I’m feeling over the moon, says Cariappaas KKR picks him at IPL auction

‘Who is Konganda Charmanna Cariappa?’ could well have been an Indian Premier League trivia question, because until his name was mentioned by auctioneer Richard Madley during the player auction at the ITC Gardenia Hotel here on Monday, the spinner was seemingly resigned to the slow-climb through his cricketing career.

The 20-year-old Kodava lad inadvertently unleashed a fierce bidding war between the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and the Delhi Daredevils and his base-value of Rs. 10 lakh was shredded as money began to flow.

When finally KKR picked him at Rs. 2.4 crore, a hush fell across the media hall, and then journalists scrambled to get his number.

Reacting to the good news, Cariappa said: “I never expected this kind of bidding. I am feeling over the moon. I was hopeful that I would be picked up for my base price, but not at the price I got. I don’t know how life will change for me now. My father is the supervisor at the Kodava Samaj here, and my mother, a housewife. I started playing cricket seriously about four years ago. The last Karnataka Premier League was my first season where I was bought for Rs. 25,000.” Originally a leg-spinner, Cariappa meandered towards the guiles of off-spin, and people close to him label him as a “mystery spinner”.

It is precisely the reason why he was much sought after in the auction as IPL teams love to spring surprises on their unsuspecting opponents.

His coach, Sudhindra Shinde, said: “He usually bowls the carom ball. He needs to use this opportunity.”

In a State famous for men like B.S. Chandrasekhar, E.A.S. Prasanna, Anil Kumble and Sunil Joshi, Cariappa has an enviable legacy to live up to. For now, he is laughing all the way to the bank.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Karnataka / by Special Correspondent / Bengaluru – February 17th, 2015

Air India finally ended the winning streak of Petroleum Sports Promotion Board (PSPB) in the national team championship for men, scoring a 3-2 victory in the Air Costa 70th inter-State, inter-zonal team championship here on Sunday.

Harsheel Dani, fighting a back injury, suffered a slight wobble before ejecting Grand Prix gold medal winner H.S. Prannoy 18-21, 21-17, 21-12. Sameer Verma, who lost the first game, bounced back to defeat B. Sai Praneeth 18-21, 21-11, 21-17.

Stunned by two back-to-back losses, Srikanth joined hands with Pranaav Jerry Chopra to quell Shlok Ramachandran and Sanyam Shukla’s challenge 21-15, 21-17, and later got the better of Aditya Joshi 21-15, 21-12 to make the scoreline 2-all.

PSPB women, led by World No. 10 P.V. Sindhu, wrested the title for the 15th consecutive time, getting the better of Telangana, which was making its maiden entry into the final.

Sindhu scored a 21-15, 21-16 victory over Rithvika Shivani and later, partnering Ashwini Ponnappa, tamed J. Meghana and Rituparna Das 21-14, 5-21, 21-11. Doubles specialist G. Jwala did not participate in the final owing to a stiff neck.

The results: Team championship: Rahimtoola Cup: Final: Men: Air India bt PSPB 3-2 (Harsheel Dani bt H.S. Prannoy 18-21, 21-17, 21-12; Sameer Verma bt Sai Praneeth 18-21, 21-11, 21-17; Shlok Ramachandran & Sanyam Shukla lost to Pranaav Jerry Chopra & K. Srikanth 15-21, 17-21; Aditya Joshi lost to K. Srikanth 15-21, 12-21; Akshay Dewalkar & G. Gopi Raju bt K. Tarun & B. Sai Praneeth 18-21, 21-19, 21-14). Semifinals: PSPB bt Kerala 3-1 (H.S. Prannoy bt Alwin Francis 21-15, 21-16; B. Sai Praneeth bt Shyam Prasad 21-7, 15-21, 21-6; K. Tarun & Arun Vishnu lost to Sanave Thomas & K.T. Rupesh Kumar 12-21, 25-27; K. Srikanth bt K. Dilshad 21-14, 21-14).

Air India bt Maharashtra 3-1 (Harsheel Dani lost to Subhankar Dey 21-18, 17-21, 19-21; Sameer Verma bt Kabir Kanzarkar 21-9, 21-9; Shlok Ramachandran & Sanyam Shukla bt Kabir Kanzarkar & Akshay Raut 21-18, 21-8; Aditya Joshi bt Nigel D’Sa 21-17, 21-9).

Chadha Cup: Final: Women: PSPB bt Telangana 2-0 (P.V. Sindhu bt G. Ruthvika Shivani 21-15, 21-16; Ashwini Ponnappa & Sindhu bt J. Meghana & Rituparna Das 21-14, 5-21, 21-11). Semifinals: PSPB bt Airports Authority of India 2-1 (P.V. Sindhu bt Rasika Raje 21-11, 21-4; G. Jwala & Ashwini Ponnappa lost to Pradnya Gadre & N. Sikki Reddy 16-21, 20-22; P.C. Thulasi bt N. Sikki Reddy 4-3 retd).

Telangana bt Maharashtra 2-0 (Rituparna Das bt Neha Pandit 21-19, 21-17; J. Meghana & Rituparna Das bt Mudra Dhainje & Shruti Mundada 21-16, 21-19).

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Sport> Other Sports / by J.R. Shridharan / Vijayawada – February 01st, 2015

New Delhi :

Amid the excitement ahead of the Hero Hockey India League 2015, India’s forward SK Uthappa is all set to rattle the grounds of the stadium with his impressive performance. Playing for Uttar Pradesh Wizards consecutively for the third time, Uthappa looks more confident on putting up a good show making it to the finals for his team this season.

In the first edition of the league, Uthappa without any failure showcased his talent and ability and helped the Uttar Pradesh-based franchisee claim the third spot win. However, in the second season of the league, the 23-year old player played with more maturity in order to materialize the given opportunities into goals. He got his name featured in the list of the ‘Man of the Match’ in the second season. In the same edition, he also got his name in the list of ‘Goal of the Match’ where the score was knotted to 1-1 against Delhi Waveriders.

With all the experience and skill set developed in the upcoming league, Uthappa is spotted sweating it out striving hard not to miss any scoring opportunities. With an aim to give a tough challenge to the opponents and come out as a stronger team, Uthappa will find support of the team’s strong forward-line. The forward position will see players like Tushar Khandker, Ramandeep Singh, Nikkin Thimmaiah and Jeroen Hertzberger to name a few.

Eagerly awaiting for the HHIL to begin, SK Uthappa said, “I am sure it will be a great season of Hero Hockey India League 2015. We not only have some of the best players from the world but also the top coaches. I am expecting that the team will do much well than what we did last season.”

Speaking further, he added, “I am looking to push a bit harder this year and make it to the top two and eventually emerge as the winners of the league. Not only it’s a good learning experience for us, but a great opportunity for every player to be a part of this league.”

The 3rd edition of the Hero Hockey India League will start from 22 January 2015. The opening day of the League will witness Kalinga Lancers taking on Ranchi Rays in Bhubaneswar.

Hero Hockey India League will be telecasted LIVE on Star Sports.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> Sports> Hockey / TNN / January 12th, 2015

If your child is not that enthusiastic about sports and fitness and his/her school does not push him/her enough, things may change soon.

The State has finally got a shot at having its own sports policy with the “goal” of making it the sports destination of the country.

The committee formed by the Karnataka Knowledge Commission, which boasts of some of the biggest names in Indian sporting history, met recently for the first time and discussed the issue.

A report is likely to be submitted in a few months.

Areas in focus

Members of the committee include Rahul Dravid, former captain of the Indian cricket team and member of the Karnataka Knowledge Commission, badminton legend Prakash Padukone, Arjuna Award-winners Ashwini Nachappa and athlete Reeth Abraham. Areas expected to get a fillip are school and college-level sports, and manpower and sporting infrastructure. The committee is looking at roping in the Education Department to find ways to promote sports in educational institutions. Ms. Abraham said there is a need to make sports and fitness compulsory in schools, just like other subjects.

“Children these days are not getting enough exercise and they will not do it without being pushed,” she explained.

Health angle

Ms. Nachappa said the policy will not look at sports from one angle.

“For instance, sports can be looked at as a health benefit. Maybe, one per cent of the health budget can be allotted to sports. We have also discussed if a corporate organisation can run an elite sports,” she said.

Coaches

Human resource is the other area being explored, which includes getting coaches at the grassroots level.

“We have a lot of physical education teachers doing disciplinary classes rather than sports,” Ms. Nachappa said.
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The policy aims at making the State a sports destination

Panel formed by Karnataka Knowledge Commission met recently and discussed the issue
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source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Bengaluru / Staff Reporter / Bengaluru – January 23rd, 2015

Notwithstanding the absence of a regular national hockey coach since the exit of Australia’s Terry Walsh, selector Arjun Halappa sounded upbeat here about the Indian squad’s future following its good show over the last year-and-a-half.

“Some things are not in our control. We should not take it in a negative way. Indian hockey has been doing very well in the past 11 to 18 months. These things will be taken care of by the administrators. Let’s be positive,” said Halappa who is representing Dabang Mumbai as a player in the Hockey India League (HIL).

He also said that Indian captain Sardar Singh is there to see first hand the home country talent on hand in HIL along with selectors and interim coach Roelant Oltmans who is also Director, High Performance at Hockey India.

“Roelant (Oltmans) is there. We are there. Sardar is there leading a side (Delhi Waveriders),” he pointed out.

Halappa said the Test series win over Australia Down Under, a first for Indian hockey (after winning the Asian Games gold for the first time after 1998 to qualify for the Rio Olympic Games), augured well.

“As Hockey India selector I can say we have beaten Australia in Australia in the Test series. That jinx has been broken. We had never done that before. These things are getting better.

“We can’t straightaway say we are becoming world no. 1. It’s a step by step process. (Junior) Players like Harmanpreet and Santa Singh can get lot of positives from this league,” he said.

Halappa said he keeps his selector’s hat behind when he takes part in HIL as a player. “It’s a new challenge and I have to fight for my place. I am putting in my effort. I can see some players also while they train and play and their approach. But right now I am enjoying as a player. If I get into the selector’s mode, the players will be too reluctant to speak to me,” he said.

Halappa, who was part of champion outfit Delhi last year, said his new team — Dabang Mumbai — looked good on paper and the players were gelling well, while adding that the proof of the pudding would be how it performs on the pitch.

“On paper it looks really good, but let’s see how we perform on the pitch. It’s a mix of different cultures and there are a lot of different emotions. Things are looking positive.

“I have been speaking to a few guys like (Australian Glenn) Turner. They said compared to last year the planning and approach looks different,” he remarked.

Asked about the success mantra in HIL, Halappa said, “A good mix of Indian and foreign players playing together well, that makes the difference.”

“Indians are very skillful, Australians are aggressive and very fast, Europeans are tactically good. Everything has to fall into place,” he added

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Sport> Hockey / PTI / Mumbai – January 21st, 2015