Urges Govt. to employ sports achievers

Mysuru :

Achievers in sports must be given employment in Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs), said former International Athlete Ashwini Nachappa here this morning.

She was speaking after inaugurating the three-day BSNL Employees All-India Athletic Championship 2015-16 at Chamundi Vihar Stadium here under the aegis of Mysore Telecom District, Mysuru.

Providing jobs in the PSUs for those who excel in sports will inspire others to take to sports which in turn will help the country progress in the field of sports, she observed.

Ashwini further said that sports persons should be encouraged in their endeavours to come out with flying colours and added that there was no age limit for sports as anyone could take up sports whenever they developed interest.

Earlier, Ashwini Nachappa was introduced to the athletes from Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Kerala, Manipur, NRT-Delhi, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and other States who are in city to take part in the event.

P. Nagaraju, Chief General Manager, Karnataka Telecom Circle, presided. Principal General Manager and Championship Chairman K.L. Jayaram, International Referee A. Bricto Joy and BSNL officials V.K. Singh and Sampath Kumar were present on the occasion.

More than 500 athletes are competing in various track and field events to be held during the three-day championship which includes100 mts sprint, 200 mts sprint, 400 mts race, 800 mts race, 1,500 mts run, 3,000 mts run and 5,000 mts run, discus throw, shot put, hammer throw, javelin throw, long jump, high jump, triple jump and pole vault.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / Wednesday – January 20th, 2016

Badminton player Ashwini Ponnappa speaks about her plans for the Olympics, sporting rivalry and how the league format has changed sports in the country. Excerpts…

GAME PLAN FOR THE OLYMPICS

The last time, Jwala (Gutta) and I waited for the last tournament to actually secure a spot in the Olympics. This time, we’re kind of there, but there are a couple of tournaments left and anything could happen because we have a lot of players behind us who are from different countries, who do have a chance of getting ahead of us. So we’re aiming to be in the top 10 by the end of the qualifying period.

LEAGUE MATCHES HAVE CHANGED THE SPORTS CULTURE IN INDIA

Now you can go and watch sports for entertainment. In the past, you only had leagues on TV, but now you can go to the stadium and watch the matches, and it’s got a festive feel. One of the nice things is that it’s taken different sports to different cities. So people watch live action in front of them, as opposed to watching it on TV. You have top sports stars playing in front of you, and it’s always fun to go and watch that because it’s totally different when you’re watching it on TV. These sports (badminton, tennis, football and kabaddi) have got more of a fan following now because of that.

PLAYING ON THE SAME TEAM AS YOUR OPPONENTS

The leagues have also given us an opportunity to interact and mingle with players from other countries who we’d normally see only on the other side of the court. That’s not something that usually happens because otherwise, you’re playing for your respective countries. But now, the league has given us a chance to make new friends, learn different things about each other and find out how training is in their country.

MATCH EXPOSURE IS IMPORTANT

I had said earlier that training, for Jwala and me, was difficult, since we lacked support in terms of not having a professional doubles coach or a centre with sparring partners where the two of us could train together. Now, we do have training in Hyderabad, so I go there. But with leagues like this, you get a lot of match exposure, which is really important for your sport and it helps you get better.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> Sports> Badminton / by Anjali Muthanna / TNN / January 18th, 2016

Cuttack :

Opener Robin Uthappa and Stuart Binny made short work of a modest chase to add to the team’s bowling effort as Karnataka outplayed Odisha by six wickets in the Group D Twenty20 match of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy here today.

If medium-pacer Abhimanyu Mithun and leg-spinners Shreyas Gopal and KC Cariappa, sharing two wickets each, set up the win for Karnataka then the 53-run fourth-wicket partnership between Uthappa (48) and Binny (32 not out) helped the R Vinay Kumar-led side achieve the target in 17.5 overs.

Uthappa smashed six fours and a six in his 41-ball stay, while Binny’s 30-ball knock was laced with two fours and a six.

Leg-spinner Tukuna Sahoo bagged two wickets, while Deepak Behera and Basant Mohanty picked up a wicket each.

Earlier put into bat, Odisha suffered from lack of partnerships against a disciplined Karnataka attack to stumble to 102 for seven in 20 overs. Abhishek Yadav top-scored with 31 runs as the rest of the batting disappointed.

Brief Scores: Odisha 102/7 in 20 overs (Abhishek Yadav 31, Biplab Samantray 19; Abhimanyu Mithun 2-13, Shreyas Gopal 2-15, KC Cariappa 2-14) Karnataka 106/4 in 17.5 overs (Robin Uthappa 48, Stuart Binny 32 not out; Tukuna Sahoo 2-17)

Points: Karnataka 4, Odisha 0.

PTI

source: http://www.oneindia.com / One India / Home> News> Sports> Cricket / by PTI / Saturday – January 09th, 2016

Kolkata:

Indian tennis ace Leander Paes on Wednesday said if he partners Rohan Bopanna in the men’s doubles event in the Rio Olympics next year they will have the best chance of grabbing a medal.

“Pretty obvious in the men’s doubles that Rohan and myself have the best chance of going out there and winning the medal. Rohan has been playing some wonderful tennis, he has been playing with (Florin) Mergea and has done well. With Rohan and myself playing doubles for India, I think we have a great chance of grabbing a medal,” Paes told reporters in Kolkata where he had come as IDBI’s Kolkata Marathon’s ‘Face of the Event’.

“I had wanted to play with him in London. In the grass courts it was a great platform for us to do well.”

Four years back in London, Paes had to partner Vishnu Vardhan and they lost in the second round. He then combined with Sania Mirza but bowed out to the eventual mixed doubles champions Victoria Azarenka and Max Mirnyi of Belarus.

The 42-year-old believes based on current performance he and Mirza should be sent to represent the country in the mixed doubles event.

“With Sania Mirza, I played at London, we lost to the eventual champions Azarenka and Mirnyi. We had a great chance in that game too. We have both had good seasons, so on merit it is an obvious choice to let me and Sania go. But after what happened in London I don’t think anything can be taken for granted,” he said pointing to the fact that he was paired with Vardhan who during the London Olympics was ranked 209.

Both Mahesh Bhupathi and Bopanna refused to play doubles with Paes, after which the national tennis federation persuaded Sania Mirza to play with the veteran Kolkatan. And Paes paired up with lowly-ranked Vardhan.

The nine-time mixed doubles Grand Slam winner said that he was focussing on the event more as he had been successful in it in the last few years.

“For Rio, I have focussed a lot on mixed doubles, I have been focussing on the Grand Slams as mixed doubles is only played in four Grand Slams. And having a wonderful partner in Martina Hingis has allowed me to do that. Winning three of the four Grand Slams leading into the Olympics, it’s pretty obvious where my focus is,” he said.

“Having got the medal in singles already in the Olympics, to do it in the doubles and mixed doubles is something I am focussing on.”

The tennis star added that he is looking forward to playing alongside Bopanna and Sania if he gets the opportunity and that representing the country and getting a medal is the foremost thing on his mind.

“Let’s see how the next six months turn up. I hope another London does not happen. But representing the country is the foremost thing in my mind. And I think the best team should go and represent the country and it should be done on merit. I am looking forward to playing with Sania and Rohan if I get the opportunity.”

“I hope to have a chance at winning the medal and then hang that on my showcase along with the single’s medal,” concluded Paes who will set a record if he features in Rio for playing in the most number of Olympics as a tennis star.

source: http://www.ibnlive.com / IBN Live.com / Home> Sport / IANS / December 23rd, 2016