Throwball Tournament for Women as part of the Mysuru Inter-Kodava Associations Games Meet.

Nellakki Kodava Koota bagged the trophy emerging as the winners with Igguthappa Kodava Kshemabhivruddhi Sangha, Hebbal, as the runners-up.

Results of other games are as follows:

Men’s Section

Tug-of-War: 1. Igguthappa Kodava Kshemabhivruddhi Sangha; 2. Brahmagiri Kodava Association.

Shot-Put — Below 10 years: 1. K. Anuj Achaiah; 2. K. Shourya; Below 20 years: 1. M. Pavan; 2. P. Sumukh Nanaiah; 20 to 50 years: 1. M. Roshan; 2. A. Praveen; Above 50 years: 1. A. Subbaiah; 2. P. Thimmaiah.

Women’s Section

Tug-of-War: 1. Igguthappa Kodava Kshemabhivruddhi Sangha; 2. Sri Talacauvery Kodava Samskrutika Sangha.

Bucketing Tennis Ball (Below 10 years): 1. M. Keerthana Ponnamma; 2. B. Vidisha Kaverappa.

Shot-Put (Below 20 years): 1. P. Vidisha Ponnappa; 2. C. Dechamma.

Dr. A.A. Kuttappa and Geetha Kuttappa distributed the prizes.

Punya Nanjappa and Rochelle Dilip were felicitated on the occasion for their achievements.

Club President M.P. Nanaiah, Vice-President K.D. Muthappa, Secretary K.N. Kushalappa, Joint Secretary M.K. Prakash, Treasurer I.A. Chengappa, Committee Member M.S. Bopanna and others were present.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Sports / December 30th, 2019

Rohan Bopanna appointed as the new vice-president of KSLTA

Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Leaders, Records, All, Sports
Rohan Boppana (Twitter/DNA)
Rohan Boppana (Twitter/DNA)

Indian tennis star Rohan Bopanna has been appointed as the new vice-president of the Karnataka State Lawn Tennis Association(KSLTA) as he stepped into the zone of tennis administration.

This is four-year term where a new set of office bearers elected from February 2020 to January 2024 where R. Ashoka, minister, government of Karnataka, is the new president.

The 40-year-old player was scheduled to play in Indian Wells but the event got cancelled and he was left stranded at the airport.

According to The New Indian Express, Bopanna said, “announcement came in the nick of time,” Bopanna laughs when talking about it a day later from his residence in Bengaluru. “I ended up staying at the (Doha) airport for 17 hours. I didn’t want to go out because of the situation (threat of coronavirus).

source: http://www.thebridge.in / The Bridge / Home> News / The Bridge Team / Mar 13th, 2020

Mukkatira Cup Hockey Tournament: CM Promises Rs.50 Lakh

Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Leaders, Sports

Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa has promised Rs.50 lakh for the month-long ‘Mukkatira Cup’ Kodava Family Hockey Tournament scheduled to take place from Apr.19 to May 17 at Federation of Kodava Samaja Stadium, Balugodu, in the town.

Announcing this at a press meet here recently, the Tournament Chairman Mukkatira Motu Uttaiah said that recently a delegation led by Virajpet MLA K.G. Bopaiah met Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa and appealed him to sanction Rs.1 crore for the annual Tournament, to which the CM promised a grant of Rs.50 lakh.

Maintaining that more than 300 Kodava families are taking part in this Hockey Tournament, Uttaiah said that the last date for registration of teams is Mar.29. The matches will take place at three grounds, with 18 teams taking part every day, he added.

The Tournament Working President Rohit Subbaiah said that the winner of the Tournament will get a Trophy and Rs.3 lakh cash prize, while the runner-up will get Rs.2 lakh and the third placed team will get Rs.1 lakh. Also, five other teams which reach the Quarter-finals will get Rs.50,000 each, he added.

He further said that, due to Coronavirus scare, the organisers will go by the decision taken by the Government and Kodava Hockey Academy regarding the schedule of the Tournament.

Tournament Director Karumbaiah and others were present during the press meet.

Due to Coronavirus scare, the organisers will go by the decision taken by the Government and Kodava Hockey Academy regarding the schedule of the Tournament, says Mukkatira Motu Uttaiah, Chairman, Mukkatira Cup Hockey Tournament.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Sports / March 17th, 2020

71st Republic Day of India Hockey Festival held in Muscat

Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Records, All, Sports, World Opinion
The organisers selected talented athletes from the Indian and Omani community who are contributing to the uplift of the society. - Supplied photo
The organisers selected talented athletes from the Indian and Omani community who are contributing to the uplift of the society. – Supplied photo

Muscat:

To mark the 71st Republic Day of India, a hockey match was organised under the patronage of Munu Mahawar, the Ambassador Of India at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex on February 28.

Top sports and business personalities were also present on the occasion. It was a glittering hockey festival for the 14th year in a row under the patronage of Embassy of India in coordination with Oman Hockey Association. The event was organised by Team Coorg Muscat and Friends of Naqvi Group.

The chief patron Munu Mahawar presided over the function and distributed prizes along with B S Mehta, the Managing Director of Muscat Pharmacy and the Guest of Honour Captain Talib Al Wahaibi, Chairman of OHA, and Kishore Bhai Mehta was a special guest.

Team Coorg Muscat and Friends of Naqvi Group acknowledged excellent support given by the government through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs for the past 14 years by providing Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex for organising Indian national events.

The organisers selected talented athletes from the Indian and Omani community who are contributing to the uplift of the society.

In the pulsating final, the two teams were locked in a 3-3 draw. Subsequently, penalty strokes were taken to decide the winner. Team Coorg emerged the winner with a 5-3 margin and lifted the glittering Republic Day of India Hockey Trophy 2020.

The Indian ambassador presented the winner trophy while the runners-up trophy was presented by Captain Talib Al Wahaibi, OHA Chairman. The Best Player Award went to Ghassan Garib Al Hassani, Team Coorg Goalkeeper.

Munu Mahawar was presented a memento by veteran Olympian S AS Naqvi. B.S. Mehta, Captain Talib Khamis Al Wahaibi,

Kishore Mehta, Managing Director of Al Intisar Corporation, Kannan Nair, Second Secretary Embassy of India, Tarun Kumar, Second Secretary (Administration), Rakesh Adlakha, Deputy head of the mission and Aziz Hasan were honoured for their support. The organizers selected Indian School Muscat team for winning 4×100 Relay Race In India. The team is captained by Antonio Thomas Biju along with Naman Rao, Steve Lobo, Rishikesh Menon.

Munu Mahwar presented SAS Naqvi with two honours.

The 71st Republic Day Of India Hockey Festival had two senior teams participating in the Republic Day of India Hockey Trophy. The teams were Oman Veterans XI and Team Coorg Muscat.

The Ambassador Cup 2020 For Boys

The match was played between three teams, Indian School Al Seeb, Indian School Mabella and Indian School Wadi Kabir.

The final match was played between Indian School Seeb and Mabella, and Indian School Seeb won the Boys Republic Day Of India Hockey Trophy 2020 by a solitary goal 1-0.

The Ambassador Cup 2020 For Girls.

It was a great tussle between Indian School Mabella and Indian School Seeb. The Indian School Mabella won the Girls Republic Day of India Hockey Trophy 2020. The main highlight of the event was the participation of a marching band consisting of 80 members from Indian School Wadi Kabir.

source: http://www.timesofoman.com / Times of Oman / Home> Sports> Hockey / by Times News Service / March 09th, 2020

Ghosal, Joshna to lead teams in Asian squash c’ships

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

New Delhi

Saurav Ghosal and Joshna Chinappa will lead the Indian men’s and women’s teams, respectively, at the 20th Asian Team Squash Championships to be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from March 25 to 29.

While Ghosal is a 13-time national champion and current world No. 13, Chinappa has won the national title 18 times and she is ranked 12th in the world.

The other members of the squad are Abhishek Pradhan, Harinder Pal Sandhu and Abhay Singh in the men’s section, and Tanvi Khanna, Sunayna Kuruvilla and Sanya Vats in the women’s category.

The national federation (SRFI) has appointed David Palmer as an event-based coach for the Indian team.

Palmer is a former world champion and a nine-time Commonwealth Games medallist (the most by any squash player). He will be in Chennai from March 16 and will fly out with the team for the championship. The costs for Palmer will be borne by SRFI, the federation said.

The Sports Authority of India (SAI) and Sports Ministry are yet to approve the concept of a short-term event-based coach for squash.

source: http://www.tribuneindia.com / The Tribune / Home> Sports> Briefly / February 26th, 2020

ZP resolves to review sport school students’ selection list

Education, Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Leaders, Sports
Zilla Panchayat President B A Harish, Vice President Lokeshwari Gopal and CEO K Lakshmipriya take part in the general body meeting of Kodagu Zilla Panchayat in Madikeri on Wednesday. DH photo
Zilla Panchayat President B A Harish, Vice President Lokeshwari Gopal and CEO K Lakshmipriya take part in the general body meeting of Kodagu Zilla Panchayat in Madikeri on Wednesday. DH photo

Zilla Panchayat members on Wednesday alleged that the selection of students for the sports school at Ponnampet in Virajpet taluk has not been done in a transparent manner.

Following pandemonium in the general body meeting of the Zilla Panchayat on the issue, Zilla Panchayat president B A Harish intervened and said the selection process can be withheld if found it is not fair. However, it was resolved to review the selection list.

Earlier, JD(S) member C P Puttaraju demanded a probe into the selection process. Responding to his demand, Health and Education Standing Committee chairman N T Kiran Cariappa said that 165 students took part in the selection. Among them, 15 boys and four girls have been selected. The selection was done by experienced coaches. The students selected during the last year have won several medals, he said.

Pointing out that there were students from Somwarpet as well, he said, “The selection cannot be limited to a specific taluk. It depends on the calibre of the students”.

As soon as the meeting began, member Bananda Pratyu said that the farmers are in distress. The market rates of coffee and pepper have fallen. Therefore, the Zilla Panchayat should pass a resolution to propose to the government to completely waive the loans availed by farmers, Pratyu said.

When the Zilla Panchayat president insisted on sticking to the agenda of the meeting, Pratyu and K P Chandrakala protested in front of his seat. The impromptu protest led to an exchange of words between Congress and BJP members.

Pratyu alleged that the farmers do not get even one hour of power supply at Balele, Kutta, Ponnampet and surrounding regions.

Member Shivu Madappa urged the Zilla Panchayat to repair the faulty power line to provide free electricity up to 10 hp, to the farmers, as assured by the government.

CESC executive engineer Somashekhar said that the problem is due to overloading. The issue will be rectified soon. To the reply by the official, the members warned of staging a protest in front of the CESC office if the electric line is not repaired within three days.

The Zilla Panchayat president directed the official to repair the electric line soon.

To an issue raised by member Suneetha, DDPI P Machado said that special classes are being conducted for SSLC students. The students staying in the school at night are provided food. “Preparatory examinations are being conducted to ensure best results in the final examination”, he added.

Zilla Panchayat Vice President Lokeshwari Gopal and CEO K Lakshmi Priya were present.

source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> State> Mangaluru / by DHNS, Madikeri / February 19th, 2020

Squash: Joshna Chinappa Wins 18th National Title, Saurav Ghosal 13th Crown

Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Records, All, Sports, World Opinion

JoshnaKF18feb2020

Joshna Chinappa and Saurav Ghosal, the country’s squash aces, reigned supreme in the 77th Senior National Championship at the ISA courts, claiming their 18th and 13th titles respectively.

Chinappa, the torch-bearer for Indian women’s squash for close to two decades now, showed why she was the one to beat as she put paid to the aspirations of Tanvi Khanna, (seeded 3/4) in four games to add yet another national title to her kitty.

The top-seeded Chennai player recovered brilliantly after losing the first game to post a 8-11, 11-6, 11-4, 11-7 win to underline her superiority in the finals on Saturday.

Chinappa had broken the record of 16 national titles held by Bhuvneshwari Kumari by winning in Pune last year.

She won her first national crown in 2000 and has since lost only two matches, both finals.

In the men’s final, Ghosal showed why he is still the man to beat, with a crushing 11-6, 11-5, 11-6 defeat of young Abhishek Pradhan (No. 2 seed) to win the title yet again.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Sports / February 17th, 2020