India on Friday named a 18-strong team for their men’s hockey tour Down Under beginning November 23.

New Delhi:

Looking to build on their positive show in the Asian Champions Trophy, India on Friday named a 18-strong team for their men’s hockey tour Down Under beginning November 23. Defender V.R. Raghunath was handed captaincy duties in the absence of injured goalkeeper Sreejesh P.R., for a three-week tour that will involve a four-nation tournament followed by a three-match test series against the hosts.

Raghunath joins the squad after being rested for the Asian Champions Tophy, while Manpreet Singh is back from injury to bolster the midfield. Defender and drag-flicker Rupinder Pal Singh, who was the top scorer in the ACT, will be Raghunath’s deputy. Focus is clearly on merit and future talent with coach Roelant Oltmans rewarding those who performed consistently in Malaysia.

Young Akash Chikte, who revelled under pressure in the final against Pakistan in Malaysia, will shoulder goalkeeping duties while Uttar Pradesh’s Abhinav Kumar Pandey is the second custodian in the squad. Mohammad Amir Khan and Satbir Singh are the new faces in the attack. Said Oltmans, “Abhinav has been in and out of the camps. He has had a knee injury for a while but has made a strong comeback and we are pleased with his performance in this camp.”

source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> Sports> In Other News / November 12th, 2016

Robin Uthappa’s career has gone downhill due to lack of opportunities.

It isn’t common for Indian cricket to produce a hard-hitting batsman who is conventional in his strokeplay and yet has the ability to play shots out of the book. For the nation that saw the emergence of some of the great batting artists like Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid, it couldn’t come up with a talent who could be moulded to the team’s requirements anytime and at any place.

However, just when the hopes were down and the efforts of the national board’s search were beginning to be questioned, arrived the man with skills totally alien to the Indian fans.

Early days

Robin Uthappa, a well-built lad from Karnataka was making the headlines in 2005 for his performances in the domestic circuit.

He was born in Kodagu in Karnataka to a Christian mother and Hindu father.He was educated at Sri Bhagawan Mahaveer Jain College in Bangalore. His mother Roselyn is a Malayali. His father, Venu Uthappa, a former hockey umpire is a Kodava Hindu. He is married to his long-time girlfriend Sheetal Gautham.

The batsman came into the spotlight after making a gritty 66 for India B against India A in a Challenger Trophy match in Mumbai. Although his team went on to lose that match, the national board was surprised to see a 19-year old taking the attack to an experienced pack of bowlers which included the likes of Zaheer Khan, Murali Karthik and RP Singh. In Mohali in 2006, he smashed his way to a 93-ball 100 for India B against an India A team in the subsequent edition of the same tournament.

The Indian selectors wasted no time in drafting the dashing right-hand batsman as they were taken for a ride by a rare talent that they had never witnessed before. The reward was a place in the Indian team for the ODI series against England in 2006.

Debut

The right-hander had to wait for the final ODI to make his debut and the man he replaced in the team was no ordinary cricketer – Virender Sehwag. The pressure was on the 20-year old to justify his selection not just for making it to the Indian team, but for replacing someone with the calibre of Sehwag.

Uthappa went on to make 86 on his debut, which served as a platform for his international career. It was a dream start considering the fact that he was young and was looking to break into an Indian team that was filled with immense talent. He made full use of the occasional chances that he got since his debut and was rewarded with a spot in the Indian squad for the 2007 World Cup in West Indies. The World Cup didn’t turn out be an interesting affair for him and the team as the Indians were knocked out in the group stages itself.

Just when the critics started to circle around, the big-hitter made a strong statement during the sixth ODI of the Natwest series against England in 2007. He went on to make a crucial 47 to take the Indians home and keep the series alive.

By now the world had witnessed what Uthappa was capable of. His fearless attitude combined with a calm and clear head made him one of the most exciting prospects to watch out for. The young lad was rewarded again with a berth in the team for the inaugural edition of the T20 World Cup in South Africa.

Uthappa chipped in with some crucial knocks in the T20 World Cup and showed the signs of a future star. His 50 run knock against Pakistan in one of the matches was hailed by the Indian fans as it came in at a time when the team was tottering at 39/4. With this, he became the first Indian to score a 50 in a T20 international match. India subsequently won the match in a bowl out 3–0, where he bowled one of the three deliveries that hit the stumps.

Loss of form and subsequent resurgence

However, his form dipped after the Asia Cup in 2008 and with the rise of some of the young blood, Uthappa was overlooked by the selectors. He returned to domestic circuit and also played all the editions of the IPL since its inception in 2008. He has represented Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Sahara Pune Warriors and is currently playing for Kolkata Knight Riders.

In 2013-14, he had a superb domestic season with Karnataka completing a treble of the Ranji Trophy, Irani Cup and Vijay Hazare Trophy. Uthappa followed that up with an outstanding IPL in 2014, in which he scored 40 or more in eleven successive innings, breaking Mathew Hayden’s record of eight and was the leading run-scorer of the tournament.

This saw him make a comeback into the Indian team for the tour to Bangladesh for the ODI series in 2014, where he made one fifty in a series of rain-interrupted matches. Uthappa couldn’t hold onto the spot following a modest tour of Zimbabwe in July-August 2015. However, he had a fantastic 2014-15 Ranji season ending up as the highest run-getter of the season.

His ramp shot against England in 2007, the walking smack over the bowler’s head and his improvised batting were a delight to watch for the Indians. Though the batsman has often shown the signs of a rare commodity who juggles between being conventional and witty at times, Uthappa has been hard done by the lack of opportunities. It would be fair to say that the national selectors, in their impatient quest for unearthing new talents, lost a gem who could have redefined the art of stroke making in cricket.

source: http://www.sportskeeda.com / SportsKeeda.com / Home> Cricket> Opinion / by Shyam – Sunder / November 11th, 2016

From cricketers to squash players to shuttlers — athletes are falling in love with surfing as a hobby and fitness necessity.

Surfing’s biggest moment in India might well be when Priyanka Chopra is seen in the Baywatch movie next year. But quietly, three of Indian sport’s fittest bods are riding the waves on one of Chennai’s pristine beaches. Squash’s decade long champ Joshna Chinappa, India Test opener Murali Vijay and former World Championship medallist in badminton doubles Ashwini Ponnappa have each given a try to taming the threatening rips and breaking waves at Kovalam beach’s Covelong Point surfing facility on India’s east coast these last few years, making surfing the avant-garde recreation of India’s top sportspersons.

You would expect fitness’ reigning celebrity deity Milind Soman to have dropped by to catch a wave – and he has indeed.

You’d reckon Matthew Hayden the big Aussie who played IPL in Chennai and takes off on Tasman coast with his surf board and fish rods, would definitely have given it a go. And you’d guess Indophile Jonty Rhodes, a perpetual adventurist, to have sniffed out this sea corner of India. But Joshna, Ashwini and Vijay have swooshed surfing right into the heart of India’s sporting fraternity – more are expected to follow.

Fit bods first streamed into Indian cable televisions glamorously through Baywatch and the red trunks. But even as Indian sport shaves off the bulges from its ranks and acquires lean muscle, surfing – incidentally an Olympic discipline at the 2020 Tokyo Games – is the latest in recreation and rehab even.

Ashwini took a day-trip to Chennai last month and headed straight to Covelong having heard about the surfing haunt from friends. “I was there for a day and went to the beach directly. It’s the most fun I’ve had, but it’s quite a bit of a workout,” says the Coorgi, who trains at Bangalore and Hyderabad alternately.

Known for her devotion to fitness – needed for covering the back court from where she has a mean smash, whipped at some of the fastest speeds in women’s badminton – Ashwini was bound to be attracted to surfing. However even half an hour on the board catching waves winds up being a colossally intense workout — not one Ashwini minds.

“I ended with sore muscles after my first try. But I definitely want to try this as part of fitness work. It’s good for the core, and I am hooked,” she said. Wary of water on her face initially, and not the surest of swimmers, Ashwini was initially cagey. But as soon as she negotiated the shallow waters and the baby waves – feet apart and bent at knees, hands steering the balance, she was excited and knew this wasn’t the last time she’d be strapping on the board to the ankle.

Having overcome the fear, and the beach being just an hour’s flight away from Hyderabad, Ashwini hopes to be a regular.

Squash champ Joshna Chinappa has always freakishly pursued fitness – given her sport demands exacting amounts of strength and agility from its practitioners.

She was on the fitness treadmill right from when she went to play the British Open junior finals a dozen seasons ago, but she heads out to Covelong in her hometown, mostly owing to her love of the water.
She first fetched up a year ago for a one-off lesson from Covelong’s inspirational instructor Murthy Megavan. Murthy, son of a fisherman and abandoned by his father, took to the sport starting off on a wooden window plank, but has now a hundred surf boards at his centre – some coming from donations of foreign enthusiasts.

On her first ride, Joshna would lose balance and fall off, almost hurting her foot.

“It’s very hard. I fell off, but got back on and gave it another go. I used to think I have great balance in my sport, but after the first time surfing I realised I couldn’t even get up and stand on the board,” she laughs recalling the first fumbles.

Upper-body fitness
Surfing needs an all-round supple body, but demands some superior upper body fitness to start out. Lying flat on the board, surfer typically paddle into deeper waters first, move to squatting in half position and then with an almighty strain on the leg stand on the board, taming the rips.

“I’d hurt my leg first time, but I returned because all I cared for was that my friends would see me standing on that board,” she laughs. “It felt like I’d conquered the world because it’s a challenge to come down a wave,” she says, adding that the general level of strength for anyone trying out has to be high. “The hard part is staying on the board, and we’re just the elementary level. Imagine the pros,” she says.

A regular season is too risky still for Joshna to go out surfing given fear of injury, though she insists it’ll be her favourite activity in off-season.

One man who doesn’t bother worrying — also because he’s put in more surfing hours — is India top-order batsman Murali Vijay. Murthy says he’s been coming to Covelong since 2014 and enjoys an easy breezy connect with the sport – not unlike his day job of facing upto quicks with mighty elegance.

“He likes surfing because it calms him down, he’s told me,” Murthy says. “Vijay’s come here before start of major series. He’s good on the board, and finds it equivalent to yoga or meditation,” Murthy says.

Surf season in Chennai is April to September, though Murthy expects more to camp here year-round.

“All the sportspersons who’ve come here are excellent students and respectful of the instructors and the sport. No starry airs, no attitude,” he says. You can’t afford to when striking a good body and leg position and dealing with an oncoming wave.

Ashwini was a quick learner, moving onto the 9 foot board used for Levels 3 and 4 pretty fast. “It’s like breathing comfortably when trekking. Only 10 percent arrive here fit to surf straight away, given the demands on the upper body. It’s great to know Indian sportspersons are top level in fitness,” Murthy says.

Riding the peaks then is just a matter of discipline and technique.

source: http://www.indianexpress.com / The Indian Express / Home> Sports> Sports Others /by Shivani Naik / Mumbai / November 02nd, 2016

After months of living out of a suitcase, Dipika Pallikal and Joshna Chinappa are back in the city, but they are not resting. The two are at the Indian Squash Academy (ISA) here for a three-week camp to get ready for the World women’s team championship to be held in Paris from November 28 to December 3.

“The (past) three months (playing in PSA World tour) have been crazy, playing week after week,” Dipika said to The Hindu here on Friday, after the training camp. “It’s nice to practice again with Joshna. When it comes to a team, we are at our best. We enjoy each other’s company,” she added.

With two of the country’s top under-19 players in Sunayna Kuruvilla and Akansha Salunkhe making up the four-member team to Paris, Joshna, the top-ranked Indian at 13 in the world, felt the team is looking to first enter the top eight, and then take it one step at a time. “It will be tough, no doubt, but we will do our best,” she said.

Acknowledging the competition, which includes top players from England, Egypt, France, Australia, Malaysia, The Netherlands and the USA, Coach Cyrus Poncha said a top-eight finish “is what we are aiming for”. Concurring with Poncha, India’s foreign coach Ashraf El Karargi, said it will be difficult to look beyond the quarterfinals.

For the two juniors, Sunayna and Akansha, it will be a learning experience and an opportunity to prove to one and all that they are here for the long haul. “It is a big honour. I have so much to learn,” said Sunayna, for whom this will be the third International (senior) event after World juniors (Poland) and South Asian Games (SAG, Guwahati). Akansha said her aim is to “improve myself” after having played in the SAG (Guwahati), Asian team championship in Taipei and the World juniors (Poland).

Ashraf revealed Egypt’s Zahed Mohamed (men’s World No. 25) and Shehab Essam (No. 92) will train at the ISA with the Indian junior players from January 15 next year for the Asian juniors (boys and girls) championship to be held in Hong Kong in February 2017. “They are experienced pros, and playing with them will certainly help our players improve,” he said.

source:http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Sport> Other Sports / by K. Keerthivasan / Chennai – November 05th, 2016