Sprinter HM Jyothi and golfer S Chikkarangappa are in the list of 16 sportspersons who will receive the Karnataka Olympic Association (KOA) awards this year.
Other notable winners include young table tennis star Archana Kamath, swimmer Damini K Gowda, top-ranked girls’ badminton player Shikha Gautam and Indian hockey team midfielder SK Uthappa.
Press photographer G Mohan and sports promoter Vinaya Hegde will also receive the honour while in the veteran category, B J Kariappa will be the recipient, KOA President K Govindaraj told a press conference.
Sharana Gouda Beleri (wrestling) will receive the award in the coach’s category.
The awards will be presented on Monday by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in a ceremony to be held at Yavanika, State Youth Centre.
Mahindra is on the verge of converting Goa into the next off-roading destination, as they conclude the 2nd edition of the Thar Club Challenge on August 5-6, at Dona Paula, Goa. Alongside the Club Challenge, Mahindra Adventure also kicked off the 1st edition of the Thar Fest, which aimed at bringing together the off-roading and the 4×4 community at one place.
Now what is the point of having a Thar and not making full use of its off-roading credibility? Mahindra had something similar in mind when they started with the Thar Club Challenge in 2015, which saw Bangalore Off-road Development Authority (B.O.D.A) take the glory. This year was no different, as 10 well-reputed off-road clubs battled it out to lift the coveted cup. However, the only thing that changed was the difficulty level and of course the winning team. Let’s talk about the five gruelling challenges first.
Day 1 kicked off with the Thar Fest, which included the scrutiny of the vehicles. After the scrutiny, all the Thars rallied to the track venue. After reaching the site, the 10 teams were briefed about the tasks before them. With each team consisting of three vehicle entries in the Stock, Modified and Pro-Modified category, the Club Challenge was about to begin.
Club Challenge 1
The first challenge was called ‘Pass the Baton’ which was a night event. In this, the teams had to sync all three Thars to pull a bundle of logs tied together with chains through rutted trenches and slush-pit, uphill climb negotiating sharp corners.
Now, as simple as this may sound, with the constant down-pour from the rain-gods, the muddy ground made sure that the participants had to really work their way to start the competition on a winning note. The Gerrari Off-roaders emerged victorious as the other teams were left tasting the mud behind.
Club Challenge 2
‘Trench Trouble’ was the second obstacle which was highly technical in terms of team involvement in dismantling all four wheels and putting the vehicle on stands. Carrying the tyre to the top of the trench in four different direction with the second team collecting it and putting it back on the vehicle and recovering themselves from the trench. With a second win in their pocket, the Gerrari Off-Roaders took a commendable lead in the front. But there was more to come and the others had not given up as yet.
Club Challenge 3
Day 2 began with an event that was my personal favourite. Why you ask? Because the 3rd challenge involved Thars and a ball. Yes, You read it right. The third obstacle was Goalll!!!, where the competitors were put in a slushy field with a ball with the aim to play football with his Thar and score a goal using his vehicle tyres and bumpers in the minimum time. This time, it were the defending champs, B.O.D.A who got the most points.
Club Challenge 4
The fourth challenge was unique as well and called Trench Trouble 2. The teams had to negotiate cones and various other obstacles and collect flags en-route. The more the number of flags the more the points. Surely this technical stage was challenging and the experienced V5 Coorg Off-Roaders took top trumps.
Club Challenge 5
The last and most interesting obstacle was the ‘Bus Stop’. In this obstacle the teams had to work together with props like ladder and spare tyres to negotiate a laid vehicle carnage which including climbing over a bus, water tanker and other vehicle debris.
Being the most difficult of all the obstacles, the teams showed unspoiled teamwork and devotion. There was a lot of screaming, pressure, fretting and energy, but it was only to win the title of the best off-roading club in the country.
Although, the Gerrari Off-roaders took a flying start to the event, it were the V5 Off-Roaders from Coorg who won the title in the end.
After a gruelling battle of over two days and 5 challenges, the defending champs B.O.D.A passed on the winning trophy to V5 Off-Roaders from Coorg, closely followed by Gerrari Off-Roaders from Chandigarh. The 2nd runner up title was won by Team Flywheel from Kerala, thus ending the Mahindra Thar Club Challenge on a high note.
source: http://www.indiatoday.intoday.in / Auto Today / IndiaToday.in / Auto> From the Magazine / by Pratik Rakshit / New Delhi, December 08th, 2016
Metallic bikinis are a must-have as you head for your next beach vacation in 2017. Kingfisher Calendar 2017 girl Dayana Erappa shows you just the right way to sizzle in metallic bikins.
As we bid goodbye to 2016, the new year 2017 promises to be an exciting year for fashion and style. The much talked-about Kingfisher Calendar for the coming year has already created a buzz. Just like the preceding editions, the new edition and is a sizzling melange of aesthetically shot jaw-dropping pictures of five bikini-clad models: Alliny Gomes, Dayana Erappa, Kanishtha Dhankar, Nora Fatehi and Vartika Singh. The maverick behind these insanely hot pictures, Atul Kasbekar recently took to Instagram to share yet another ridiculously sexy image of the ethereal Dayana Erappa. Wondering what are we gushing about? Read more to be amazed.
Amidst a black woven hammock lying in the sand, Dayana looks drop-dead gorgeous in a metallic bikini. The bikini is replete with a black and copper coloured detailing. What’s more, you may wonder? Look closely and you will see a zingy choker necked detail completing the bikini and lending it its hot vibe. What’s hotter? Dayana posing sexily in the metallic one-piece and showing exactly why Gold Is the New Bold.
Slaying us with yet another metallic daze, Dayana donned a silver two piece that comprised one-shouldered top and paired it with towering silver stilettos. Quirking it up with a seriously amazing hairdo of silver cornrows and braids. The maverick behind this insanely hot hairstyling is the international makeup and hair stylist Marianna Mukuchyan.
source: http://www.india.com / India.com / Home> Lifestyle / by Nirupama Chaudhary / December 26th, 2016
Rohan Bopanna and Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan will lead the Indian challenge alongside Leander Paes and Brazil’s Andre Sa in the doubles category of the upcoming Aircel Chennai Open set to begin here on January 2.
Paes and Sa are seeded third, and Bopanna and Jeevan, seventh.
Bopanna and Jeevan reached the quarterfinals of the Chengdu Open in China early this year.
Purav Raja and Divij Sharan have teamed up as the other Indian entry for the category.
Jonathan Erlich (Israel) and Scott Lipsky (USA) is the top seeded pair.
Player field (doubles) (read as names, team ranking):
Jonathan Erlich (Isr) & Scott Lipsky (USA) (99); Guillermo Duran (Arg) & Andres Molteni (Arg) (111); Leander Paes (Ind) & Andre Sa (Bra) (112); Nicholas Monroe (USA) & Artem Sitak (NZ) (114); Wesley Koolhof (Ned) & Matwe Middelkoop (Ned) (117); Andre Begemann (Ger) & Yen-Hsun Lu (TPE) (126); Rohan Bopanna (Ind) & Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan (Ind) (128); Purav Raja (Ind) & Divij Sharan (Ind) (128); Steve Darcis (Bel) & Benoit Paire (Fra) (133); Johan Brunstrom (Swe) & Andreas Siljestrom (Swe) (136). — Sports Reporter
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Sports> Tennis / by Sports Reporter / December 20th, 2016
The country’s fastest woman over a distance of 400 metres suffered a debilitating injury in 2012 but came back strongly and won the Arjuna Award in 2015.
Image credit: Twitter
“At Beijing I was just a reserve and at Rio I was a senior member of the team. In between, eight years have passed but nothing, absolutely nothing has changed,” says the 26-year old Machettira Raju Poovamma, an athlete not known to mince her words.
The athlete, living in Mangalore for the last 25 years, has been India’s fastest woman over a quarter-mile or 400 metres for the last three years and was a part of the 4×400 metres relay team that finished 13th at Rio 2016.
Scroll.in spoke to Poovamma on the sides of the GoSports Foundation’s annual awards function in Bengaluru. Poovamma, sponsored by the Foundation since 2015 was recognised as the ‘Most Consistent Performer’ for her contributions to Indian athletics over the years.
“They lift you up, then bring you crashing down”
Some readers may remember that Poovamma, who was a reserve for the women’s 4×400 metres relay team in Beijing was India’s youngest athlete at the Olympic Games in 2008.
She was expected to be a shoo-in for the London 2012 team, but as Poovamma found out, things don’t always go to plan. A month before the trials for the Olympics were to be conducted, the sprinter suffered a horrendous injury which kept her out for almost 10 months and made her forego what was almost a guaranteed spot on the team for a second successive Olympics.
As we sit in the well-lit lobby of the ITC Windsor, Poovamma sporting a blue blazer is almost choking as she forces the words out, “Those times were really dark. I want to erase those memories.”
But as I found out, Poovamma’s problem is an age-old one and not something unfamiliar in the Indian sports scene. We identify the talent after they’ve set the sporting scene alight, not before, mind you, hype them up to atmospheric levels and then turn on them when their performance levels go down or missing. Clearly, standing with our athletes in troubled times is something we still have to learn.
Undergoing weight training in the gym, Poovamma ruptured the L4-L5 vertebrae disc in her spine. The lumbar spine (or the lower back) consisting of the L1-L5 vertebrae helps in supporting the upper body and allowing motion in multiple directions. Degeneration of the L4-L5 disc can result in possible leg pain and/or severe back pain.
During that time, Poovamma says that the same journos who praised her for her achievements in the span leading up to London turned on her. She says, “I read newspaper reports saying that I had gone missing, questioning why I was not performing at any meet. These people, the same ones that lifted me, had brought me crashing down.”
Post this revelation, I ask Poovamma the only logical question that comes to my mind, “Didn’t anyone check with you?” to which her answer is a resounding no. “It was very difficult for me to even go to the washroom but no one bothered checking with me,” says Poovamma as her expression turns expectedly sombre.
A happy ending
Her injury is a recurring one, and she has had to go through rehabilitation therapy several times post recovery. She seems happier with the Bengaluru-based not-for-profit’s involvement, “When you undergo an injury like that, you want some help, some support. Their (the Foundation’s) backing has given me a moral boost,” lending further credence to the theory that private organisations like GoSports, Olympic Gold Quest, JSW Sports and Anglian Medal Quest are filling important gaps in India’s sporting infrastructure.
A self-proclaimed fan of Jamaican sprinter Sanya Richards-Ross, Poovamma says she took up the 400 metres “for fun.” Born to a contractor at the Mangalore airport and a homemaker, she says she took up the 100 and the 200 metres after which she tried her hand out at the 400 metres.
Her mother, M R Jaji, is a lucky charm according to the sprinter. “Since 2005, I can’t recall a single domestic meet that she has missed. They (parents) are old but they do their utmost best to motivate me,” says Poovamma of her family’s involvement.
As she goes up to collect her award, Poovamma doesn’t shy away when asked about her journey as she reiterates, “I’ve been around for eight years but the diet, the schedule, the way of training as prescribed by our sporting authorities, nothing has changed.”
The Rio debacle is still on her mind as she recollects, “Prior to the Olympics, everyone was training individually with their personal coaches. We came together a week prior to the Games. In these events (relay), you need coordination, especially for the baton pass. A fraction of a second can make a difference.”
The authorities, she insists, have done nothing to change the approach to athletics in India, “In the West, each athlete has his or her personal diet and training regime designed for them. Here, they spend their time in the run up to the Olympics predicting the number of medals. I can only be satisfied in the fact that I gave my best on the day.”
And give her best, she did. After returning from injury in April 2013, Poovamma won the relay gold and silver in the individual 400 metres at the Asian Championships held at Pune, also notching up her personal best of 51.75 seconds at Lucknow the same year.
Her finest moment came the following year at the Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea where India won the 4×400 m relay gold as she won the individual bronze. Poovamma is currently ranked second in the 400 m category in Asia as she sets her sights on the upcoming World Championships to be held in London in August 2017.
But for Povamma, her greatest achievement is not that she has scaled the heights to reach the top of her sport in the country but the fact that she has seen the depths and has climbed back up again.
We welcome your comments at letters@scroll.in.
source: http://www.thefield.scroll.in / Scroll.in / Home> The Field> Sports news and scores> World Athletics / by Arka Bhattacharya / December 17th, 2016
Manyepanda Madaiah Chengappa recently took over as the Chairman of Karnataka Planters Association (KPA). Karnataka accounts for more than 70% of the coffee production in India.
According to United Planters Association of Southern India (Upasi), Karnataka’s post-monsoon estimated coffee production for 2015-16 was 253,340 tonnes, with the all-India number standing at 350,000 tonnes. KPA has about 700 members as of date.
In an interview with Furquan Moharkan of DH, Chengappa says that his aim as the chairman is to make domestic demand for the cup of coffee transform from an elitist drink to a common man’s drink.
What are the challenges that coffee plantation sector faces today?
Climate change has increased, apart from pests and diseases impacting the coffee crop productivity. The Arabica coffee crop yield has reduced from 1,200 kgs, to 600 kgs per hectare, while Robusta coffee has decreased from 2,000 kgs, to 1,400 kgs per hectare, over the last decade. For instance, this year, Kodagu has 300 mm less rainfall over the previous year, and Chikkamagaluru has also suffered a similar fate, which affects the standing coffee crop and development of new shoots in coffee plants for the coming season.
Labour wage constitutes over 60% of the total cost of coffee cultivation. The annual wage increase was below 6% till 2007-08. From 2008-09, the increase was very steep. Against 2007-08’s wage of Rs 79 per day, the current wage is at Rs 263 — an increase of 232% or an annual average increase of 15%. This could be the highest percentage increase for any industry in Karnataka. Also the statutory and welfare costs for the labour, which are over and above the wages and benefits, works out to an additional 50% of the wages. This is an additional financial burden for both corporate and proprietary planters.
However, the sale price for coffee at the farm gate hovers around Rs 2,800 to Rs 3,500 for a 50-kg bag, while the labour and fertiliser costs have spiralled disproportionately. The need to invest more funds for R&D to develop better quality coffee plants that are high-yielding and pest-resistant is another challenge.
What are your priorities after taking over as Chairman of the KPA?
Primarily, my major objective is to make domestic demand for the cup of coffee transform from an elitist drink to a common man’s drink. I would seek the Coffee Board’s assistance to establish coffee kiosks at public places like government offices, bus and railway stations, airports, shopping malls and educational institutions. This would make the demand for coffee explode in the country. Towards this objective, it would be necessary to jointly pursue vegetative clonal and tissue culture propagation of coffee, with United Planters Association of South India (Upasi) and Central Coffee Research Institute, Balehonnur, Karnataka. Also, to push for the import of pest and disease-resistant high-yielding coffee plant material. Identify biological viable and effective methods to treat effluents.
Also, request the state government and its Department of Agriculture to allocate Rs 1.9 crore in the state budget to fund the Upasi-KPA coffee research project. To establish soil and leaf analysis laboratories at Chettalli, Kodagu district and Chikkamagaluru district for the convenience of small and large growers.
A lady planters sub-committee has been constituted to promote community outreach programmes and showcase their achievements in cultivation of coffee, plantation nurseries, local marketing initiatives at national and international levels, home stays and plantation cafes for income augmentation.
What is the impact of the GST regime on the coffee plantation sector?
GST does not affect the coffee grower directly, as being agriculturists, they come under zero tax brackets. GST is applicable only after curing at the roasting and powdering stage, when the value-addition takes place, and the coffee can be consumed as a cup of coffee. According to Rule 7B (1) of Income Tax Act — “Income derived from the sale of coffee grown and cured by the seller in India shall be computed as if it were income derived from business, and 25% of such income shall be deemed to be income liable for tax.” This I-T Rule needs to be amended to tax coffee only at the stage of roasting and powdering that would enable the grower to sell coffee, which is plantation-specific, directly to the local and global markets.
Do you think that the import of pepper from Sri Lanka could affect domestic trade?
Import of poor quality pepper is killing the Indian pepper market. A regulatory price mechanism is necessary, whereby the price of pepper imported should be about 5% lower than the Cochin pepper auction price of equal quality of the day. Also, quality parameters of the imported pepper should be strictly monitored by a suitable government agency.
Your comments on the degradation of forests and environment pollution that have a bearing on the plantations in Karnataka.
The National Forest Policy is under amendment and a high-powered committee has been instituted for the purpose. The KPA and Upasi have jointly made a representation to the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests. Also the elephant menace in Kodagu district has assumed dangerous proportions due lack of proper fodder and vegetation in the game sanctuaries. Plantation crops, fruit trees and human beings are being trampled upon and destroyed. Therefore, the translocation of elephants appears to be the only solution, as all other forms of deterrents and barriers have proved ineffective.
While tourism has phenomenally raised the socio-economic level of people in the plantation districts, it should not lead to environmental pollution. Therefore, it is necessary to promote eco-tourism in the plantation districts of the state. Also, aggressively ban all types of pollutants, plastics, discharge of sewage and chemical effluents into the rivers. People need to be aware of waste segregation, its recycling and proper disposal through the media platforms to promote eco-tourism.
source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> Supplements> Economy & Business / by Furquan Moharkan / DHNS – December 12th, 2016
Ashwini Ponnappa and N Sikki Reddy went down to top-seeded Russian combination of Olga Morozova and Anastasia Chervyakov 21-16 21-11.
Ashwini Ponnappa and N Sikki Reddy had comfortably beaten England’s Lauren Smith and Sophie Brown 21-16 21-18 in the semis.
India’s women’s doubles pair of Ashwini Ponnappa and N Sikki Reddy finished runners-up at the Welsh International Challenge badminton tournament after losing in straight games in the final.
The unseeded Indian duo went down to top-seeded Russian combination of Olga Morozova and Anastasia Chervyakov 21-16 21-11 in a contest that lasted just 37 minutes.
Earlier, Ashwini and Sikki had comfortably beaten England’s Lauren Smith and Sophie Brown 21-16 21-18 in their semifinal match. The Indians took 39 minutes to get the better of the English team.
Meanwhile, the men’s doubles combo of Jishnu Sanyal and Shivam Sharma lost in the semifinals against Liao Kuan Hao and Lu Chia Pin of Chinese Taipei.
The third-seeded Chinese Taipei pair needed half-an-hour to make it to the finals by beating sixth seeded Indians 21-17 21-15.
Indians bowed out in the semifinals of the mixed doubles event also as second seeded N Sikki Reddy and Pranaav Jerry Chopra lost to Malaysians Goh Soon Huat and Shevon Jemie Lai 16-21 14-21 in 39 minutes.
source: http://www.indianexpress.com / Indian Express / Home> Sports> Badminton / by PTI / Cardiff – December 04th, 2016
“Nineteen years ago, I was one of the first columnists in Bangalore Times. I cut a wide swathe with that column, and BT was like a fresh breeze blowing through the city.
It chronicled the emergent Page 3 society and made Sandalwood the glamorous entity it is today.
Wherever I am in the country, I get to read The Times of India, but always miss reading Bangalore Times.
Happy anniversary BT, more power to you!” – Prasad Bidapa, style guru
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> Chennai News> Bangalore News / TNN / December 05th, 2016
Coorg, as the British called Kodagu, was annexed by the East India Company in 1834, after dethroning the last Raja of Coorg, Veerarajendra. Coorg was administered as a separate province under a commissioner who was also in charge of Mysore. A British officer designated as superintendent was stationed in Madikeri and reported to the commissioner posted in Bangalore.
In March 1865, William Hobart Kerr, the superintendent of Coorg, fell ill and had to go on sick leave.
In his place, a young army officer, Captain Robert Andrews Cole, was appointed as the superintendent. Captain Robert was instantly attracted to the place, the climate, people and the invigorating environment. His duties involved meeting local people in remote villages, checking and updating land records, known as jamabandhi, which certified ownership and simplified revenue collection.
For fluent conversations…
Captain Cole was born in Madras in 1835, to an army doctor, Major General Robert Cole Sr. Having been educated in Madras, he was conversant with Tamil and Telugu. He had familiarised himself with Kannada on being posted in Bangalore. One of the problems Captain Cole encountered in Coorg was communicating with the Coorgis who spoke a dialect, which had many common words with Kannada, Tamil and other South Indian languages.
Surprisingly, according to Captain Cole, the Kodavas who lived in remote villages could not understand Kannada. This prompted him to learn the Kodava language so that he could effectively communicate with the people. Captain Cole soon started learning Kodava language. His knowledge of other South Indian languages helped. He began documenting the words, grammar and pronunciation. In order to help him communicate, he made extensive tables — known as Travel Talk — translating English sentences to Kannada (Canarese), Telugu, Tamil and Kodava language.
However, by October the same year, William Kerr returned, and assumed charge as the superintendent of Coorg. Captain Robert, who had taken a liking for Coorg, went back rather reluctantly to his posting in Bangalore. However, he continued his work on Kodava language. He learnt Kannada script for better conveyance of ‘peculiarities of pronunciation’, and started using this to transliterate Kodava language.
Captain Robert once again took charge from William Kerr, as superintendent of Coorg, in February 1866. He was happy to be back in this mountainous land and had come to enjoy the bracing weather. He particularly enjoyed his outings during the monsoon. This can be evidently seen in his book, Elementary Grammar of the Coorg Language, where he writes, “The thunderstorms during this season are often magnificent. The war of the elements is carried on here in a grander style than in the low country. Banks and mountains of clouds move against each other with the order of armies. The sound of heavy cannon is heard from a distance, solitary discharges of the electric fluid shoot through the gloom.”
Captain Cole served as the superintendent until December 1869. During this period, he compiled a comprehensive book on Kodava language. In 1867, with ample support from Lewin Bentham Bowring, who was the commissioner of Mysore and Coorg, he published his 136-page-book, Elementary Grammar of the Coorg Language. This was printed at the Wesleyan Mission Press. The book also contains a fragment of English-Coorg dictionary.
Captain Cole endeared himself to the people of Coorg. He also wrote another book titled A Manual of Coorg Civil Law. In appreciation of his contributions, an emerging town at the time was named after him as — Colepet. However, over the years, Colepet got merged with present day Ammathi. On promotion as a Major, he was appointed superintendent, Inam Settlement, Mysore. As a Colonel, he was with the Madras Staff Corps. He rose to the rank of Major General by the time he retired and returned to England.
He died in 1907. Major General Robert Andrews Cole ranks amongst other Europeans, who contributed to South Indian languages, such as Rev Hermann Mogling and Rev Ferdinand Kittel.
source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> Supplements> Spectrum / by C.P.Belliappa / July 26th, 2016
Rohan Bopanna, India’s doubles tennis specialist, is keen to put behind last year’s reverses and focus on achieving big things in 2017.
Rohan Bopanna said the singles rubbers against New Zealand hold key in Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Group 1. (Source: Express File)
India’s doubles tennis specialist Rohan Bopanna said he is keen to put behind last year’s reverses and focus on achieving big things in 2017.
“There is no point in discussing negative matter (on his recent twitter spat with Leander Paes). We should focus on achieving big things in 2017,” Bopanna told reporters after announcement of EduSports and Rohan Bopanna Tennis Academy tieup.
Drawing inspiration from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to perform better in coming season, Bopanna said, “Look at Modi, he has taken a bold step by enforcing demonetisation. He has shown us the way forward,” he added.
Asked about his new partner Pablo Cuevas, Bopanna said he would join the Argentinean as per his singles schedule.
“Cuevas’ priority is definitely singles. I will play as per his schedule. Wherever Cuevas wants to play in the singles section, I will join him and we will compete in doubles,” he said.
Bopanna had recently split with Florin Mergea. The 36-year-old will participate in Australian Open in Melbourne, but not before he would start the season at Chennai Open in January and then Apia International in Sydney.
Replying to a query, Bopanna said the singles rubbers against New Zealand hold key in Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Group 1 first-round tie.
“To qualify to the world group, we need two good singles players because out of the five points, four comes from singles,” he said. “I am hopeful Saketh Myneni, Yuki (Bhambri) and Ram (Ramkumar Ramanathan) can beat the top guys now,” he added.
source: http://www.indianexpress.com / Indian Express / Home> Sports> Tennis / by PTI / Bengaluru – November 22nd, 2016
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