Category Archives: Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg

Mysurean Boxer To Tokyo As Head Coach

Amazing Feats, Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Inspiration / Positive News and Features, Leaders, Records, All, Sports, World Opinion

C.A. Kuttappa to lead a team of nine pugilists for post-COVID Olympics

India’s Chief Men’s Boxing Coach Subedar Chenanda Achaiah Kuttappa will be the Head Boxing Coach for 32nd Olympic Games to be held in Tokyo, Japan, between July 23 to August 8.

A resident of Gokulam in Mysuru city, he was nominated for the Dronacharya Award-2018 in boxing. He took over as the Chief Coach for men’s boxing in India in 2018 and has played a significant role in the rise of Indian boxing as a force after the disappointment at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics and will travel to Tokyo alongside the nine qualified boxers for the world event.

The team will leave for Tokyo from their training base in Assisi on July 17. An unprecedented nine Indian pugilists have qualified for the Tokyo Olympics this time, including five men and four women. All of them are giving final touches to their games preparations in Assisi. The Games will open on July 23 with boxing competitions starting the next day. The men who have qualified are world number one and Asian Games champion Amit Panghal (52kg), Manish Kaushik (63kg), Vikas Krishan (69kg), Ashish Kumar (75kg) and Satish Kumar (+91kg).

The women’s squad comprises six-time world champion MC Mary Kom (51kg), Simranjit Kaur (60kg), Lovlina Borgohain (69kg) and Pooja Rani (75kg). India’s qualification performance in boxing this time was markedly better than the 2016 Rio Games where only three made the tournament-proper, none of them women.

The country did not win any boxing medals in the previous Games. India’s first boxing medal in the Olympics came in 2008 when Vijender Singh claimed the middleweight bronze, followed by Mary Kom’s medal in 2012.

Making India proud

Kuttappa is the second son of late Achaiah and Shanthi (Thamane – Katimada). He married Ashwini (Nancy), daughter of Palangiyanda Uthappa and Greshi Uthappa, residents of Mysuru. They are blessed with a daughter Yudhi, studying in sixth standard.

Kuttappa did his primary schooling at Mahaveer School, Mysuru till seventh standard and continued at Army School Bangalore to study up to 12th. He then joined the NIS Diploma in Sports Coaching in Boxing 2006-2007 and continued with AIBA Star 2 Coaching Course 2017, Rohtak (India), AIBA Star 3 Coaching Course 2019, South Korea and AIBA Cutman course 2017, Uzbekistan.

Kuttappa completed his BA from Bangalore Open University. He joined the Indian Army in 1996 and is presently working as Subedar and is the Head Boxing Coach, Elite Men National Boxing. Kuttappa has made India proud on numerous occasions. He started by winning bronze in the Sub Jr. YMCA Boxing championship in 1994.

He did not look back from then on. After winning nearly 30 matches in the international arena at the age of 30, he became the coach of the Indian boxing team. He has represented India as a coach at many international events including the Olympics.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> July 14th, 2021

Girl power is Gold power ft. Ashwini Ponnappa & Sikki Reddy

Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Inspiration / Positive News and Features, Leaders, Records, All, Sports, Videos, World Opinion

Kotak Mahindra Bank is encouraging the ambition of promising young champions, in collab with the Gopichand Academy.

The Tokyo Olympics is less than 10 days away and like every time, everyone is abuzz with excitement. However, unlike any other year, this time expectations on the Indian contingent are higher than ever.

India is projected to break the record for most medals hauled at any Olympic Games. Until now, the country’s best tally was at the London Olympics in 2012 with six medals.

At the 2016 Rio Olympics, again, hopes were high but mostly, the Indian athletes disappointed. The only two medals were won by two women, Sakshi Malik in wrestling and PV Sindhu in badminton.

Truth is, in recent years, the encroachment of the nation’s sportswomen has seen a sharp spike.

Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd. (KMBL) released the “Girl Power is Gold Power” video as a part of their initiative to promote female athletes via Kotak Karma.

The video features star Indian shuttlers Ashwini Ponnappa, a World Championship bronze medallist, and N Sikki Reddy, Gold medalist at the South Asian Games 2016. It carries a special message that honours young women who chase their dreams no matter how crazy they may be labelled, no matter the stigmas, no matter what society says. It heralds young women who want to follow in the footsteps of Ashwini and Sikki.

The one-minute film also pays tribute to those who support these young, crazy dreamers, the family members and the coaches, who often sacrifice almost as much as these athletes to help pave the way to their glory.

“Every empowered child is a product of an enlightened ecosystem – comprising family, friends and acquaintances who have extended their support. With the world’s biggest sporting event upon us, this is a good time to remind us all that investing in the dreams and aspirations of the next generation can give us returns beyond measure,” Rohit Rao, Joint President & Group Chief CSR Officer, Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited stated at the campaign launch.

Kotak Karma is the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) identity of the Kotak Mahindra Group. Under its CSR Projects on Sports, KMBL has collaborated with the Pullela Gopichand Badminton Foundation based in Gachibowli, Telangana to develop a state-of-the-art badminton training facility with advanced infrastructure and amenities, and international standard coaches that will help India produce more world-class players. Both the athletes featured in the film train at the Pullela Gopichand Badminton Foundation.

source: http://www.thebridge.in / The Bridge / Home>Videos> Badminton / by The Bridge Desk / July 14th, 2021

Rohan Bopanna Tennis Academy comes to Coimbatore

Business & Economy, Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Inspiration / Positive News and Features, Leaders, Records, All, Sports
Rohan Bopanna. (AP Photo)

Coimbatore :

The Rohan Bopanna Tennis  Academy, run by the Indian doubles ace, on Monday opened at a school.


“I am very happy to be able to see young talent, giving them the positive encouragement of sport,” he said at the virtual inauguration of Coimbatore’s first development tennis centre in association with the Rohan Bopanna Tennis Academy (RBTA).


The academy is being set up at RAK’s school.


It is also special because it is the first development academy for RBTA outside Karnataka , he added.


Bopanna, India’s top doubles player currently, said Coimbatore has had a lot of talent for many years, adding “one of the main reasons to start a centre here is that there are a lot of students with tremendous talent but lack opportunity.


“We have a structured programme in place.”


Further, Bopanna said when children come to the school, they would get to watch young talent training there, get inspired and start playing tennis.


Speakers at the event, including the RAK’s School founders, emphasised that sports and academics should go hand in hand to ensure holistic development of a child.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> News> Sports News> Tennis News / by PTI / July 12th, 2021

Gulshan Devaiah: So much tamasha about nepotism, people are segregated on sets based on job profile

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg

Actor Gulshan Devaiah admits that the divide has bothered him for a long time, but doesn’t know what he can do to change it. That’s the reason why he has started putting it out on social media.

Actor Gulshan Devaiah also took to Twitter to condemn the practice.
Actor Gulshan Devaiah also took to Twitter to condemn the practice

Nepotism, according to Gulshan Devaiah, is not the only thing about Bollywood that needs to change. The actor feels that segregation of people based on their job profile with separate dining areas also needs to be done away with.

“It’s a very common occurrence. It happens across the entire spectrum, be it film sets, ad shoots or TV sets. I’ve been seeing this since the time I’ve been working here. It doesn’t happen on every set, but a lot of sets do segregate,” Devaiah shares.

It’s been more than 10 years since he’s a part of the industry, and over these years, he has seen the divide among people working on a set diluting a bit. But that’s not enough.

Looking back at his initial years, the 43-year-old recalls, “In 2008, when I was an ‘extra’, at that time, people used to say, ‘Aapke khaana udhar laga hua hai aur unka wahan’. I never paid much attention to it at that point of time, but it’s something that really bothers me. There’s a certain class and hierarchy which is there.”

While the Ghost Stories (2020) and Unpaused actor doesn’t know what he can do to solve it, he’s using his voice to initiate a conversation, hoping it would spin the wheel of change. That’s the reason he recently took to Twitter to express, “What bothers me more than Nepotism in Bollywood S1 E02: Sets that segregate people based on their job profile with separate dining areas”.

Talking about it, the actor rues, “So much tamasha is made about nepotism. In fact, nepotism pichle saal se kaafi popular hai yahan pe, particularly hamari industry mein sab log apni shortcomings doosre pe dalte hain. Here, I’m not trying to deny nepotism. But there are so many other things as well, which are bothersome. There are so many areas where we can as an industry do better. That’s why I thought I’ll start writing my thoughts.”

When asked if anything has changed, Devaiah notes that there are many sets who don’t practice such biases but at the same time, he has experienced it rampantly on other sets.

“We are all working together, can’t we have more dignity. There are some artistes who like to stay isolated, but then they can go into their dressing room or vanity. This kind of segregation is wrong,” he concludes.

source: http://www.hindustantimes.com / Hindustan Times / Home> Entertainment> Bollywood / by Sugandha Rawal / July 12th, 2021

Film stunt director Fayaz Khan wants to set up institute in Kodagu

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Inspiration / Positive News and Features, Records, All
Film stunt director Fayaz Khan wants to set up institute in Kodagu
Film stunt director Fayaz Khan wants to set up institute in Kodagu

HIGHLIGHTS

Fayaz Khan who has directed stunts and acted in 1,560 films in various languages wants to set up an institute to train youths in the art in his native Kodagu district.

Madikeri:

Fayaz Khan who has directed stunts and acted in 1,560 films in various languages wants to set up an institute to train youths in the art in his native Kodagu district. As small boy in 1980s, he sold peanuts in cinema halls to support his family in Gonicoppa, a small town in Kodagu district. Sounds like a film story? But it’s true. Fayaz Khan who directed stunts for 1,560 films till now once sold peanuts in cinema halls and never studied beyond class III.

Born in a poor family and fond of films, Fayaz Khan left home in 1985 and landed in Bengaluru in search of his dream. He came to Gandhinagara and begged film directors for a chance and got a small role in Tamil film Idiyadagam. After seeing his performance, many directors gave him a chance. However, his passion lay in stunts. Later he became a stunt artiste and worked for 1,560 films in various languages including Kannada, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam.

Fayaz started his own stunt artists association and trained more than 1100 artists since the outbreak of Covid-19.

Apart from being a stunt master, he acted with such stalwarts like Dr Raj kumar, Vishnuvardhan, Rajanikanth, Salman Khan, Akshaya Kumar, Mammootti, Mohan Lal, Chiranjeevi, Punit Raj Kumar. Speaking to this reporter, Fayaz said that there is a good environment for films in Kodagu. “There is a lot of employment potential in film industry for youths from the tourism district if we train them properly,” he said and expressed his wish to open a film training institute in Kodagu to tap hidden talent.

source: http://www.thehansindia.com / The Hans India / Home> News> State> Karnataka / by Coovercolly Indresh / Hans News Service / July 09th, 2021

Krishi Thapanda goes online to teach orphans in Coorg

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Covid-19 (wef. May 31, 2021), Education, Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Inspiration / Positive News and Features

Krishi Thapanda, who was involved in organising COVID relief through the pandemic, has taken on a new responsibility now.

Along with four other like-minded friends, Krishi is part of a core group that is working on teaching homeless children at government-run childrens’ shelters in Coorg. “While children in cities have access to the best teaching methods, those in rural areas often don’t have access to laptops or phones to enable online learning. So, they haven’t had any kind of learning in the past year and a half owing to the pandemic,” points out Krishi.

The actress and her friends identified three government-run shelters that were in need of help and set up a programme that will look into their educational needs. “The idea is to give them basic knowledge. The age group of children is from six to 18, who have been divided into three categories. Volunteers have signed up for it and they will teach the kids various subjects.

We have got permission from the authorities to hold two hours of class on week days and we want to make the most of it. As of now, we are in the process of gathering pre-loved laptops and phones to give these children and teach them basic English, so that they find it easier when they step into the real world to earn a livelihood in their later years,” shares Krishi, who will be teaching them acting, dancing and some other art forms too.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> News> Entertainment> Kannada> Movies / by TNN / July 01st. 2021

Legendary India hockey player BP Govinda recalls his equaliser in Bronze Medal match in Munich Olympics

Amazing Feats, Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Inspiration / Positive News and Features, Leaders, Records, All, Sports, World Opinion
File photo: BP Govinda (second from left)

New Delhi :

With less than 30 days to go for Tokyo 2020, the Olympic fever is slowly gripping the entire sporting world. While the Indian athletes are leaving no stones unturned and carrying out high-octane practice sessions, it’s time for hockey fans to relive the memories from the triumphant Olympic campaigns in the past through Hockey India’s Flashback Series.

In this article of Hockey India’s Flashback Series, the fiery centre-forward BP Govinda went on a nostalgic trip, fondly talking of his hay days as an iconic figure with a distinctive headband. “Our Coach KD Singh Babu made me play as outside-left in the Bronze Medal match against the Netherlands,” recalled the stylish striker.

“All through the tournament in Munich, I had played as centre-forward, but our Coach insisted I change my position for this match, and it so happened that I scored the equaliser and then Mukhbain Singh scored the winning goal through a penalty corner which helped us win the match 2-1,” recalled Govinda, who was drawn to hockey from his school days in Somwarpet in Coorg.

Having won a Bronze Medal in 1968, India had fielded a young team in Munich which saw stalwarts like Michael Kindo, Ashok Kumar Dhyanchand and BP Govinda make their Olympic debut. But the campaign didn’t go as expected despite a good start against teams like the Netherlands (1-1 draw), Great Britain (5-0 win), Australia (3-1 win), Poland (2-2 draw) and Mexico (8-0 win). India had also beaten New Zealand 3-2 to make the cut for the semi-final.

“But we lost 0-2 in that match. I think we played particularly well in the second half. Almost the entire 35 minutes, we were in their D and we were attacking with all our might, but it was so disheartening that we couldn’t convert a single goal. All our shots would go near the goal mouth, and we would miss. It was as though we were jinxed,” explained Govinda, who is also part of Hockey India’s National Selection Committee.

The former India skipper who led the team to a Silver Medal at the 1978 Asian Games rued missing an opportunity to play for the World XI side at the Munich Games, but the match was called off due to the Palestinian terrorist attack on Israeli athletes. He said, “West Germany had beaten Pakistan in the Final to become the new Olympic Champions and the organisers had planned an exhibition match between World XI and the Olympic Champions. I was chosen from India to play for the World XI side but due to the Black September incident, they called off that match. Though there was no safety concern for us within the village, our contingent was quite close to where this incident happened.”

Another instance Govinda regrets to this day is the penalty stroke he missed against Pakistan in the 1973 World Cup in Amstelveen. “I had scored the only goal (in the 62nd minute) against Pakistan in the semis and that goal of mine took India to the Final against the Netherlands. I had become an instant hero back home but unfortunately; I couldn’t replicate that in the Final. Surjit Singh had scored two goals and the score was level at 2-2 when we earned a penalty stroke towards the dying minutes of the match.”

“Barring Harmik Singh, Ajitpal nobody was coming forward to take the penalty stroke. I told (teammate) MP Ganesh, no one is going so shall I go? I went voluntarily. Before taking the strike, I had decided I will hit the left corner of the goalkeeper but when I lifted my stick, it went underneath the grass, and the ball didn’t connect properly to the stick. My shot didn’t even reach the goalie. We lost the opportunity, and the match went into extra time, and we eventually lost,” recollected Govinda.

However, he fondly remembers from his playing days is his formative days when he played for Mohun Bagan. “That’s where it all began for me. In 1967-68, we won the first division and the Beighton Cup. I was very fortunate and lucky to have played with greats like Gurbux Singh and Vece Paes. I got my first call up for India in 1970,” he said.

Consistent India team stand great chance to finish on podium in Tokyo 2020

Speaking of the current Indian hockey team led by Manpreet Singh, Govinda said, “They have been playing consistently in the past two years, and they have shown a lot of promise. But my advice to them is to take it match-by-match and their first aim should be to make the Quarterfinals. I would say, once they have crossed that hurdle, it is anybody’s game in the Semis and Final.” “This team has been doing well under Graham and have shown that they are capable of beating big teams like Australia, Netherlands, Belgium and even the Olympic Champions Argentina. I have no doubt that they can perform well in Tokyo,” he added.

Source: HI Release

source: http://www.mykhel.com / My Khel / Home> English> Hockey> News / by Avinash Sharma / July 01st, 2021

Kozhikode Corporation to join hands with IISR for spice street project

Agriculture, Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Green Initiatives / Environment, Inspiration / Positive News and Features, Leaders, Pepper, Records, All

Kozhikode Mayor Beena Philip has said that the corporation was willing to cooperate with the Indian Institute of Spices Research (IISR) for the proposed spice street project.

Inaugurating the foundation day programme online at the IISR here on Thursday, she said the emerging farming scenario enhanced the social and scientific relevance of institutions like ICAR- IISR in the wake of the pandemic.

She also emphasized that the spice economy was important for the farming sector. However, the ability to maintain and enhance spices production needs to be anchored on improved cultivation practices and research advances, she said.

Presiding over the session, Dr. A.K. Singh, Deputy Director-General, ICAR, New Delhi, said the spices sector had witnessed significant changes in the recent past, and that the country was poised to make gains in production and trade in spices in the coming years.

Dr. Athulya G. Ashokan, Associate Professor, Pushpagiri Institute of Medical Sciences, delivered the foundation day lecture on ‘Management of post-COVID syndrome’. The IISR also launched the e-commerce platform for sale of good quality spices from verified sources and products from incubatee entrepreneurs associated with the institute.

In a new initiative aimed at supporting women entrepreneurs, the institution has entered into an agreement with the Kozhikode District Kudumbashree Mission to provide support for development and marketing of value-added products, production of quality planting materials, and delivery training services.

The IISR also executed two technology commercialisation agreements for the turmeric variety IISR Aleppey Supreme and black pepper micronutrient mixture.

Marking the occasion, the institute conferred spices excellence awards on Kanthraj K.M. from Kodagu district in Karnataka and Rajesh E.M. from Kozhikode. R.L. Innovative Agri Pvt. Ltd., an agri-startup company, was also honoured with the award.

The staff recreation club of the institute donated 10 mobile phones and tablets to support online education of students from under-privileged sections as part of its outreach activities. The institute released five extension folders and three technical bulletins on various aspects of spice cultivation to mark the foundation day.

Dr. J. Rema, Director, ICAR-IISR, and Dr. Vikramadithya Pandey, Assistant Director General, ICAR, spoke.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Kozhikode / by Special Correspondent / Kozhikode – July 02nd, 2021

Rohan Bopanna-Sania Mirza pair wins historic all-Indian Wimbledon match

Amazing Feats, Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Inspiration / Positive News and Features, Records, All, Sports, World Opinion
File photo of Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna. | Photo Credit: PTI

It was the first time in open era that two Indian teams competed against each other at a Grand Slam tournament.

The experienced pair of Rohan Bopanna and Sania Mirza defeated the brand new combination of Ramkaumar Ramanathan and Ankita Raina 6-2 7-6 (5) in the historic all-Indian mixed doubles first round match at the Wimbledon here on Friday.

It was the first time in open era that two Indian teams competed against each other at a Grand Slam tournament.

The contest finally brought a Grand Slam debut for Ramkumar, who has made 21 attempts to qualify for the singles main draw of a tennis major.

While the first set ended quickly in favour of the veterans, Ramkumar and Raina presented a good fight in the second set, which even they led for a brief period with a break of serve.

Bopanna was clearly the best player on the court with his powerful serve and solid ground strokes from the baseline as well as the ability to execute a superior net game.

On expected lines, Ramkumar served big while Raina gave her all after growing in confidence.

Mirza’s serve is still not at its best and would improve as she plays more matches.

Mirza has moved has also moved to women’s doubles second round with Bethanie Mattek-Sands while Raina and her American partner Lauren Davis lost in straight sets to the US pair of Asia Muhammad and Jessica Pegula on Thursday night.

The 14th seeds disposed off the challenge from the Raina-Davis pair 6-3 6-2 in 70 minutes.

Bopanna and Divij Sharan are already out, having lost their men’s doubles opening round match.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Sport> Tennis / by PTI / London, July 02nd, 2021

Celebrity couple Anu Poovamma-NC Ayyappa to feature in reality show ‘Raja Rani’

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

Celebrity couple Anu Poovamma  and NC Ayyappa are all set to feature together in the new reality show ‘Raja Rani’ which will premiere soon on a leading Kannada general entertainment channel.


The channel airing the show has confirmed the same on their official social media handle. On the other hand, Social media is filled with best wishes for the couple. Fans are elated to see their favorite Jodi onscreen again.

The soon-to-be-launched reality show is all about testing the bond between real-life couples. Many celebrity couples from the Kannada entertainment industry are likely to be a part of the show. Besides Akarsh and Deepika, celebrity couples like Chandan Shetty- Nivedita Gowda and Neha Gowda  along with her husband Chandu, Kulavadhu stars Deepika-Akarsh have also confirmed their participation in the new reality show.


For the unversed, Anu got married to cricketer and former Bigg Boss Kannada season 3 contestant N C Aiyappa in 2018.

On the career front, Anu and Aiyappa are not new to the Kannada audience. Having acted in a few Kannada films, Anu made her TV debut with daily soap ‘Muddulakshmi’, in which she played a negative character. However, she bid adieu to the show due to personal reasons. She was last seen on TV playing the character of ‘Devasena’ in supernatural fiction ‘Nandini 2’.

Aiyappa, who is a cricketer by profession, entered Bigg Boss Kannada season 3 as a celebrity contestant and made his presence felt. He was one of the most controversial contestants of the season.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> News> TV> News> Kannada / by TimesofIndia.com / June 30th, 2021