Category Archives: Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg

Rally legend Jagat Nanjapa wins south chapter of Force Gurkha RFC India 2016

Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Sports, Uncategorized

The south chapter of the Force Gurkha RFC India 2016 have completed, with rally legend Jagat Nanjapa achieving first place in the off-roading challenge event

JagatKF30jan2016

After the completion of the north chapter of the Force Gurkha RFC India 2016 last week, the south chapter have also completed now. Off-roading rally expert Jagat Nanjapa along with Chethan (co-driver) has achieved podium finish in the inaugural south chapter of the RFC India 2016 event. Nanjapa, who is an experienced rallyist, is also a nine time winner of the Indian National Rally Riders Championship. Nanjapa and Chethan, representing the V5 Offroaders of Coorg, have been able to achieve an overall score of 525 out of 600 points. The south chapter was held for two days, comprising of rigorous stages with six extremely tough sections or Special Stages (SS). With 11 teams participating in the south chapter of the RFC India 2016 challenge, it was an extreme test of driver skills, coordination, patience, and recovery techniques under extreme off-road conditions.

The winner of the south chapter, Jagat Nanjapa, will be offered the second wild card entry to the mother event which will be held from 22nd July to 29th July in Goa. Tejinder Pal Singh from Gerrari Offroaders Chandigarh is the winner of the north chapter of RFC India 2016, and will also be participating at the main event in Goa.

Speaking about his achievement, Jagat Nanjapa, member of V5 Offroaders of Coorg, said, “It was a superb experience. Certain obstacles that we did in a few Special Stages were completely new experiences for us. They made us push our vehicle to its limit and also made us realize that a lot of upgrade is required on our Jeep to make it ready for the Goa event. Apart from vehicle modification, I am also going to work on my physical fitness over the next few months to be completely ready for the competition ahead.”

The Force Gurkha RFC India is part of the international Rainforest Challenge of Malaysia. The Indian leg of the Rainforest Challenge is owned by the Delhi-based Cougar Motorsport Pvt Ltd. The company feels that with such events like the north and south chapters, the off-roading sport will receive further publicity, which in-turn will attract more participants in the future events.

source: http://www.zigwheels.com / ZigWheels.com / Home> News & Features / by Janak Sorap / January 29th, 2016

Valiant men make Kodagu proud

Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Inspiration / Positive News and Features, Leaders

Bengaluru :

Three men from Kodagu have made their heartland proud by playing a leading role in Tuesday’s Republic Day parade in New Delhi. Their families are happy their young and courageous sons have brought fame to their district.

Bommanda Chengappa, 76, is overjoyed that his only son, Colonel Bommanda Dheeraj Chengappa, 45, participated as a commandant of the President’s bodyguard at the Republic Day parade in New Delhi. Chengappa, himself a former BSF man, says it’s a great honour for the family.”Dheeraj was selected for the Army through the UPSC. He lives New Delhi with his wife and son. Dheeraj loves Kodagu, and speaks the Kodava language, but since he spent most of his childhood in Army schools, he is more fluent in English and Hindi,”laughs Chengappa. Dheeraj graduated from Delhi University and then joined the Army. Chengappa and wife Reeta, who live on their estate in Ammathi, Virajpet taluk, say they they visited him a month ago.

Captain Balyamanda Thimmaiah, 28, son of retired colonel Balyamanda Kaverappa, led the mechanized force contingent (Bees Bahadur). Kaverappa and his wife Pushpa are proud that Thimmaiah, an alumnus of APS Delhi, COPS Gonikoppal, St Joseph’s and MS Ramaiah College of Law, Bengaluru, participated in the parade. The family lives in Virajpet.

Mandapanda C Thimmaiah participated in the MiG-29 flypast at the parade. His father Mandapanda Sada Chengappa, a coffee planter residing at Chermabane, said these youths are giving Kodagu its moment in the sun. His other son, MC Appaiah, is in the Air Force.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Bangalore / TNN / January 27th, 2016

Indian contingent for the 12th SA Games announced

Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Sports

New Delhi :

Hockey India on Monday announced the 18 member Indian Women’s and Men’s squad for the 12th South Asian Games to be held at Guwahati and Shillong.

The 12th South Asian Games will see the Indian eves play against Sri Lanka and Nepal while the men’s team will be competing with Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and arch rivals Pakistan. The hockey matches will be hosted at Moullana MD. Tayabullah Hockey Stadium, Bhetapara in Guwahati from February 7 to 14, 2016.

Neil Hawgood, chief coach of the women’s team said, “This tournament is of key importance in our scheme of things. Having secured the Olympic berth it is important for us to play as many international games as possible and the 12th South Asian Games also allows us to try new players giving us a much wider spread of talent to choose from for the upcoming Rio Olympics.”

This team will see Yogita Bali and Sonal Minz guard our goal posts while Jaspreet Kaur, Renuka Yadav, Gurjeet Kaur, Hnialum Lal Ruat Feli, Sushila Chanu Pukhrambam and Ponnamma Mallamada Narendra will form the defensive wall for India. Captain Ritu Rani along with Deepika, Sonica, Preeti Dubey and Shyama Tirgam will form the midfield for the team while Rani, Jyoti Gupta, Punam Barla, Neha Goyal and Soundarya Yendala will form the forward line for the team.

The Indian men’s team announced today will include Vikas Dahiya and Pankaj Rajak as goal keepers while Gaganpreet Singh, Chiyanna AB, Sukhmanjeet Singh, Nilam Sanjip Xess, Ajitesh Roy and the experienced Gurbaj Singh will form the defence line for the team. The midfield line includes Manpreet Singh Mangal Singh Chahal, Vikas Chaudhary, Ajay Yadav and Pradhan Sommanna P. Mohd Umar, Anup Amarpal Valmiki, Mandeep Antil (Captain), PL Thimmanna, Gagandeep Singh and Ajit Kumar Pandey will complete the forward line for team India.

“The team has been together in the camp for quite some time now and the boys are quite upbeat about putting in a strong show at the 12th South Asian Games. We hope to convert our Silver at the last edition of the South Asian Games into Gold this year and will surely put on display our best game,” said coach BJ Kariappa.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> Sports> Hockey / TNN / January 25th, 2016

One more Kodava Capt. B.C. Thimmaiah to lead contingent on R-Day

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Leaders

CaptThimmaiahKF25jan2016

Mysuru :

Yesterday, SOM reported that along with the Coffee-bean tableau representing Kodagu and Karnataka at this year’s Republic Day Parade, a Kodava Col. Bommanda Dhiraj Chengappa would be escorting the President to the saluting dais.

Now it is learnt that one more Kodava officer, 28-year-old Capt. Ballyamanda Caverappa Thimmaiah will be leading the MECH Force Contingent (Bees Bahadur) in the R-Day Parade at the National Capital.

Presently posted at Ambala in Haryana, Capt. B.C. Thimmaiah is the son of Col. Ballyamanda Kaveriappa (Retd.) and Pushpa Kaveriappa, residents of Appayaswamy Road in Virajpet, Kodagu.

Capt. Thimmaiah is an alumnus of Army Public School (APS) Delhi, Coorg Public School (COPS), Gonikoppal, Kodagu and M.S. Ramaiah College of Law, Bengaluru.

After a brief stint as a lawyer, Capt. Thimmaiah joined the Services in the year 2013 and his first posting was at Hissar, Haryana.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Feature Articles / Monday – January 25th, 2016

President’s Body Guard on the March

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Leaders
The President’s limousine flanked by Col. Bommanda Dhiraj Chengappa (left) at the dress rehearsal for the Republic Day Parade, exiting the Rashtrapati Bhavan to enter the Rajpath along with other Horsemen.
The President’s limousine flanked by Col. Bommanda Dhiraj Chengappa (left) at the dress rehearsal for the Republic Day Parade, exiting the Rashtrapati Bhavan to enter the Rajpath along with other Horsemen.

by N. Niranjan Nikam, Senior Journalist

Kodagu, the Coffee Land of Karnataka,’ is the tableau from the State chosen for the 67th Republic Day Parade at Rajpath this year.

However, there is one more Kodagu connection which the Kodavas and the Kannadigas can be really proud of that will be on display at the RD Parade.

I was visiting a Kodava’s house here in the city recently. As I was about to leave, after chatting for quite some time with her and her friend, who had come from Ooty, the lady hesitatingly brought out two photographs. It was of a handsome young man in full military uniform standing tall in the Ashoka Hall of the Rashtrapati Bhavan and in another picture sitting on a horseback in army’s resplendent uniform.

Disguising her pride, she said in a very low voice that the person in the photographs was her nephew. She gave me his mobile number. I called him and immediately a soft, pleasant voice answered. After introducing myself, I asked him whether he was Colonel Bommanda Dhiraj Chengappa and he confirmed that indeed it was him.

He is the Commandant, President’s Bodyguard. “I am going to escort the President of India Shri Pranab Mukherjee on January 26th, the Republic Day, from the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan to the saluting dais on Rajpath,” said Col. Chengappa, who is the first Kodava to escort the President.

The Bodyguard consists of 46 Horsemen out of which 20 are ahead of the President’s Limousine and 20 in the rear. The Commandant (that is Chengappa) and the second in command will be on either side of the limousine in which the President travels. The trumpeter and the Regimental colours — party of four — will be behind the car, he said.

“On reaching the Saluting Dais, I will present the National Salute which initiates the unfurling of the National Flag, accompanied by the National Anthem and the 21 Gun Salute. The Parade commences thereafter,” explained Col. Chengappa in detail.

The President’s Bodyguard, all of 243-years-old, is the senior most unit in the Army, raised in 1773, on the lines of the Household Cavalry Regiment of the British Army. But to be eligible for this “most prestigious posting” in their careers, the men must meet exacting physical and mental standards. It is said that all of them are strikingly handsome too. During the British Raj, the English had de-abbreviated GGBG (then Governor General’s Bodyguard) as ‘God’s Gift to Beautiful Girls!

Early years: A graduate in Economics from Delhi University, Col. Chengappa’s early schooling was in Bangalore and then he studied in Jodhpur. His father Bommanda Muthanna Chengappa, now residing at Ammathi in Kodagu, joined the Indian Army in 1963 and thereafter was side stepped into BSF on its raising. He retired as the DIG. He was awarded the President’s medal for gallantry, meritorious and distinguished service.

Asked whether he was influenced by his father to join the Armed Forces, his reply, “I was not influenced by my father. I always liked the Army and I joined it in 1993 after my training in Indian Military Academy, Dehradun.”

He is married to Savera Chengappa and has a 12-year-old son Tapan Devaiah. “It is one of the proudest moments in my life to be part of the National Salute watched by the whole nation,” he signs off.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Feature Articles / Monday – January 25th, 2016

Jain University to host running gala on Jan 31

Education, Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Sports

Bengaluru :

Fitness enthusiasts in the city can add one more event to their workout calendar with JGI-Jain University announcing the launch of ‘My Country Run 2016’, which will see thousands of runners stream through the picturesque Cubbon Park as they compete in the 5k and 10k events on January 31.

The Sree Kanteerava stadium will be the hub of the activity as the races, which begin from 4pm, start and finish at the venue. “We have had an enthusiastic response so far as more than 3,000 people have already registered for the race. Though there are many road races in Bengaluru, we still need to do a lot more to get more and more people running,” race director Gul Mohammed Akbar told TOI.

Akbar said the first prize of Rs 1 lakh has attracted many elite runners, including athletes from Ethiopia and Kenya.

“Some of them are staying back after competing in the Mumbai marathon,” he said. Athletes who have finished the 10k in less than 60 minutes will fall in the elite category.

JGI Group chairman Chenraj Roychand said the proceeds generated from the race will go towards supporting the 30-35 athletes from below-poverty-line families, which are being looked after by the Jain Group. The money will be used to give them foreign exposure. “After looking at the savings, the trust will put in an equal amount to create a corpus that will be used to help these kids,” he said.

Uthappa lauds Jain College Returning to his alma mater along with ace cueist Pankaj Advani as the brand ambassador of the race, star cricketer Robin Uthappa recalled how the institution helped him through his college days. “I was frantically looking to get an admission for a degree course when I got a call from Jain College, expressing their willingness to start even a new course. Shankar sir was very helpful throughout my college days and the college even conducted special classes for all the sportspersons.

Now they want me to complete my MBA and I’ve promised to do that. I can confidently tell that Jain College is the best any sportsperson can aspire for,” recalled Uthappa, in the presence of his fiancee and former tennis player Sheetal Goutam.

The marriage is scheduled on March 3.

Roychand, meanwhile, recalled how he helped Uthappa to get back his focus after he was on the verge of quitting cricket.

“Robin once called up and said he wanted to quit the game but I told him that he was born to play cricket and put him through a few meditation sessions. Eight days later, he was back with a bang, cracking 165 runs,” the JGI chairman said.

He said the college has supported not only cricket but other sports as well, involving more than 300 international sportspersons, which included seven Olympians. “I’ve told Gul to reach out to rural schools and identify talent who can be nurtured to become top-class athletes. If we put in the hard work for the next 10-15 years, we can get more gold medals at the Olympics,” Roychand added.

UV Shankar, Director of Sports, Jain University, said the race will be an annual event. “The idea is to get everyone (men, women and kids) on one platform.”

The total prize money is Rs 5.35 lakh with Rs 1 lakh for the winner of the elite race. The registration fee is Rs 1,000 (Rs 800 for students) for Open 10K and Rs 700 (Rs 600) for the 5k race.

For online registrations, log on to www.mycountry.run.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> Cities> Bangalore / by Biju Babu Cyriac, TNN / January 19th, 2016

NOTA option for voters in Panchayat elections

Business & Economy, Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Leaders

Kodagu district is gearing up for the zilla and taluk panchayat elections, after the MLC elections.

The elections for the 29 zilla panchayat and 50 taluk panchayat seats will be conducted on February 20, while the results will be out on February 23.

The district has 29 zilla panchayat seats. Madikeri, Somwarpet and Virajpet taluks have seven, 11 and 11 constituencies, respectively. The number of taluk panchayat seats has been hiked by one – Hoddur being the new constituency – making it 50 this time. There are 12, 19 and 19 taluk panchayat constituencies in Madikeri, Somwarpet and Virajpet taluks, respectively.

There are a total of 3,76,065 voters in the district – 1,86,643 men and 1,89,422 women voters. Madikeri has 88,745 voters – 44,396 are men and 44,349 are women. Somwarpet has 1,45,078 voters – 71,459 are men and 73,619 are women, while in Virajpet taluk, there are 1,42,242 voters – 70,788 are men, 71,454 are women.

Option of NOTA

For the first time, the option of NOTA (None Of The Above) has been given to voters in zilla and taluk panchayat elections. It may be recalled that nobody in the district had opted for it during the recently concluded MLC elections.

In the current elections, however, the candidate may contest under the name of a political party and symbol. Electronic voting machines will be used for the polls.

source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> District / by Srikant Kallammanavan / DHNS, Madikeri – January 21st, 2016

Ashwini Nachappa opens BSNL Athletic Meet

Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Sports

Urges Govt. to employ sports achievers
AshwiniKODAGU20jan2016

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

Poovamma is ‘Coorg Person of the Year-2015’

Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Inspiration / Positive News and Features, Records, All, Sports
Athlete M.R. Poovamma.— PHOTO: By Special Arrangement
Athlete M.R. Poovamma.— PHOTO: By Special Arrangement

Athlete M.R. Poovamma, winner of the 2015 Arjuna award for her contributions in the field of athletics, is the ‘Coorg Person of the Year, 2015.’

Machettira Raju Poovamma, (25), a native of Kodagu, won the gold medal inwomen’s 4×400 meters relay at the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea and clinched a silver in the 400m race in the Asian Championships at Wuhan, China, last June.

Ms. Poovamma participated in the 2008 Beijing Olympics and is currently ranked No.2 in Asia in the 400 meter category.

She was chosen as the ‘Coorg Person of the Year, 2015’ in a poll conducted by www.coorgtourisminfo.com, according to a release.

Daughter of M. G. Raju and Jaji, Poovamma completed her bachelor’s degree in business management from SDM College of Business Management, Mangaluru.

The past winners of this award include Dr. Kavery Nambisan, novelist (2005), Dr. Boverianda Nanjamma Chinnappa, researcher (2006); Robin Uthappa, cricketer (2007), Joshna Chinappa, squash player (2014), the release stated.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Karnataka / by R. Krishna Kumar / Mysuru – January 18th, 2016

Leagues have taken different sports to different cities : Ashwini Ponnappa

Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Sports

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