Theetharamada Sinchal Kaveramma shattered the national record in the 400-metre hurdle and met the qualifying mark for the Asiad (Asian Games), during the 62nd Inter-State Athletics Championships in Odisha.
Notably, she broke the national record, crossing the finish line in a thrilling photo-finish with a time of 56.76 seconds, surpassing the previous record of 57.02 seconds. This remarkable achievement also stands as Sinchal’s personal best time. She clinched the silver medal in the 400-metre hurdles event and a bronze medal in mixed relay.
The recently concluded National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships, held at the Kalinga Stadium at Bhubaneswar, Odisha, served as a selection trial for both the delayed Asian Games in Hangzhou, scheduled for September, and the upcoming World Championships in Hungary.
Numerous top-tier athletes travelled to Bhubaneswar with the aim of securing their spots in the Asian Games later this year. Sinchal is among the 65 athletes representing 27 disciplines who persevered through scorching heatwaves to meet the Asiad qualification standard.
Sinchal receives training from Bollanda Vikram Aiyappa and Pramila Aiyappa in Bengaluru. Speaking to Star of Mysore, she attributed her record-breaking performance to her coaches and family, expressing her full dedication to them.
Sinchal has already commenced her preparations for the main Asian Games, scheduled to take place from Sept. 15 in Bangkok.
Sinchal is the daughter of Theetharamada M. Ravi and Rashmi (Kuppanda), residents of Nalloor village near Ponnampet. Her grandparents are Theetharamada Mudappa and Chondamma of Nalloor, as well as Kuppanda C. Thimmaiah and Muthakki of Nalvathoklu.
Sinchal completed her primary education at Lions Primary School in Gonikoppa and attended high school at Alvas English Medium High School in Moodbidri. She pursued her pre-university course at Alvas PU College and is currently in her final year of B.Com studies at Bishop Cotton Women’s Christian College in Bengaluru.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Sports /June 21st, 202
The decision to cancel the exclusive selection process for Kodagu athletes for state-level teams has irked sports persons in the Kodagu district. As many as 18 students, including three girls, selected at the district-level selection process have been removed.
Kodagu district has players at the state and national level and they have also participated in the Olympics events. An exclusive selection of Kodagu students has been going on for the past 23 years in Ponnampet.
Arun Machaiah, a former MLC, accused senior officials behind the decision to cancel the selection.
A state-level sports school is being run at Kudige and the athletes to play at the state level are selected from there.
While the national-level sports persons are selected from Sai Sports Residential School, Madikeri.
Machaiah said when the selection processes for national and state-level events come together the opportunities for the athletes of Kodagu are likely to decrease.
Zilla panchayat had taken resolution for an exclusive selection of Kodagu students for state teams in Ponnampet School. It was approved by the Karnataka government in 2001.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> News> City News> Mysuru News / by G Rajendra / May 28th, 2023
Ponnappa, 33-year-old former World Championship bronze medallist, has formed a new partnership in women’s doubles with 19-year-old Tanisha Crasto.
Ashwini Ponnappa along with her new partner Tanisha Crasto in Pune | Senior Badminton National Championships
Through the course of her career, Ashwini Ponnappa has been part of many firsts in women’s doubles for Indian badminton. Ponnappa and Jwala Gutta, became the first Indian women to win a badminton BWF World Championship medal (bronze in 2011). She has won gold, silver and bronze medals at the Commonwealth Games and also the women’s team bronze medal at the Incheon Asian Games in 2014. She has been part of Uber Cup bronze medal-winning squads.
But now the 33-year-old, a veteran of the sport in India, finds herself in the nascent stage of a women’s doubles partnership. In December, she made the decision to pair up with 19-year-old Tanisha Crasto for women’s doubles.
The change sees the once world No 10 women’s doubles player now find herself ranked 141 as a pair with Crasto, albeit they’ve played just two international competitions together – a quarterfinal finish at the Super 500 event in Indonesia in January, followed by a first round exit at the Thailand Open Super 300.
A third event was the quarterfinal finish at the 84th Senior National Championships, at the Balewadi Sports Complex in Pune on Sunday as they put up a good fight before losing against the in-form top-seed pairing of Gayatri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly.
It’s a long way back to the top, but in an interview with Scroll in Pune she asserted she’s looking forward to climbing back up the ladder, while also exploring a new role in commentary.
Excerpts from the interview:
How has the new partnership been working for you?
It’s good. Tanisha is young, she’s very energetic. It’s nice to play with that energy. We haven’t really had many tournaments together, we’ve played two and this is the third. But I’m excited to be here at the Nationals, it’s been a while since I played at this competition.
Earlier you had Jwala Gutta as a partner who was senior to you, then N Sikki Reddy who was not much dissimilar in terms of age. Now you have a partner who is 19. Are you also playing the role of mentor?
You could say that. I would say there’s a vast difference from when I started playing with Jwala to the youngsters now. They’ve all been playing international tournaments from when they were 17 or 18. They’ve all been there, done that. The doubles game has changed and the approach has changed. There’s not a lot of mentoring, she is good in mixed doubles and she’s done well there. Women’s doubles is a little different, but it’s good to have someone who moves into the net. She has that energy and speed on the court.
With age have you changed your approach to the game?
Of course. It’s inevitable for that to happen. I can’t be compared to a 19-year-old in terms of fitness and energy on court. I definitely have to be smarter on court towards the game in order to make sure that I can physically take the toll that badminton has on the body. I have to be very mindful of my training and how I approach the game.
Is it about the warmups and cooldowns getting longer now for you?
Yeah. Probably. But I’ve always been someone who had a longer duration for warmup. But cooldown definitely still needs to get better.
Recently we saw a different side to you – as a commentator. How was that experience?
I happened to be at the tournament and they asked me if I’d like to give it a shot. I felt no harm in doing that, although I feel that it’s not my cup of tea in terms of how I speak. I’d love to get better at it.
But I loved the experience. It was fun being on the other side of the TV. Watching players play you see things differently. You see patterns which you otherwise don’t look out for unless you’re getting ready for a match. That was interesting for me.
I sat for five matches during the Thailand Open, it was interesting for me to watch patterns match out of match. Like if one side was slower or faster, how players dealt with it. You understand that the player who is actually smarter on that day in dealing with the conditions has the upper hand. So that was very interesting that way.
Do you feel there were more expectations when you’re in the commentary box? Since people know here’s someone who has played at the highest level, is there an expectation for some insight which you’d not get otherwise?
Yeah, I am supposed to be the expert. The colour commentary part of it. It does get tricky because, that’s what I meant that it’s not my cup of tea. Not in a bad way, but being articulate about what I see, I’m not a journalist, I’m don’t have the lingo for it. So sometimes I feel, ‘what am I saying?’ Sometimes it’s so repetitive. But it was nice. Although I was a bit nervous, it was an enjoyable experience.
Is that something you’re looking to pursue later on?
Maybe later. Honestly, I don’t know. Right now, I’m definitely focusing on the game. But if I get these opportunities in between to commentate, I’ll definitely give it a shot.
What are the kind of things you and Tanisha have to do off-court just to get the chemistry going to gel on-court? And what are the targets?
This was our third tournament together. We’ve sent out entries for tournaments where we haven’t got an entry. But Tanisha will be playing in mixed doubles (with Ishaan Bhatnagar) in those tournaments. We haven’t had so much time in general to build the partnership because it is brand new, we just started. There’s still a long way to go, we still need that bonding time.
Is that, perhaps the target?
I would say the first target is to get an entry.
You mentioned the doubles game has changed. How?
Over the years the whole approach has changed. When Jwala and I were playing, we were kind of like the path-breakers in a way for doubles. There wasn’t a lot before us. Nobody we could look up to, nobody who had ever won. We had a lot of firsts together. But the game-changer has been that youngsters have been given a lot of exposure to tournaments. They’ve been playing tournaments since they are 17 – that was unheard of back then. We didn’t even have those tournaments in India.
Right now we have four international tournaments in India. You’re giving youngsters an opportunity to get that hunger at a very young age because you’re giving them a taste of what international badminton is. Also, everyone is going out, everyone is sponsored. That’s changed.
That’s why you see a lot of youngsters playing and taking it up. Otherwise, our generation, people in the past, they trained a lot, but never played tournaments. I wouldn’t say you didn’t have that talent back then, you just didn’t know. They were just training, they didn’t have the exposure, no push to go out. That has changed, and that’s why we see a rise in a lot of doubles players playing and doing well.
It’s because they’ve been pushed from a young age, getting out to participate, get that exposure, start training at a young age. These girls are 19. At that time, at 19, nobody was really encouraged to go out.
Yet you’ve remained relevant throughout this. What’s been the changes you’ve had to make in the way you approach the game to continue playing at the highest level?
I would say, I still need to get to the top. I have, in the past. But currently I’m starting from scratch. Ground zero. It’s challenging because you’ve been there and you’re coming back all the way down. It’s a reset.
source: http://www.scroll.in / Scroll.in / Home> Badminton / by Shahid Judge / February 27th, 2023
The issues and problems affecting women in sports in the country came up for discussion with Olympian wrestler Vinesh Phogat focussing on sexual harassment faced by women sportspersons and badminton star Jwala Gutta pointing at the lack of a proper attitude towards female athletes.
Former sprinter and Olympian Ashwini Nachappa pointed at the need for change in the mindset of administrators and in the governance of sports.
All these issues were raised during the ‘Fight like a Woman – Guts, Grit and Glory’ session during the second edition of ABP’s ‘Ideas of India’ summit here.
Speaking on the occasion, Arjuna Awardee and Commonwealth gold winner, Vineesh Phogat opened up about her own struggles of sexual misconduct that goes unnoticed in the field of sports.
“Every day was an internal battle to not let powerful people break you with their antics and torture,” she said.
After playing at a senior position for several years, she added “I felt in a secure position to be able to speak about the issues so girls at the start of their career don’t face what I had to go through.”
Vinesh believed that “A clean-up of society is essential for women to flourish in sports and speak about sexual misconduct.”
Jwala Gutta, also spoke about her struggles in the #MeToo movement. �
“I was threatened where ultimately I had to knock on the doors of the High Court,” she said.
“Sports in our country is considered as a good hobby or habit for girls until you win a medal, and then suddenly you become ‘Bharat ki Beti’,” added Jwala, Arjuna Awardee and Commonwealth Games gold medal winner.
The panel was further enlightened by Nachappa, former international athlete and Arjuna Awardee, who spoke about the evolution in sports over the past few decades.
“I think the process of a complete overhaul of the sports federation has begun as we see a lot more women across the sports board,” she said.
In 2010, she started the ‘Clean Sports India Movement’ with 8-9 other sportspersons to speak about the issues in the federation.
The Indian hockey player, Sushila Chanu Pukhrambam and the Pro Squash player and Arjuna Awardee and Commonwealth gold Winner, Joshna Chinappa also highlighted the positive change they witnessed.
“We have come a long way from when we started out,” they said.
Further commenting on the changes required in the sports administration in India, Nachappa said, “Its important that more professionals come into the management of sports, under an umbrella that is autonomous, which actually manages and holds federations accountable.”
Adding to this, Vinesh said, “If a sportsperson or professional leads the federation, it can create a positive impact on the industry as they understand the needs of an athlete and can even support them emotionally.”
A need for better coaches and support staff in the industry was also highlighted by the panel. “We need a good programme for coaches to overcome the lack of the same, only then we will be able make good athletes.”
The summit had an invigorating line-up of speakers with prominent figures from the world of business, politics, artists from the Hindi film industry, authors and other eminent sectors. The two-day event primarily addressed India’s stand as a burgeoning economy and global leader in shaping the future.
source: http://www.morungexpress.com / The Morung Express / Home> Sports / by IANS / February 25th, 2023
Abhay Singh and Joshna Chinappa with their reward for emerging on top in the 78th senior National squash championships in Chennai on Saturday. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Joshna Chinappa kept her date with destiny by bagging a record 19th women’s title while Abhay Singh won his maiden crown in the HCL-78th senior National squash championships here on Saturday.
Joshna, seeded No. 1, overcame a strong challenge from Anahat Singh, the second seed, 11-8, 11-9, 11-9 in the final, with assured court-coverage and precise shot execution. Abhay, the men’s top seed, powered past S. Velavan (5/8) 11-13, 11-7, 11-6,11-4 in the summit clash.
A composed Joshna attacked with power and used her vast experience to deceive the 14-year-old. In all three games, the 36-year-old took a sizeable lead only to find Anahat come back strongly.
Anahat fought for every point, showing her skills on the forecourt and backcourt with delicate drops, forehand and backhand winners. But Joshna was too good on the day.
“She played a fearless game and handled the pressure well. I remembered my first finals against Vaidehi Reddy, in the 2000 Nationals here, as a 14-year-old. It feels great,” said Joshna, who was resting for four months after suffering a knee injury and took the decision to play only days prior to the Nationals.
Velavan, playing in his first final, did well to save four game points to win the first game against Abhay. But the 24-year-old, who had won three PSA titles this year, came back strongly, pushing his State-mate to both sides of court and finishing the points with backhand crosscourt placements and forehand flourishes.
“Winning the Nationals was a dream for me and winning it in my first final is great. It is certainly my biggest win and very special,” said Abhay.
K. P. Karthikeyan, Member Secretary, SDAT, gave away the prizes.
The results (finals): Men: Abhay Singh (TN) bt S. Velavan (TN) 11-13, 11-7, 11-6, 11-4.
