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Manavjit shoots gold in World Cup
Cash awards mooted at National Games
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No foreign tours for selectors: BCCI
Baroda, UP to clash in final
GMADA steps in to encourage kids to take the field
India start European Tour with a big win
Advani wins cliffhanger in World Snooker qualifiers
Dipika enters Texas Open semifinals
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Manavjit shoots gold in World Cup
A gold medal in the men’s trap event at the ISSF Shotgun World Cup in Tucson, USA. If Manavjit ever had an American dream, this was it. An excellent shooting spree from the 37-year-old Indian put paid to the hopes of Aussie Michael Diamond, a two-time Olympic champion. Manavjit shot scores of 121 and 13 in the qualification and finals, respectively, to finish on the podium. It was some achievement by the former World No.1 and the world champion as he was up against Diamond, who had won the top prize in the 1996 Atlanta and Sydney Olympics in 2009, besides winning five gold medals at the Commonwealth Games. Diamond shot 119 and nine in the qualifications and finals, respectively. Manavjit scored 14 out of 15 targets in the semifinals. The bronze medal went to Alexey Alipov of Russia who shot 121 and 12. Ireland’s Derek Burnett, who topped the scoring in the qualifications with 123, failed to replicate his form in the semifinals where six shooters competed. “We had some of the world's best shooters competing today. Winning the match against Michael Diamond has been definitely challenging but at the end you have to hit your own target, and the final score is what it is,” Manavjit said after his win. “I have prepared for this first World Cup throughout the winter season. We had several championships and trials in India in the last months. I never stopped shooting,” the shooter, currently ranked 16th in the world, added. In the London Olympics, Manavjit finished 16th and failed to enter the final of men’s trap event. But this win will warm him up nicely for the busy international calendar ahead, with the Commonwealth Games, World Championships and Asian Games all lined up from July to September. As many as 64 quota places for Rio Olympics will be up for grabs at the World Championships later this year in Grenada, Spain. In the women's section, Shreyasi Singh stood sixth in the finals of trap event. Her qualification score was 66/75 and in the finals, she could shoot only 8. The double trap event will be on April 13/14 in which Ronjan Sodhi, Mohd. Asab and Ankur Mittal will be trying their luck. Manavjit had last month clinched the Patiala Cup for the overall gross score in trap, double trap and skeet. Medal count
Manavjit Singh Sandhu is a Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Awardee (2006) and Arjuna Awardee (1998). Belonging to village Ratta Khera (Punjab singh wala) in district Ferozepur, Punjab. He won the gold medal at the 2006 ISSF World Shooting Championships;he won the bronze medal in the trap event at the 2006 CWG, gold at 1998 CWG, four silver medals at 1998 Asian Games, 2002 Asian Games, 2006 Asian Games, four gold medals at the Asian Championships. |
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Cash awards mooted at National Games
New Delhi, April 12 It would be for the first time in the history of the National Games that the medal winners will receive cash awards, if the Kerala Organising Committee accepts the proposal put forward by the IOA. Each gold medallist is proposed to receive Rs 25 lakh, silver winner Rs 17 lakh and bronze winner Rs 12.5 lakh. These figures are much higher than what the Sports Ministry offers to the medal winners at the Commonwealth and Asian Games. The medal winners at these two quadrennial events get Rs 20 lakh (gold), Rs 10 lakh (silver) and Rs 6 lakh (bronze) from the Sports Ministry. The IOA came up with the proposal during its first Executive Committee meeting of the newly-elected office-bearers in the capital last month. The IOA deliberated upon a number of key issues, including hosting of the 35th National Games in Kerala in January-February next year. “The IOA has asked the Kerala National Games Organising Committee to set aside a pool of Rs 50 crore for medal winners,” IOA secretary general Rajeev Mehta told The Tribune. “It has been done keeping the interests of the athletes in mind. This is for the first time that such an important step has been taken by the IOA. The cash award wouldn't be restricted to the top three medal winners... Even those athletes who finish inside top-5 will be rewarded.” “Earlier, there was no provision for cash awards in the National Games (only medals were given to the athletes), but from the Kerala Games onwards, we will make it a regular affair. This move will help in raising the profile of the National Games and generating interest among the athletes," Mehta added. Mehta also informed that the IOA has made it mandatory for the National Games Organising Committee to accept entries in only those sporting disciplines which have been recognised by the IOA. “As per the IOA charter, we have given recognition to 31 sporting disciplines. The entries will be accepted in these disciplines only from Kerala Games onwards,” said Mehta. The 34th National Games were held in Ranchi in 2011 after being postponed for six times. Kerala were to host the 35th edition in 2012, but it was postponed several times due to administrative hurdles. In a related development, the IOA has accepted the Uttar Pradesh Olympic Association's (UPOA) proposal to host the National Games. The IOA has requested the UPOA and UP state government to send their bid details for hosting the Games in 2016. UP had also expressed its interest to hold the 35th National Games in the state after the Kerala government's dilly dallying. |
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Srikanth bows out of Singapore Open
Singapore, April 12 Srikanth fought valiantly against the world number one Lee before running out of steam to lose the contest 19-21 18-21 in 42 minutes at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. Lee play qualifier Simon Santoso of Indonesia in the summit clash on Sunday. Santoso stunned fifth seed Pengyu Du of China 16-21 21-17 21-17 in the other semifinal. Against Lee, Srikanth made a bright start and gave his fancied opponent a run for his money from the beginning. It was a neck-and-neck affair between Srikanth and Lee in the first game and from 15-16 down at one stage, the Indian rode on his smashes to take a 19-16 lead. But just when it seemed Srikanth will pocket the first game, pressure got the better of the Thailand Open champion Indian as he committed a number of unforced errors — four in succession — to hand the game to Lee. With a 1-0 lead under his belt, Lee started to play more freely in the second game and took a huge 15-8 lead before extending the margin to 19-12. But Srikanth was in no mood to give up without a fight as he clawed his way back into the match by pocketing six out of the next seven points to reduce the gap and sent some shivers into Lee’s camp. Lee, however, kept his composure and sealed the affair in his favour by pocketing the next two points. With Srikanth’s loss, India’s challenge came to an end in the $30,00,000 tournament. — PTI |
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No foreign tours for selectors: BCCI
Mumbai, April 12 Those days the selectors also used to travel out of country if the team is on tour... yes, it's the Board's policy that they will not be sent out with the Indian team," Savant told reporters on Saturday. Savant was responding to a question about the recent decision of MCA to re-appoint chief national selector Sandeep Patil as the head of its selection panel after the former India batsman quit the post last April as he could not watch local cricket games due to his heavy schedule with the Indian squad. MCA is all set to appoint coaches for various age groups for the next season, including for the senior cricket team, on Monday, Savant informed. "The coaches will be finalised this Monday for each team and they will be appointed after they are interviewed properly by the managing committee. Mumbai had a poor season overall this year and Savant said the probables would have to play at least five local club matches to make it to the side. “We are also taking a policy decision that all our probables, who will be selected to play for Mumbai, will have to play a minimum of five local matches in the elite group (of local league) before they are eligible for selection and we will be implementing that," he said. “It applies to everybody. There is no exception, unless there is a national duty, then there will be an exception," he added. — PTI |
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Baroda, UP to clash in final
Mumbai, April 12 UP defeated Haryana by six wickets by riding on Prashant Gupta's maiden T20 century (102 in 58 balls) to finish their Group A league engagements with 12 points from three wins in the five-team pool at Rajkot. They had to wait for the conclusion of the last Group A pool game between Goa and Gujarat, that the former won by four wickets by blitzing their way to the winning total of 181 in only 15 overs for the loss of six wickets, to book their berth in the final with a better net run rate (+0.906) than Goa (+0.879) to top the pool. A similar situation arose here when Baroda lost to Kerala by 22 runs, finished level on points (12) but pipped the winners in the race to the summit clash on better net run rate in Group B. Opener Prashant Gupta's struck his maiden T20 century to guide UP to six-wicket win over Haryana. Chasing a stiff 179-run target set by Haryana, Prashant all and sundry with a whirlwind unbeaten 102 off just 58 balls to single-handedly ensure the win for UP with four balls to spare. Earlier, Haryana posted a competitive 178 for the loss of eight wickets in their alloted overs. Rahul Deewan was the top-socrer with 46 off 37 balls. Brief Scores: Haryana 178/8 (Deewan 46, Barot 35, A Murtuza 2-32); UP: 179/4 off 19.2 overs (Prashant 102*, Nath 24, Hooda 2-28).
— PTI |
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GMADA steps in to encourage kids to take the field
Chandigarh, April 12 But for Dilip Singh Rana, hired as Sports Administrator, a newly-established post, by GMADA, it was an opportunity to instil a culture of sports and fitness among Mohali's residents. “It was hard at the beginning because no one in GMADA had any knowledge of sport or the equipment required,” said Rana, who was hired in October to run the new stadiums in Sectors 59, 61, 65, 69 and 71. “But with time I was able to convince the GMADA officials to buy only top grade equipment and hire qualified coaches,” said Rana. Though the stadiums were incomplete when he joined, Rana said his priority was to open these for the public as soon as possible. “We opened the stadium for the public within four months.” “To encourage the public, I went to most of the schools in the city, met the principals, the coaches; informed them about the facilities and the training we could provide. For the first 15 days we did not charge any money,” said Rana. The facilities include wooden badminton courts, synthetic tennis courts and all-weather swimming pools. “I encouraged the first-timers to try out for all the games before choosing one. The emphasis is on improving the agility of the kids and letting them enjoy. We also have a few national-level players practicing here.” Rana, a national-level spiker, served in the Indian Army for 31 years. After passing out from NIS in 1989, he taught at the Army Sports Institute, Pune, for many years. He has trained the Indian hockey team, the Indian squash team before working for the Punjab Sports Department for three years. With a coaching experience of over 25 years, Rana was adamant about hiring qualified coaches. “All the coaches are graduates of National Institute of Sports (NIS).” GMADA has hired seven coaches, one each for basketball, badminton, table tennis, lawn tennis, skating, volleyball and swimming. “We need one more coach for each of these games and a coach for squash and football.” Good response
“It hasn’t even been two months and we already have almost 800 members and the number is increasing every day,” said Abdullah Jameel, badminton coach. The response has been so good that all the slots have almost filled and Rana is thinking about extending the timings, but has to wait until he gets new coaches. The stadiums have come as a blessing for the residents of Mohali. “Before these stadiums, we had no place to take our children for sports. Now both my daughter and I come for badminton,” said Ritumal Aggarwal, a resident of Sector 60. |
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India start European Tour with a big win
New Delhi, April 12 This tour is in preparation for the FIH Men’s World Cup, scheduled to be held at The Hague, Netherlands from May 31 to June 15. The match started off on a defensive note with both the teams trying to understand each other's game. It was in the 18th minute that Akashdeep Singh put India on the scoreboard through a field goal. Soon after, in the 21st minute, Nikkin Thimmaiah pumped in the second goal to double the lead. The Indian team kept on attacking the rival's citadel and completely dominated the first half. After the break, Rupinder Pal Singh scored two consecutive goals in the 38th and 39th minutes through penalty corners. The home team got a chance to reduce the margin through a penalty corner in the second half, but goalkeeper Harjot Singh made an excellent save to deny Leiden Club a consolation goal. Ramandeep Singh scored the fifth goal in the 43rd minute through a penalty corner as Leiden Club found it tough to stop the Indian juggernaut. Soon after, Raghunath made it 6-0 in the 45th minute by converting another penalty corner and Yuvraj Walmiki pumped in the final goal in the 53rd minute. India will now take on another Dutch club HGC on Monday. Result: India: 7 Akashdeep Singh (18 min), Nikkin Thimmaiah (21 min), Rupinder Pal Singh (38 and 39 min), Ramandeep Singh (43 min), V R Raghunath (45 min), Yuvraj Walmiki (53 min) beat Leiden Club 0. |
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Watson leads, Mickelson misses cut
Augusta, April 12 While most of the world's best golfers struggled to make par in the brutally tough conditions, the free-swinging Watson surged into contention for a second green jacket in three years. The American produced a masterful display on the back nine to grab the outright lead at seven-under-par and hold a three-shot advantage over Australia's John Senden. Another four players, including defending champion Adam Scott, were tied for third at three-under on a congested leaderboard. Scott battled to a 72 to join Denmark's Thomas Bjorn (68), Swede Jonas Blixt (71) and American Jordan Spieth (70), the last pair being among the record 24 rookies in the field. The unflappable Fred Couples, the 1992 champion, finished with a 71 to join Jimmy Walker (72) and Jim Furyk (68) at two-under after Mickelson missed the cut at the Masters for the first time in 17 years after finishing at five-over. The three-times champion missed out by a solitary shot after making a mess of the treacherous 12th hole, where he landed in greenside bunkers three times, and signing for a 73. — Reuters
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Advani wins cliffhanger in World Snooker qualifiers
New Delhi, April 12 The 27-year-old Bangalore cueist was trailing throughout the match, but Advani's experience and nerves of steel saw him seize a 10-9 victory at Sheffield. The match, played over two days, saw the first session ending with the Chinese leading 5-3. On resumption the following day, Hang maintained his lead and went 8-5 ahead. With only two frames away from defeat, Advani responded to the pressure and won the next three on the trot. The momentum shift saw made Advani the favourite and he delivered when it mattered. Advani now takes on England's Robbie Williams in the penultimate qualifying round on Sunday. The main draw of the World Championship will run from April 19 to May 5. The top-16 seeds plus 16 qualifiers will be competing for one of the most famous trophies in the sport, as well as a record top prize of £3,00,000. |
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Dipika enters Texas Open semifinals
Houston (USA), April 12 Pallikal, with coach and five-time world champion Sarah Fitz-Gerald in her corner, had to resist a determined fightback by the unseeded Fernandes before prevailing 11-4, 11-6, 10-12, 10-12, 11-5 in the quarterfinal. The world No.12 from Chennai plays eigth-ranked Madeline Perry of Ireland in the semifinals. In other match, Malaysian favourite and top seed Low Wee Wern was stunned by Egypt’s teenage ‘giant-killer’, Nour El Sherbini. The 18-year-old qualifier tamed the world No.7 Wern 11-3, 11-8, 10-12, 11-6 to progress in the Women’s Squash Association Gold 50 event at The Downtown Club in Houston. The Egyptian had produced one of the biggest shocks in recent times when she downed Malaysia’s world No. 1 Nicol David at the World Championship last month to become the tournament’s youngest ever finalist. El Sherbini will face third seed Camille Serme for a place in the final.
— PTI |
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Delhi, April 12
