To mark the 68th Independence Day of India, under the patronage of Indian Embassy in Oman and Oman Hockey Association (OHA), the Friends of Naqvi Group and Team Coorg organised an exciting hockey festivity at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex on August 8.
Two festival matches, one for the Ambassadors Cup and the other for the seventh edition of Independence Day of India 2014 Cup, were played under the flood light at the lush green hockey astro turf. JS Mukul, Indian Ambassador to the Sultanate, was the chief guest and Shaikh Mahfood Ali Juma al Juma was the guest of honour.
The other sports dignitaries present were the OHA- secretary-general Redha Taqi Lawati, the Secretary-General of Oman Cricket Madhu Jesrani and the former Indian hockey player Sultan Abbas Naqvi.
The Indian Embassy XI lifted the Ambassadors Cup defeating Indian School Al Seeb 2-1 and the Oman Veterans XI lifted the Independence Day Of India 2014 Cup defeating Team Coorg Muscat 6-3 in the presence of hockey lovers of all ages.
“We got ample chance to score but could not capitalise it in the absence of our star forward Zaman,” said Team Coorg manager Belu Kuttappa.
The prizes and other citations were given away by JS Mukul, Madhu Jesrani and Redha Taqi Lawati.
The excitement of evening for the children below 10 years of age was the Indian national anthem recitation competition which was judged by Kanchan Bijlani and Farheen Khan.
This patriotic activity will now be a regular feature in years to come.
“I am quite pleased and charged to see such a massive attendance of the hockey lovers of Oman from all communities at the stadium, who have turned in such a large number to mark the independence celebration of India through this hockey festivity,” said veteran hockey ace SAS Naqvi who has indeed pledged his entire life for the promotion hockey in India and Oman.
The event was supported by Khimji Ramdas, Raha Poly products and Pokari (Muscat Pharmacy) and BG.
The vote of Thanks was given by Mohammad Osama Rawat.
source: http://www.main.omanobserver.om / Oman Daily Observer / Home> Sports / by Oman Observer / Sunday – August 10th, 2014
Aspiring shooters in Kodagu district may soon have access to state-of-the-art infrastructure. The district deputy commissioner Anurag Tiwari is in discussion with the Department of Youth Empowerment and Sports (DYES) to build a modern range in Madhenadu village, 10 km from Madikeri.
The range has been proposed on a 35-acre land which the authorities recovered from encroachers.
“There are many skilful shooters in the district and if we can provide them the right infrastructure we will soon be able to create an assembly line for the national squad,” said Tiwari.
“The idea of building a shooting range came during my discussions with former DYES director Vikash Kumar Vikash,” said Tiwari. “Most of our shooters winning international medals, belong to the armed forces. So Vikash and I felt building a shooting facility will be a boon for civilian shooters.
Vikash had even requested PN Papanna, father of Glasgow Commonwealth Games silver medalist Prakash Nanjappa and a veteran shooter himself, to design the facility.”
However, the process has slowed down following Vikash’s transfer. “Now that Vikash is no longer in DYES, I have to present the idea to the new director HS Venkatesh to take it forward,” Tiwari added.
When contacted, Venkatesh said: “I am not aware of the proposal as I have just taken charge. If there is any such plan, I will definitely look into it.”
Meanwhile, Papanna is also sharing his expertise in developing an indoor shooting arena at the Sree Kanteerava stadium. The Rs 10-lakh facility is under construction and will be operational in few months.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> Sports> More Sports> Shooting / Sunil Subbaiah, TNN / August 08th, 2014
Ashwini Ponnappa (left) and Jwala Gutta.
Glasgow 2014 was shuttler Ashwini Ponnappa’s second appearance at the Commonwealth Games. And the girl from Bengaluru was “satisfied” with her performance if not overwhelmed, after taking her second medal in as many Games.
Ashwini and Jwala Gutta, the 2010 CWG gold medallists, settled for silver in the women’s doubles after going down 17-21, 21-23 against world no. 18 Malaysian combo of Vivian Kah Mun Hoo and Khe Wei Woon in the final.
But Ashwini said the best was yet to come from the pair.
“Me and Jwala are getting better and better with each tournament. These Games have given us the motivation and belief that we are in the right direction, that we are getting close to what we are striving for,” she said.
Talking of their mistakes during the title clash, Ashwini said that she needed to work on the mental aspect and her shot selection in high pressure situations
“We have now learnt our lessons from these Games. Personally I think, my strokes weren’t smart. Also, I have to be calmer. I was expecting too much from myself during the final, so at some point I got irritated. I need to avoid those situations,” she pointed out.
Jwala and Ashwini re-united last October, and since then they picked up the senior nationals title in December before bagging the bronze at the Asian Badminton Championship in April this year.
Asked if she was satisfied with their show at Glasgow, Ashwini said, “Yes, you can say that.
“I am happy to get a medal. We went into the Games targetting the gold. But I don’t think we played to our capabilities in the final. Still, it’s always a good feeling to win a medal.”
The Commonwealth gold has been missed, but the year still has a couple of major tournaments left and Ashwini said she hardly has any time to celebrate her medal. “We are targetting one tournament at a time. Next is the World Championships, and we want to do well there,” she said.
“There is no time to relax, so I am starting my training with Tom John sir. Jwala will be training with S.M. Arif sir. I will join her in Hyderabad after a couple of weeks,” said Ashwini.
source: http://www.asianage.com / The Asian Age / Home> Sports> Other Sports / by Priyanka Sharma / August 07th, 2014
The gold dust is yet to settle. Fresh from her stellar show at the Commonwealth Games along with partner Dipika Pallikal, 27 year-old Joshna Chinappa is in a happy zone.
With the Asian Games round the corner, she isn’t game for a break yet.
After her return to the city, Joshna took time off on Wednesday for a freewheeling chat with TOI. With the Asian Games round the corner, Joshna isn’t game for a break yet. (TOI Photo) Excerpts:
How would you sum up your CWG experience and how different is this win from any of your other ones?
I had a great time at Glasgow. The stadium was fantastic, the crowds great and the atmosphere electric. All my wins have been special in some way. But to win gold at the Commonwealth Games for India has been a long-cherished dream. I worked really hard with my trainer Rajamani ahead of the event. That it’s incidentally India’s maiden squash medal at the Games makes it even more special.
After the tri-nation win in Malaysia, were you upbeat of your chances as a pair and what are the adjustments you had to bring about in your game to complement each other better?
Dip and I were confident that as a pair we could win a medal. We took it one game at a time though. I didn’t have to adjust much because we are both strong on our respective sides and we both knew what we had to do on court to win our games.
What are the tournaments you’d be focusing on next?
I have already moved on to my next event and will be getting back to training soon. My next event is the Malaysian Open and Hong Kong Open in two weeks. After which there’s the Asian Games in Incheon.
How would you rate your chances at the Asian Games?
I have a good chance in the individuals. As far as the team event is concerned, we won a bronze in the last edition in Guangzhou so I hope we can go higher than that this time.
In what way are you hoping that this win will help change the way squash is viewed in the country and what are your expectations from the state government to help improve the state of the sport?
We do get a bit of support from the central government. Our chief minister has always been encouraging towards sport and sportspersons and we’ve always been rewarded when we win at big international events. I hope this win will spur more youngsters to take up squash and work hard. We need more squash courts in Chennai and more kids being supported if the sport has to take a leap into the future.
How did you celebrate after the win?
We went for shopping the next day. I prefer spending time on my own when I’m not training or watch a movie or catch up on TV shows (I watch way too many!). Revenge, The Following, Real housewives of Beverly Hills are some of my favourites.
FAST FIVE
Biggest fantasy: To own an island.
Biggest fear: Visiting the dentist.
Worst moment: When I got injured and the doctor in America told me I needed surgery and couldn’t play for a month.
One thing you can’t do without (apart from squash): I can be a bit superstitious… might need to cut down on a few.
One thing you hate about yourself: I don’t hate much about me except that I need to relax a bit more.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> Sports> More Sports> Others / by Susan Ninan, TNN / August 07th, 2014
Star opener Robin Uthappa and middle-order bat Manish Pandey, along with KL Rahul, are expected to rake in the big moolah at the Karnataka Premier League players’ auction here at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Thursday.
Uthappa, the player of the tournament in the recently-concluded IPL-7, is in the auction as his team — Bangalore Brigadiers — have pulled out of the third edition. His team-mate at Kolkata Knight Riders, Pandey, couldn’t be retained by Belagavi Panthers as existing teams are allowed to keep just one player from Pool A that consists of the top 30 State cricketers.
Panthers, who also had R Vinay Kumar in their ranks, went for the Karnataka skipper. The medium pacer will also be leading the Panthers in the T20 league to be held from August 28 to September 12.
Another batsman, who has made rapid progress in the last one year, Karun Nair, has been retained by defending champions Mangalore United while Bijapur Bulls left their slate clean.
Stuart Binny, the second highest paid player behind Uthappa in the previous auction, will not be available for the tournament as the all-rounder has been included in the ODI squad for the England series. With Mumbai Indians refusing to release leg-spinning all-rounder Shreyas Gopal and medium pacer HS Sharath injured, there were three vacancies in Pool A. Left-arm spinner KP Appanna, medium pacer SL Akshay and batsman C Cheluvaraj have come in as replacements.
Another top-order batsman Rahul, who was also part of Brigadiers, will be one of the most sought after players at the auction scheduled to kick off at 3.30 pm after the unveiling of the sponsor’s logo. Hard-hitting opener Mayank Agarwal is also sure to generate some heat along with A Mithun, S Arvind, Ronit More, Amit Verma and Kunal Kapoor.
It will be interesting to see how much interest former State cricketers like Anand Katti, Yere Goud and B Akhil — who are all in Pool A — generate among the bidders.
Unlike in the previous auction in 2009, when the franchises were allowed to spend Rs 7 lakh each on buying players, amounting to Rs 56 lakh, this time the cap has been raised to Rs 20 lakh per team. As a result the six teams at the player bidding together can spend a maximum of Rs 1.2 crore on a minimum of 90 players (taking into consideration that each team should have a minimum of 15-player squad) and a maximum of 108.
The two retained players, Vinay and Nair, who have a minimum cap Rs 3 lakh, will get 15 per cent more than the highest paid player in the auction in their respective teams or whichever is the higher amount.
Each franchise can spend a maximum of Rs 12 lakh to buy no more than five players from Pool A and if any player in this ‘elite’ group goes unsold he will come into Pool B which has close to 200 players.
The unsold Pool A player, however, can go under the hammer again only after Pool B players are auctioned off. The base price for unsold Pool A player is pegged at Rs 25,000. Each bid for a player has to be raised by Rs 10,000 for Pool A and by Rs 5,000 for Pool B.
Also, to help maintain local flavour, it has been made mandatory for teams to have two players from their catchment area.
The Friends of Naqvi Group and Team Coorg, under the patronage of Embassy of India Muscat and Oman Hockey Association, will be organising the 68th Independence Day celebrations hockey festivity at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex on August 8 from 7pm to 9:30pm.
The Ambassador XI will play against Indian School Al Seeb and the Team Coorg Muscat will lock horns with Oman Veteran’s XI, a press release said on Tuesday.
HE JS Mukul, the Ambassador of India to Sultanate of Oman, will be the Chief Guest and Sheikh Mahfoodh Ali Juma Al Juma, Chairman Oman Hockey Association, will be the Guest of honor.
“This event is organised for the last 7 years in row. Hockey events like this – The Dhyan Chand Day and The Republic Day of India Hockey celebration – are the regular events organised by Team Coorg Muscat.
“We take this opportunity to express our gratitude to HE JS Mukul, The Ambassador of India to Sultanate of Oman who is regularly presiding such hockey festivities on a regular basis and express our sincere thanks to Sheikh Mahfoodh Ali Juma Al Juma, the Chairman of Oman Hockey Association for his kind gesture in arranging the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex Hockey Stadium for this event”, said veteran hockey player, administrator and coach SAS Naqvi.
The event is supported by Khimji Ramdas Group of Companies, Raha Poly Product and Pocari (Muscat Pharmacy).
There is also some surprise in store for children below 10 years of age.
Oman Tribune
source: http://www.omantribune.com / Oman Tribune / Home> Sports / Muscat – August 2014
Veteran politician and former Minister M.C. Nanaiah has urged the State Government to honour Kodagu sports person Joshna Chinappa who won gold medal in the Squash Doubles in the CWG-2014.
Speaking to press persons here yesterday, Nanaiah said the Karnataka Olympics Association (KOA) must honour Joshna as she hails from Polibetta in Kodagu, with her grand parents and parents all belonging to this place.
Pointing out that her parents moved to Chennai seeking a career, Nanaiah said that Joshna was born and brought up in Kodagu and she belonged to the State. The squash player was living with her parents in Chennai and it was not correct on the part of the KOA for not honouring her citing that she was a resident of Chennai.
Noting that the KOA honoured Vikas Gowda who is settled in the US and others such as cricketer Azaruddin and tennis player Sania Mirza earlier, Nanaiah wondered why the Association ignored Joshna, who through her feat in the Commonwealth Games (CWG) had brought good name to Karnataka.
Pointing out that the Tamil Nadu and Andhra governments had announced cash rewards ranging from Rs. 20 lakh to Rs. 50 lakh for CWG achievers, the former Minister urged Chief Minister Siddharamaiah and Minister for Youth Services and Sports Abhayachandra Jain to look into the discrimination against the squash players, which has hurt sports lovers across the State and take measures to felicitate and reward Joshna as early as possible.
Referring to the spurt in atrocities and sexual violence against women in the State, Nanaiah observed that the effective implementation of the POCSO Act will go a long way in preventing crimes against women.
Reiterating the need for implementing the POCSO Act to curb sexual abuse of women and children, Nanaiah said that the Government has constituted a 26 member committee, headed by him, to look into effective measures needed for preventing sexual violence and other crimes against women and chilren, including implementation of POCSO Act.
The Committee, which is due to begin work shortly, will deliberate on the laws related to sexual violence and atrocities against women and children and come up with practical measures for tackling such crimes, he added.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / August 09th, 2014
Joshna (right), along with Deepika Pallikal, won the gold medal in Commonwealth Games, Glasgow Bangalore :
Joshna Chinappa, who along with her partner Deepika Pallikal won the gold medal in Squash Doubles at the Commonwealth Games held in Glasgow recently, says that though she resides in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, by heart and soul she is a Kodavathi.
In a special interview to a newspaper after her return to Chennai on Tuesday, Joshna, hailing from the Kuttanda family, said that she took pride in saying that she has the lineage of Field Marshal K.M. Cariappa and the first Inspector General of Karnataka, P. Ponnappa.
“Though I am residing in Chennai with my parents, I belong to Kodagu district in Karnataka. My father Anjan Chinnappa is an industrialist in Chennai. I have houses in Bangalore and Kodagu too. I am the grand niece of Field Marshal Cariappa (grand-daughter of the younger sister of Field Marshal Cariappa). My great grandfather Ponnappa was the first IGP of Karnataka, which is a matter of pride for me,” she gushed with a broad smile and added, “Whenever I visit Kodagu, I meet school children and spread awareness about the game of squash.”
She recalled the days when her father Anjan Chinappa used to play squash at the Madras Cricket Club, to which she would accompany him and started playing the game. “Seeing my interest in the game, my father gave me all the support and encouragement. Thanks to my parents’ efforts and well-wishers’ support, I got the honour of bringing credit to India,” she said.
For Joshna, several international events are lined up. After a few days rest, she will be participating in the two international championships in Malaysia and then attend the Asian Championship. “Winning the gold in the CWG has boosted my confidence. I will spare no effort to clinch a gold in the 17th Asian Games to be held in Korea,” she said. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa had awarded cash prizes of Rs. 50 lakh each to Joshna and Deepika for the CWG gold.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / August 09th, 2014
Renowned equestrian Ajai Appachu has been selected for the 17th Asian Games to be held in Korea to participate in the horse-riding competition during Sept. 2014. Trained at Embassy International Riding School, Bangalore, Ajai will be accompanied by his student Fawad Mirza and Nadia Hariprasad.
For Ajai Appachu, this is the second Asian Games. He has won prizes in all the equestrian competitions that he took part, having won more than 50 awards so far. A truly gifted rider and an extremely successful instructor, Ajai has won innumerable equestrian accolades in India, South Africa and Australia in every field of equestrian sport, whether dressage, show jumping or eventing.
Ajai has been trained under world-class instructors and is now the guiding force behind the Embassy International Riding School (EIRS) competition yard.
His students reflect his ability and the EIRS team for the Junior National Equestrian Championship is a force to reckon with, having achieved the highest medal tally at national level since 2003. The young rider has a long list of achievements under his belt.
Ajai started his winning streak in competitive riding in 1996 when he was adjudged the best rider in the zonal championships at Kolkata. Ajai is the son of Maj. Gen. (Rtd.) Cheppudira Jai Appachu and Gita, hailing from Kodagu.
Ajai won the Individual Gold (1.30 mt) at the recently held KRA Cup, Seoul, South Korea. Also, won the Team Silver for Jumping; Qualified for the Asian Games in Guangzhou, China in the year 2010; Won FEI World Jumping challenge Category A in Meerut (2011); Won the FEI World dressage challenge held at Embassy International Riding School in 2008; Won Team Gold in show jumping at the Junior International (1999); Best Rider at the Tollygunj Horse Show (1997-98); Junior National Champion at Bangalore (1998); Represented India in South Africa where the team won a gold and three bronze medals; Represented India for the 4th time in the International Tent Pegging meet (2000) and other awards.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / August 07th, 2014
(From left) India’s Commonwealth Games 2014 badminton medallists Ashwini Ponnappa & Jwala Gutta (silver), Parupalli Kashyap (gold), RMV Gurusaidutt (bronze) and PV Sindhu (bronze) in Glasgow on Sunday | pti
Hyderabad :
The colour made the difference. Otherwise, the medals tally was the same. In the 2010 Delhi Games, India had won four medals. So too in Glasgow.
It was two gold, one silver and one bronze in Delhi. However, Indian shuttlers could bag only one gold, one silver and two bronze medals this time.
However, there will be ifs and buts on India’s show. Surely, the last-minute withdrawal of Saina Nehwal cost India a gold medal. But there were hopes that if Saina was not there, then young world championship bronze medallist PV Sindhu had the chance to retain the gold for the country instead.
But Sindhu fell to Canadian Michelle Li in the semifinals to finally end up with a bronze medal in her maiden venture. However, Parupalli Kashyap’s long wait for a championship medal was finally over. “I feel very happy for this Hyderabadi boy. He has a good game but somehow falters at crucial times. But this time there was no stopping him. He deserves the gold,” said former international Sanjay Sharma, adding, “it was not his fault if Lee Chong Wei (World No 1) pulled out like Saina.”
But Sharma was not happy with the overall performance, particularly with India failing to win a medal in the team event. “It was the biggest disappointment. We don’t have depth in doubles unlike in the singles where there is some bench strength. If India has done well in the team events in the recent past, it is surely because of Jwala Gutta, who has been a force to reckon with in the doubles for India. She has done yeomen service as far as doubles is concerned for India. But then we can’t depend too much on her every time,” he said.
Former national coach Vimal Kumar, too, agreed that doubles is surely going to be the Achilles’ heel in any team event. “The singles in the recent past was not an issue but it is the doubles that is the biggest problem for India. Jwala and Ashwini (Ponnappa) have won laurels in women’s doubles but where are the men’s and mixed doubles combinations. It hurt India and will continue to do so in future tournaments. India has to do a lot of catching up to improve their doubles combination. I think the Badminton Association of India (BAI) has to give more emphasis to doubles by grooming young talent for future tournaments,” he opined.
Sharma said if India have to think of any team medal, then BAI should make concerted efforts to groom a strong doubles combination. “When we could not win any medal in CWG, which has more of a depleted field, then India stand no chance in Asian Games and other big events. It should start planning in the right earnest for the 2016 Rio Olympics,” he added.
The former doubles specialist said the CWG gold could propel Kashyap to greater heights. “It is a huge boost to Kashyap’s confidence. We could see a pumped up Kashyap in World Championships and Asian Games where the field is much stronger.”
Vimal feels that Kashyap is always a better player in individual events. “In team events, he is under some sort of pressure. But in individual events he plays more freely. He was impressive in the individual event and I liked the way he handled the pressure, specially in the semifinals and final.
“Remember, in terms of standard of the game, CWG is not of high quality as there are no Chinese, Indonesians, Danes or Japanese players. But this win came at the right time. He will have a much tougher time at the Worlds and Asian Games,” said the former chief national coach.
Sindhu, according to Sharma and Vimal, faltered. “It is a good learning experience for Sindhu. But I thought she had a good chance to win a gold medal but then she failed to capitalize on the golden opportunity,’’ said Sharma, who is now a TV commentator on the game.
Vimal felt Sindhu has to improve her defence. “I think it is time she should depend on instructions. She should make the match analysis by herself and improve on her defence. She need to have more variations in her game,” said the present Prakash Padokone Badminton Academy coach.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Sport / by N. Jagannath Das / August 05th, 2014
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