Category Archives: World Opinion

10 things to know about Ashwini Ponappa

January 1, 2016Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Records, All, Sports, World Opinionadmin

Ahead of the Premier Badminton League, here’s your guide to one of India’s best shuttlers.

Ashwini Ponappa is one of the most talented badminton players in India

Indian badminton doubles star Ashwini Ponappa has already seen several memorable moments during the course of her career. Her successful partnership with Jwala Gutta in the doubles has brought India many laurels and they continue to be the pair on which the country’s doubles hopes are pinned on.

After first bursting on to the scene as an 18-year-old in 2007, Ponappa has made steady if not rapid strides in her career, and with Gutta will be a key component if India are to excel in the sport in Rio 2016.

Here are 10 things to know about the badminton ace:

1) Ashwini Ponnappa was born on the 18th of September, 1989 in Coorg, Karnataka. Her father was a national hockey player. However, she preferred badminton over hockey and started training in the sport.

2) She completed her schooling at St. Francis Xavier’s Girl’s High School in Bengaluru and moved to Hyderabad to pursue her bachelors degree.

3) Ponappa shot to fame when she won the Indian junior championships in 2001, as a 12-year old and then five years later, clinched the Gold at the South Asian Games to impress many an expert and supporter.

4) At the 2010 Commonwealth Games held in Delhi, she partnered Jwala Gutta to the Gold in the Women’s Doubles, with the two thereby becoming the first Indian pair to win a medal in that category at the event. Ponappa was also part of the team that won a silver in the Mixed Team event at the Games.

5) In 2011, Ponappa and Gutta came up with one of their finest performances when they won a bronze medal at the 2011 World Championships in Copenhagen, thereby becoming Indian doubles pair and only the second after Prakash Padukone(1983), to stand on the podium at the marquee event.

6) In 2012 Olympics, Ashwini-Jwala pair narrowly missed out on a quarterfinal berth by a difference of just one point, thus denying them a medal

7 ) In June 2015, Ashwini-Jwala pair won the Canada Open women’s doubles title by defeating the top-seeded Dutch pair of Eefje Muskens and Selena Piek. It was the pair’s first and only title in the year.

8) 2014 turned out to be a fruitful year for the duo as they won the silver medal in the Glasgow Commonwealth Games, and followed that up with Bronze medals in the Asian Games in Incheon and the Uber Cup in New Delhi.

9) Ponappa played for the Pune Pistons in the inaugural edition of the Indian Badminton League. In 2015, Bengaluru Top Guns chose her to represent their franchise in the Premier Badminton League(PBL).

10) The 26-year old is an animal lover and loves listening to music in her spare time.

source: http://www.sportskeeda.com / Sports Keeda.com / Home> Badminton / Premier Badminton League – Analysis / by Rohan Nagaraj / December 30th, 2015

Joshna Chinappa became India’s highest-ranked player in 2015

December 16, 2015Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Sports, World Opinionadmin

Joshna wants to capitalise on her form as she aims to do better in the upcoming season. (TOI Photo)

New Delhi :

Joshna Chinappa overtook Dipika Pallikal to become India’s highest-ranked player while off the court N Ramachandran’s role as the boss of the world governing body was questioned in what turned out to be a memorable year for Indian and world squash.

Ramachandran faced a lot of heat, both as president of the World Squash Federation (WSF) and the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), coinciding with his brother N Srinivasan’s ouster from the International Cricket Council.

(PSA) went to the extent of calling Ramachandran an “embarrassment” to the sport for leading WSF to another failed Olympic bid. Back home in India, selected member federations wanted him removed as the IOA chief but he managed to weather the storm.

______________________________________________________________
HIGHLIGHTS
• The start of the year saw the merger of male professional body PSA and its women’s counterpart WSA.
• Joshna had the most fruitful time among country’s three torch-bearers including Dipika and Saurav Ghosal.
• Ramachandran faced a lot of heat, both as president of the WSF and IOA.
________________________________________________________________

The start of the year also saw the merger of male professional body PSA and its women’s counterpart WSA.

On the court, Joshna had the most fruitful time among country’s three torch-bearers including Dipika and Saurav Ghosal.

The highlight of her season undoubtedly was getting the better of world number one Raneem El Welily in the opening round of Qatar Classic. A couple of USD 15,000 titles in Melbourne and Mumbai along with a semifinal finish at the USD 50,000 Carol Weymuller Open in New York eventually helped her reach a career-high rank of 13, a jump of nine places since December 2014.

It is the first time in five years that the 29-year-old finished the season ahead of Pallikal, who held on to the 16th spot of December last year despite playing less events owing to a month’s break she took for her wedding in August.

Joshna wants to capitalise on her form as she aims to do better in the upcoming season.

“It has been a good year but I don’t want to stop here. I believe I can push myself. Obviously the aim is to get better, break into the top 10 and then top five. I don’t want to think that I am at the peak of my game. I am 29 and as squash history points out, a lot of players peak post 30. So I am going to keep doing what I am doing, work hard and train hard for the upcoming season,” Joshna told PTI.

For her longtime teammate Dipika, it was an unforgettable year off the court as she tied the knot with cricketer Dinesh Karthik. On the squash court, she did not have a great time by her standards.

“It was not a great year for me to be honest. I did not play as well as I could have. The positive is that I have not lost a lot of ground in the rankings and hopefully I can get back into the top-10 with consistent performances next year,” Dipika said.

The 29-year-old, who ended the year as world number 18 after beginning at 24, reached four finals with the high point being his runner-up effort in Colombia. He was expected to win the summit clash against local qualifier Alfredo Avila after surprising fifth-ranked Miguel Rodriguez in the last four.

His other two wins against a top-10 player came against Tarkek Momen.
“It was a decent year for me. I reached four finals and won one though I should have done more than that. Next season will be about climbing up the rankings ladder, getting more wins against top-10 players,” said Ghosal, who injured his foot in Hong Kong earlier in the month.

He is undergoing recovery at home and therefore will be missing the Tournament of Champions to be held in New York from January 7.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> Sports> More Sports / PTI / December 16th, 2015

Tata Global launches instant coffee brand to compete with Nescafe, Bru

December 2, 2015Business & Economy, Coffee News, Coffee, Kodagu (Coorg), World Opinionadmin

Tata Coffee Grand was jointly developed by Tata Global Beverages and group firm Tata Coffee , which manufactures the product, TGBL said.

Mumbai :

India’s second largest tea maker Tata Global Beverages has forayed into instant coffee business in the country by launching Tata Coffee Grand, which will compete with Nestle’s Nescafe and Hindustan Unilever’s Bru.

The instant coffee brand was jointly developed by Tata Global Beverages (TGBL) and group firm Tata Coffee, which manufactures the product, TGBL said on Monday.

The coffee beans will be primarily sourced from Tata Coffee’s plantations in South India, popular for producing Arabica and Robusta blends.

At present, the maker of Tata Tea and Tetley brands earns over 70% of its sales from tea brands while coffee business accounts for 20% through brands like Eight o’clock and Grand outside India.

source: http://www.retail.economictimes.indiatimes.com / ETRetail.com / Home> Food & Entertainment / ET Bureau / November 30th, 2015

Saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa on his East-West musical fusion project

November 26, 2015Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Nri's / Pio's, World Opinionadmin

Saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa performs at NYUAD on Tuesday November 24. Photo by Jimmy Katz

“The reality is, there’s plenty of East-West musical projects that are horrible,” says Rudresh Mahanthappa, expressing a sentiment open-minded listeners of global sounds are often afraid to voice.

The New York City saxophonist is introducing his own East-West musical fusion, Gamak, who he leads in a performance at New York University Abu Dhabi on Tuesday November 24.

The ensemble’s music is anything but horrible – although it is demanding.

A fiery, phenomenal improviser who was once crowned Alto Saxophonist of the Year by leading jazz magazine DownBeat, Mahanthappa’s playing is exhaustingly inventive.

Backed by a rock-influenced rhythmic section of drums, bass and electric guitar, his sax spits spiralling, jagged phrases that skirt scales drawn from both sides of the globe.

The Gamak project – realised on the 2012 album of the same name – is the latest step in the 44-year-old Indian-American’s exploration of Indian classical music.

This began during his studies at leading jazz school Berklee College of Music a quarter of a century ago, and culminated with a Guggenheim Fellowship to study Carnatic music, resulting in the ensemble Samdhi in 2011.

“Exploring Indian music was something that came out of that early-adulthood confusion – trying to understand to what degree I was American and to what degree I was Indian, and how these things can occur simultaneously, in concert, as opposed to in conflict,” he says.

Gamak is named after the term for South Indian melodic ornamentation, but Mahanthappa’s playing also seeks to examine how tunes are traditionally embellished by players of Chinese, African and Indonesian music.

“The way melody is decorated is what gives it the human quality,” he explains. “I was always fascinated by this very specific, almost-science of how this melodic ornamentation occurs. It’s not random at all, it’s very stylised. People always say: ‘You shouldn’t play the melody straight, you have to give some life to it’. Well, that’s all well and good, but how about making a larger conversation about what that actually means, and exploring how it occurs in different parts of the world.”

Mahanthappa changed direction on this year’s Bird Calls, a set of new compositions each inspired by a specific solo or tune by the alto legend Charlie Parker.

For this 16th release, the restless spirit is contemplating either recording music from children’s TV shows from around the globe, collaborating with a comedian and live video artists on a politically-motivated performance piece, or recording a collection of Michael Brecker compositions that the late, great saxophonist never had the chance to record in his lifetime.

“It’s all part of one big journey,” says Mahanthappa. “I still say: ‘I’m a professional musician’. I make albums and tour and perform and do all these things, but sometimes I think the music is just a by-product of me continuing to get myself, to understand who I am as a citizen of the world.”

• Rudresh Mahanthappa and Gamak perform at East Plaza, The Arts Centre, at NYUAD on Tuesday November 24 at 8pm. Limited free tickets available on arrival or from nyuad-artscenter.org

rgarratt@thenational.ae

source: http://www.thenational.ae / The National / Home> Arts & Life> Music / by Rob Garatt / November 23rd, 2015

It’s been a fantastic year, says Bopanna

November 26, 2015Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Sports, World Opinionadmin

London :

Following their loss in the title round of the year-ending $7 million ATP World Tour Finals at The O2 Arena here, top Indian tennis player Rohan Bopanna has said 2015 has been a fantastic year for him and his men’s doubles partner Florin Mergea of Romania.

Second seeds Horia Tecau and Jean-Julien Rojer defeated eighth seeds Bopanna and Mergea 6-4, 6-3 on Sunday evening for their 11th team title, and third of the year that includes their maiden Grand Slam at Wimbledon.

“It was just a tough day today. But it’s been a great week, making it to the final, first-time outing for us as a team,” said the 35-year-old Bopanna after the loss.

“And for the season, starting out in April, playing just about a handful of tournaments and to qualify here, I think it’s been a fantastic year for us. We can take a lot of positives from this year, and we are looking forward to starting fresh in January.”

Bopanna and Mergea first teamed up at Casablanca in April and end the year with a 31-16 record, including two titles from four finals. Mergea added: “It’s a pleasure to play in the World Tour Finals title match. Obviously, this has been the first time two Romanians (Tecau being the other) played the doubles final here. I think it’s an historic day for us.”

Bopanna ends the year as World No.9, having won four titles — two with Mergea in Madrid and Stuttgart and two with Daniel Nestor in Dubai and Sydney, making 2015 the most successful season of his career.

source: http://www.punemirror.in / PuneMirror.in / Home> Sports> Others / Agencies / November 24th, 2015

World’s First Barefoot Marathon in Kodagu next month

November 16, 2015Records, All, Sports, World Opinionadmin

Mysuru :

The world’s first barefoot marathon will be held in Kodagu on Dec. 5 and 6.

Melinda Soman, who recently completed the ‘Iron Man’ event will also take part in the marathon organised by Coorg Wellness Foundation.

This maiden run is expected to evolve into an annual event and is dedicated to conservation and well-being of environment and all its inhabitants in partnership with Coorg Wildlife Society.

The event includes the Barefoot mile; Tribal 10 kilometre run, Barefoot 21 kilometre run and the full marathon Barefoot 42 kilometre run.

Barefoot running enthusiasts may register at www.barefootmarathon.com or www.coorgwellnessfoundation.com. They can also contact: Nikki on Mob: 9845559452.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Sports News / Monday – November 16th, 2015

Oman Club to host Hockey Extravaganza

November 12, 2015Sports, World Opinionadmin

Oman Club will host a two-day exhibition hockey competition, which will be played over the coming weekend.

The event is being held by the club to mark the 45th National Day. The competition will feature senior and U15 sections. Those who are interested to register teams can contact Nader al Raisi (99626297).

Teams: senior: Oman Club, Bausher, Ahli-Sidab, Seeb, Oman Veterans, Team Coorg A, Team Coorg B, Muscat Arabian Foxes.

Junior: Oman Club, Bausher, Seeb, Indian School al Seeb, Indian School Muscat.

source: http://www.muscatdaily.com / Muscat Daily.com / Home> Oman / November 11th, 2015

India’s biggest IPO in 3 years fully subscribed

October 22, 2015Business & Economy, Coffee News, Coffee, Kodagu (Coorg), Records, All, World Opinionadmin

Girls sit at the window of a Cafe Coffee Day outlet in Mumbai, February 25, 2015. The firm behind Cafe Coffee Day, India’s biggest homegrown coffee chain, is set for a market debut that could value it at almost $1 billion, even as the country’s burgeoning cafe culture draws global giants Starbucks and McDonald’s. Cafe Coffee Day, a cafe pioneer in India, aims to list a 20 percent stake, raising roughly $200 million, within the next quarter, sources with direct knowledge of the plans said. Picture taken February 25, 2015. REUTERS/Shailesh Andrade / @ Reuters

New Delhi (NewsRise):

The owner of India’s largest coffee chain received bids for 1.2 times the shares it offered in the nation’s biggest initial public offering in three years, indicating that investors remain bullish on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s efforts to revive economic growth.

Coffee Day Enterprises, which runs the Cafe Coffee Day outlets, received 31.3 million bids for the 25.8 million shares it offered, according to provisional data on the National Stock Exchange. The company aims to raise as much $176 million via the IPO.

A slew of companies, including India’s largest discount airline, have filed for IPOs this year, betting that Modi’s reforms and easing interest rates will revive growth in Asia’s third-largest economy. As many as 16 companies filed their draft prospectus with markets regulator the Securities and Exchange Board of India between July and September, the highest quarterly filing in four years, Business Standard newspaper reported.

“Improvement in the economic situation means that the appetite will pick up,” said Deven Choksey, managing director at K.R. Choksey Shares and Securities. “If quality papers come at a reasonable price, investors will be more than happy to purchase.”

Until Thursday, Coffee Day Enterprises had received bids for 75% of its shares on offer. Demand picked up after a lukewarm response on Wednesday, the opening day for subscription, led by bids from the so-called Qualified Institutional Buyers that included local banks and insurance companies.

Discount carrier IndiGo’s parent InterGlobe Aviation is likely to open the 25 billion rupee ($385 million) initial public offer on Oct. 26, Economic Times reported. Mumbai-based L&T plans to sell 17.5 million shares, or nearly 11% of outstanding stock of unit Larsen & Toubro Infotech. L&T, which currently holds 161.25 million shares in the unit, plans to raise around 15 billion rupees via the share sale.

Coffee Day Enterprises has been expanding outlets in recent years, betting that rising disposable incomes and increasing coffee consumption in the world’s second-most populous nation will boost revenues.

Analysts had largely advised investors to be cautious about the company’s financials and its complex structure, which includes a range of businesses from real estate to software services. Coffee Day’s other businesses have a history of weak returns on capital, they said.

From January to September this year, 15 companies had raised $992 million through IPOs in India, compared with $197 million last year and $235 million in 2013. The market is still a fraction of what it was in 2010, when 64 firms raised $8.34 billion, according to Prime Database.

source: http://www.asia.nikkei.com / Nikkei Asia Review / Home> Markets> Equities / October 16th, 2015

New gorgeous coffee tree species from Honduras is critically endangered

October 14, 2015Coffee News, World Opinionadmin

Amid the challenging terrain of north-western Honduras, where Dr. Kelly’s team faced rugged and steep forest areas cut across here and there by a few trails, a gorgeous tree with cherry-like fruits was discovered. Being about 10 metres (33 ft) high and covered with cream-colored flowers, it was quickly sorted into the Coffee family (Rubiaceae), but it was its further description that took much longer. Eventually, it was named Sommera cusocoana, with its specific name stemming from its so far only known locality, the Cusuco National Park. The study is available in the open-access journal PhytoKeys.

This is a branch of Sommera cusocoana showing flower and developing fruits Credit: A. C. Dietzsch

During a plant diversity study in the Cusuco National Park, conducted by Drs. Kelly, Dietzch and co-workers as a part of a broader survey by Operation Wallacea, an international organisation dealing with biodiversity and conservation management research programmes.

A couple of curious findings in the past decade provide a strong incentive to further work. The place turns out to be not only of high biodiversity, but to also contain rare and hitherto unknown plant and animal species.

For instance, the tree Hondurodendron (from Greek, ‘Honduras Tree’) and the herbaceous plant Calathea carolineae are another two endemic species discovered as a result of the Operation Wallacea survey.

In 2013, two individuals of another unknown, 10-metre high (33 ft) tree with cream-colored flowers and red, cherry-like fruits were found by Daniel Kelly and Anke Dietzsch from Trinity College, University of Dublin, Ireland. The two were aided by local guide Wilmer Lopez.

The multinational collaboration did not stop then and there. Although the scientists quickly figured that the tree belonged to the Coffee family, they needed some additional help to further identify their discovery. Thus, they were joined by two leading specialist in this plant group, first Charlotte Taylor from Missouri Botanical Garden and then David Lorence from the National Tropical Botanical Garden in Hawaii.

It was actually David who was the first to recognise the unknown tree as a member of the Sommera genus, a group of nine known species of trees and shrubs. Later, the team decided to name the new plant Sommera cusucoana to celebrate its singular locality, the Cusuco National Park.

“Sadly, there has been extensive logging in the vicinity in recent years, and we fear for the future of our new species,” the authors stressed. “According to the criteria of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), it must be regarded as Critically Endangered.”

“We hope that the publication of this and other discoveries will help to galvanize support for the conservation of this unique and beautiful park and its denizens,” they concluded.

source: http://www.yubanet.com / YubaNet.com / Home> Enviro / by Pensoft Publishers / October 13th, 2015

Colombia coffee producers face crisis due to ‘El Niño’ water shortages

October 3, 2015Coffee News, World Opinionadmin

Colombia’s coffee production is predicted to fall 18% for the second half of the year amid water shortages caused by the “El Niño” weather phenomenon.

This warning comes as latest coffee production figures show an increase of 16% for September compared to the same month last year, with a total of 1 million 60-kg bags, reported Colombian Coffee Growers Federation, the FNC.

FNC chief Roberto Velez reported, “the subject of coffee, for many reasons has brought zero profits, or even negative, regarding revenues there have always been problems of climate change, labor and fertilizer, which generally increase the costs.”

Velez said that while coffee production levels so far this year have been strong, however, predictions are that 18% of coffee produced in the second half of the coffee will be lost due to “EL Niño.” The drought will also have negative effects on the quality of the beans produced.

The chief reported a “fragile equation” in the balance between costs of production and growth of coffee, something that most affects small and medium growers sensitive to changes in the market.

The “El Niño” weather phenomenon is affecting northern and western regions of the country since this February, and is set to reach new levels of intensity. The weather event has caused water shortages resulting in high losses for agriculture and livestock.

The FNC has worked aggressively since the late 1950s to bring Colombian coffee to the number two spot for global production, second only to Brazil. However, in recent times a booming business from Vietnam has overtaken the country and Colombia is now the third largest coffee producer in the world.

source: http://www.colombiareports.com / Colombia Reports / Home> Economy / posted by Emma Rosser / October 10th, 2015

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