Bihar Government honours 170 sportspersons

Patna: August 29, 2009
Bihar Government on Saturday honoured 170 sportspersons with cash awards and citations to commemorate the National Sports Day, the birth anniversary of hockey legend Major Dhyanchand. In a glittering function held at Sri Ksrishna memorial hall here. Bihar government’s chief secretary Anup Kumar Mukherjee gave away the awards.

Top of the list was ace weightlifter Shiv Shankar Singh of Chapra, who won a silver medal at Commonwealth Youth Games held at Pune from October 12 to 18, 2008. Singh was given best sportsperson award.

Powerlifter Sudha Kuamri , who got a bronze medal in the senior Asian powerlifting championships (May 1 to 8, 2008) at Tashkent, was second in the list.

It was another year in business for Carrom Queen Rashmi Kumari. She was adjudged the third best of Bihar for winning women’s singles title at 12th SAARC carrom championhips. Altogether 12 carrom players including Rashmi were felicitated by the Bihar government in the function.

Speaking on the occasion chief secretary Anup Mukherjee said Bihar Government would construct 125 stadia in rural areas to give a much needed boost the sports.He said State Government had planned to constitute a talent pool of sportspersons, which would be sent to participate in national and international events.

Presiding over the function, secretary, Art, Culture and Youth Affairs Department, Vivek Kumar Singh said though, compared to other states, Bihar lagged behind in sports, however, the state’s achievements in the field of education, art and culture were remarkable.

For promotion of sports, he said a pool of coaches would be formed to train the sportspersons of the State and our department would work with human resources department in tandem.

Chief Secretary also honoured two former sports personalities turn radio commentators and sports writers Dr Prem Kumar and Badri Prasad Yadav for their contributions to Bihar sports.

Photo caption: From top: Bihar Government's chief secretary Anup Mukherjee gives away sports award to noted commentator Dr Prem Kumar at National Sports Day felicitation function in Patna on August 29, 2009.

Second from top: Leading sportspersons with their awards.

Fourth from top: Noted commentator Badri Prasad Yadav (left) receives the award.

Fifth from top: Art, Youth Affairs and Culture secretary Vivek Singh and chief secretary Anup Mukherjee realeasing the souvenir.

Photo: Aftab Alam Siddiqui

President gives away Khel Ratna and Arjuna Awards

New Delhi, August 29, 2009:
President Pratibha Devisingh Patil gave away sports and adventure awards in a glittering ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhawan here today. Several Union Ministers including Dr. M.S. Gill, Union Minister for Youth Affairs & Sports, P.P Patil , Minister of State for Youth Affairs & Sports, the Chief Ministers of Haryana, Manipur, several States Sports Ministers and eminent sports persons attended function.

Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award this year as a special case was conferred upon three sportspersons, M.C.Marykom for her outstanding in women boxing, Vijender and Sushil Kumar for winning bronze medals in Beijing Olympics, 2008.The award carries a medal, citation and enhanced cash prize of Rs 7.5 lakh each.

Ishar Singh Deol (athletics) and Satbir Singh Dahya (wrestling) were conferred Dhyan Chand Awards for the year 2009, for their contribution to sports by their performance and efforts to promote the sports. The award carries a statuettes, citations and cash prize of Rs 5 lakh each.

The President also gave away Dronacharya Awards for this year to Pullela Gopichand (badminton), Jaydev Bisht (boxing), S. Baldev Singh (hockey) and Satpal (wrestling), in recognition of their meritorious achievements in the field of coaching. The award carries a statuettes, citations and enhanced cash prize of Rs 5 lakh each.

Mangal Singh Champia (archery), Sinimole Paulose (athletics), Saina Nehwal (badminton), Laishram Sarita Devi (boxing), Tania Sachdev (chess), Gautam Gambhir (cricket), Ignace Tirkey (hockey; men), Surinder Kaur (hockey; women), Pankaj Navanath Shirsat (kabaddi), Satish Joshi (rwing), Ronjan Sodhi (sooting), Poulomi Ghatak (table tennis), Yogeshwar Dutt (wrestling), Girdhari Lal Yadav (yachting) and Parul D. Parmar (badminton (disabled) were conferred Arjuna Awards for the year 2009, in recognition of their outstanding achievements in the respective field of sports. The Award carries a statuettes, citations and enhanced cash prize of Rs 5 lakh each.

With a view to recognizing the contribution made to sports development by entities other than sportspersons and coaches, the Government has instituted this year, a new award entitled Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar, which has four categories, namely, community sports development, promotion of sports academies of excellence, support to elite sportspersons and employment to sportspersons. Tata Steel Ltd. was conferred upon this Award for the year 2009, under two categories of Community Sports Identification and Nurturing of Budding Young Talent and for Establishment and Management of Sports Academies of Excellence.

Mamata Banerjee received the award on behalf of Railways Sports Promotion Board under the category for Employment of Sportspersons and sports welfare measures. The Award carries a trophy and citation.

Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Trophy (MAKA) for the year 2007-08 has been awarded to Punjabi University, Patiala. The winner receives a cash prize of Rs.10 lakh and Rolling Trophy along with a small replica of the MAKA Trophy for retention by the University.

The President also conferred Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Awards for the year 2008 to recognize the contribution and performance of the awardees in the field of adventure sports. Major HPS Ahluwalia was given Life Time Achievement Award. Sqn. Ldr Ramakant for Air Adventure, Chaitanya Datla for Water Adventure and Bachinapally Shekhar Babu for Land Adventure were also awarded. The award carries enhanced cash prize of Rs 5 lakh and Bronze Statuette along with a citation.

Source: Press release from Union Ministry of Sports

Patna Central School boys clinch Dhyanchand throwball title

Patna, August 28, 2009:
Patna Central School clinched the boys’ title of the Lucent Cup 14th Dhyanchand throwball championship beating Alliance Club 9-15, 15-6 and 15-13 in the final at the Bankipore Girls High School ground here on Friday.

Earlier, in the first semi-final, Patna Central School thrashed BMP High School 15-7, 15-8 and Alliance Club beat PN Anglo School 15-7 and 15-12 to set up final showdown.

Alliance Club took the lead winning the first game at 15-9. Patna Central School boys played brilliantly in the next two games and won the match. Avinash, Pankaj, Sandeep and Gautam of Patna Central School played well while Navin, Vishal, Chandan Das and Sonu of Alliance Club showed their mettle with great zeal and enthusiasm.

In the girls’ event final, Bankipore Girls High School will face Dayanand Kanya Vidyalaya.

Results: girls’ (semi-finals): Bankipore Girls High School beat Kendriya Vidyalaya, Kankarbagh, 15-4, 15-8; Dayanand Kanya Vidyalaya beat Arya Kanya Vidyalaya 15-12 and 15-12.

Photo caption: Patna Central School (sitting and in white) and Alliance Club (standing and in red) players pose for a group photograph after their Dhyanchand throwball final match in Patna on August 28, 2009.

Photo: Aftab Alam Siddiqui

Bihar State badminton: Aman Raj in Q-F

Patna, August 28, 2009:
Top seed Aman Ranjan of Patna sailed into the junior boys’ singles quarter-finals of the Bihar state badminton championship at the Secretariat badminton hall here on Friday.

Aman beat Tausif Alam 21-11 and 21-6. Divesh Kumar (Bhagalpur), Sudhanshu Kumar (Nawada), Ujjawal Prakash (Samastipur), Sudhir Kumar Singh (Patna), Rajesh Kumar (Madhubani), Gaurav Siddharth (Samastipur)and Akash Kumar (P&T) joined Aman in the last eight stage.

Rajesh Kumar (Madhubani), Md Tausif Alam (Purnia), Tafsir Alam (Aurangabad), Neeraj Kumar (Patna), Vibhuti Mohan Mishra (P&T), SamirVijay (Muzaffarpur), Zishan Ali (Aurangabad) and Nitesh Kumar (Jamui)entered the quarter-finals of the sub-junior boys singles event.

The veterans’ singles (above 45 years) event saw Neeraj Kumar (Patna),Mukesh Kumar Singh (Samastipur) and Omprakash (Patna) qualifying for the semi-finals.
Milan Singh (Gopalganj), Archana Kumari (Muzaffarpur) and AmritaThakur (Bhagalpur) won their respective women pre-quarter-finalmatches to move into the quarter-finals.

Results: Junior boys’ singles (pre-quarter-finals):
Aman Ranjan beat MdTausif Alam 21-11, 21-6; Divesh Kumar beat Shubham 21-18, 16-21, 21-18;Sudhanshu Kumar beat Manish Kumar 21-10, 20-22, 21-17; Ujjawal Prakash beat Kundan Kumar Sinha 17-21, 21-11, 21-14; Sudhir Kumar Singh beat Naushad Ali Haideri21-8, 21-9; Rajesh Kumar beat Abhishek Shantnu 21-16, 21-16; Gaurav Siddharth beat Sandeep Pal 24-22, 21-16; Akash Kumar beat Zishan Ali 21-17, 21-16.

Sub-junior boys’ singles (pre-quarter-finals): Rajesh Kumar beat NavnitRaj 21-5, 21-11; Md Tausif Alam beat Sagar Mirnal 15-21, 21-16, 21-15;Zishan Ali beat Anshul Sundram 21-13, 21-9; Shubham beat Shubham (Patna) 20-22, 21-16, 21-19; Nitesh Kumar beat Uday Raja 21-7, 21-4; Samar Vijay beat Kundan Kumar Sinha 21-14, 21-13.

Women singles (pre-quarter-finals): Milan Singh beat Vijya Mehta 21-13,15-21, 21-12; Archana Kumari beat Ankita Kumari 21-14, 21-7; AmritaThakur beat Archana Kumari 21-5; 21-7.
Veterans’ singles (above 45 years) quarter-finals: Omprakash beat RaviKumar 21-10, 21-10; Vibhuti Mohan Mishra beat SK Mohan 21-10, 21-7; Mukesh Kumar Singh and Neeraj Kumar got walk-over.

Dhyanchand ballbadminton trophy for Patna Coaching Camp

Patna, August 28, 2009:
Patna Coaching Camp (PCC) won the Dhyanchand memorial women’s ballbadminton tournament title beating Magadh Mahila College 29-25,27-29 and 29-21 in a keenly contested final at the Magadh Mahila Collegeground here on Friday.

Pushpa of PCC was declared best player of the tournament. Dr Kiran Ghai, MLC and national secretary of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was the chief guest in the prize-distribution function and she distributed the prizes.

Dr Dolly Sinha, principal, Magadh Mahila College, was the special guest. Ajay Yadav, organising secretary welcomed the guests and Gauri Shankar, secretary, Bihar State Ballbadminton Associationproposed a vote of thanks. Mitali Moitra, physical education director, Magadh Mahila College, conducted the matches.

Patna Women's College win Lucent Cup Dhyanchand throwball title

Patna, August 27, 2009:
Patna Women’s College (PWC) won the Lucent Cup 14th Dhyanchand throwball championships title defeating Rabindra Balika Vidyalaya 15-7, 10-15, 15-3 in the final at the Bankipore Girls’ High School ground here on Thursday.

In the boys’ event, BMP High School and PN Anglo Sanskrit School from pool ‘A’ and Alliance Club and Patna Central School from pool ‘B’ entered the semi-finals.

Arya Kanya Vidyalaya, Dayanand Girls High School, Bankipore Girls HighSchool and Kendriya Vidyalaya, Kankarbagh, booked made the last four grade in the of the girls’ section.

In the women’s final, PWC led by Kamana Bharati won the first game quite comfortably 15-7 against Rabindra Balika School. Besides Kamana, Suman Kumari, Vandna, Sumedha and Arpana played well in all departments of the game.

In the second game, Rabindra Balika Vidyalaya bounced back to win the game at 15-10. Sarita Singh, Seema, Simran, Sandhya and Priti of Rabindra Balika dished out impressisve performance.

After a lackadaisical performance in the second game, PWC rejuvenated themselves and played attacking game with speed and precision to take the final game and the match at 15-3.

Results:

Boys’ (round robin league): Alliance Club beat Patna Central School 15-5, 15-12, Alliance Club beat Gautam Buddha Club, Jehanabad15-13, 15-12; PN Anglo Sanskrit School beat Patliputra Public School10-15, 15-7, 15-10.
Girls’ : (round robin league): Bankipore Girls High School beat PWC Blue Panthers 15-10, 15-10; Dayanand Girls High School beat Kendriya Vidyalaya, Bailey Road 15-10, 15-10; Patna Central School beat BMP Girls’High School 15-9, 15-9; BPM Girls’ High School beat Kendriya Vidyalaya, Bailey Road 15-13, 16-14.

Photo caption: Patna Women's College and Rabindra Balika Vidyalaya players pose for a group photograph after the final match of the Lucent Cup Dhyanchand throwball championships in Patna on August 27, 2009. Patna Women's College beat Rabindra Balika Vidyalaya 15-7, 10-15, 15-3 to win the trophy.

Photo: Aftab Alam Siddiqui

Bihar team for inter-zone athletics announced

Patna, August 27, 2009
A 15-member Bihar team will take part in the 21st inter-zone athletic championship to be held at Chandigarh, from September 1, according to Liaquit Ali Khan, secretary, Bihar Athletic Association.

Team: Amjad Ansari, Prem Kunj, Narvind Kumar, Sanjay Kumar, Prashant
Kumar Mishra, Santosh Kumar Yadav, Raushan Kumar Singh, Ashutosh Kumar, Sintu Kumar, Kundan Kumar, Vikas Kumar Singh, Krishnand, Richa Raj, Veena Kumari and Shilpa Kumari. Manager cum chief coach: Shams Tauheed. Coach: Md Arshad Ahmed

Patna carrom from September 12

Patna, August 27, 2009:
Patna district carom championship will be held here from September 12, according to Dr Sanjay Srivastav, general secretary, Patna District Carrom Association. The last date for entry is September 10.
On the basis of the championship, four players each from men’s and women’s groups would be selected to represent Patna in the 19th Bihar state and inter-district carrom championship to be held at the Post and Telegraph Recreation Club hall here from September 29, he added

Ballbadminton: Magadh Mahila College lose

Patna, August 27, 2009:
Patna Coaching Camp beat Magadh Mahila College 29-19, 26-29, 29-24 in the opening match of the Dhyanchand memorial ballbadminton championship at the Magadh Mahila College ground here on Thursday.

In the second match, Magadh Mahila College defeated Five Star Club 29-22, 29-15.
Earlier, Ramdev Prasad, chairman, Child Labour Commission and RR Prasad, former DGP and member, Bihar Human Right Commission, jointly inaugurated the meet in a colourful function. Dr Dolly Sinha, principal, Magadh Mahila College was the special guest. Chandan Rai welcomed the guest while Gauri Shankar, secretary, Bihar State Ball Badminton Association proposed a vote of thanks.

Bihar State badminton championships: Three Samastipur lads in cadet singles quarter-finals

Patna, August 27, 2009:

Three Samastipur lads entered the quarter-finals of the cadet singles event in the Bihar state badminton championship at the Secretariat badminton hall here on Thursday.

Amarish Kumar, Saurav Anand and Neeraj Kumar all from Samastipur had no difficulty to overcome their rivals. Shantu Kumar (Bhagalpur), Gautam Kumar (Jehanabad), Aryan Raj (Khagaria), Arshad Shadab and Md Danish (both Aurangabad) also booked their berths in the quarter-finals.

In the sub-junior boys’ singles event, Rajesh Kumar, Navnit Raj, Md Tausif Alam, Rajat Aryan, Tafsir Alam, Ankit Kumar, Neeraj Kumar, Gulshan Kumar, Kundan Kumar Sinha, Samar Vijay, Uday Raja, Nitesh Kumar, Shubham, (Muzaffarpur), Anshul Sundram (Vaishali), Zeeshan Ali and Shubham (Patna) sailed into the pre-quarter-finals.

Results:
Cadet boys’ singles (pre-quarter-finals): Shantu Kumar beat Amarit Raj 21-12, 21-14; Amarish Kumar beat Prakhar Kumar 21-17, 21-11; Saurav Anand beat R Sinha 21-6, 21-2; Arashad Shadab beat Devanshu Shekhar 22-20, 30-29; Neeraj Kumar beat A Sundram 21-7, 21-8; Md Danish beat Vishal Kumar 21-10, 21-10; Gautam Kumar beat G Kumar 21-6, 21-16 andAryan Raj beat Pratyush Pratik 21-8, 21-11.

Sub-junior boys’ singles (second round): Rajesh Kumar beat Md Javed30-13; Navnit Raj beat Avinash Sharma 30-22; Md Tausif Ali beat Amit Kumar 30-22; Rajat Aryan beat Kumar Abhinav 30-28; Tafsir Alam beat Sagar Mirnal 30-9; Ankit Kumar beat Anup Kumar 30-27; Neeraj Kumar beat M Jha 30-17; Gulshan Kumar beat Abhishek 30-23; KK Sinha beat Rahul Kumar 30-16; Samar Vijay beat Raman Gaurav 30-18; Uday Raja beat Ashish Ranjan 30-22; Nitesh Kumar beat Shashikant 30-24; Shubham beat Ankit Kumar 30-25; Anshul Sundram beat Shikha Kumar 30-26; Zeeshan Ali beat Aniket Kumar 30-11 and Shubham beat Md Aamir 30-17.

Junior boys’ singles (U-19): Md. Tausif Alam beat Naukhez Haider 30-28; Suraj Prakash beat Tapsir Alam 30-24; Shubham beat Sunil Kumar 30-13; Rajat Aryan beat Sadam Hussain 30-13; Manih Kumar beat Samar Vijay 30-29; Gaurav Kumar beat Firoz Alam 30-14; Kundan Kr. Sinha beat Shashikant 30-25; Naushad Ali Haidry beat Dharmenora Kumar 30-26; Neeraj Kumar beat Vijay Sharma 30-23; Abhishek Shantanu beat Sagar Mrinal 30-8; Sandeep Pal beat Amit Kumar 30-23; Krshna Thakur beat Sanjay Kumar 30-16; Anushil Sundram beat Glshan Kumar 30-24; Zeeshan Ali beat Mishir Jha 30-24.

Midget boys’ singles (U-13) second round: Nitesh Kumar beat Ankit Kumar 30-14; Ajit Kumar beat Ankit Kumar 30-26; Ankit Kumar beat Mobasir Hassan 30-13; Uday Ranjan beat Vikash Kumar 30-17; Md. Javed beat Rohit Kumar 30-8; Md. Aftab Alam beat Vikash Ranjan 30-14; Akashdeep beat Priyanshu Agarwal 30-29; Giridhar Gopal beat Raushan Kumar 30-23; Gulshan Kumar beat Pulkit Aditya 30-16; Rahul Kumar beat Abhijeet Raj 30-24; Aditya Raman beat Sanju Kumar 30-28; Kunal Kr. Sinha beat Saurav Anand 30-19; Prem Shanker beat Amit Kumar 30-16; Shakya beat Prashant Kumar 30-29; Shashank Priyadarshi beat Prakhar Kumar 30-24; Shubham beat Rohit Kr. Ranjan 30-25.

Men’s singles (first round): Sandeep Pal W/O Masoom Hassan; Ali Azhar beat Atul Kumar 30-14; Chandradeep Kr. beat Naushad Ali Haidry 30-6;Dharmendra Sharma bt Suraj Prakash 30-19; Manish Kumar bt Dhiraj Kr.Chowdhary 30-20; Manish Kumar beat Ashish Kumar 30-17; Himanshu Kumar beat Kranji Singh 30-13; Ujjawal Prakash beat Rohtt Prakash 30-18; Vishwajeet beat S.Haidry 30-6; Gaurav Sidharth beat Md. Sabbj 30-12; Adarsh Kumar beat Alok Ranjan 30-10; Dharmendra Kumar beat Binay Kumar 30-09.

Photo caption: Md Danish and Vishal Kumar in action during their singles match of the Bihar State badminton champonships in Patna on August 27, 2009.

Photo: Aftab Alam Siddiqui

Dhyanchand throwball: Bankipore Girls' High School start campaign in style

Patna, August 26, 2009:
Bankipore Girls High School, Kendriya Vidyalaya, Kankarbagh, Kendriya Vidyalaya, Bailey Road, PN Anglo Sanskrit School and Patna Central School began their campaigns smartly in the Lucent Cup 14th Dhyanchand throwball championship at the Bankipore Girls High School ground here on Wednesday.

Earlier, Bhupesh Kumar, director, Lucent Senior Secondary School, who was the chief guest inaugurated the four-day meet in a colourful function. Basant Kumar Sinha, director, Star India Housing Private Limited was the special guest in the inaugural function.

Niraj Kumar Pappu, secretary, Throwball Association of Bihar, welcomed the guests. Bilkis Jehan, principal, Bankipore Girls' High School, presided over the function. Mirtyunjay Tiwari, president, Bihar Players Association, Ekta Jindal, Ranjan Mishra, Gyan Prakash, Putul Chakarborty, Nitu Singh and Bhupesh chakarborty were present at the inaugural function.

Results:
Women (round robin league): Ravindra Balika High School beat PWC Blue Panthers 15-11, 15-11; Patna Women’s College beat PWC Blue Panthers 15-8, 15-6 and Patna Women’s College beat Ravindra Balika High School 11-15, 15-11 and 15-8.

Girls' (round robin league): Kendriya Vidyalaya, Kankarbagh beat AllianceClub 15-2, 15-1; Bankipore Girls High School beat Kendriya Vidyalaya, Bailey Road 15-3, 15-9; Dayanand Balika Vidyalaya beat BMP Balika Vidyalaya 15-3, 15-9; Arya Kanya Vidyalaya beat Star Plus Club 15-6, 15-13; Dayanand Balika Vidyalaya beat Patna Central School 11-15, 15-8, 15-14; Kendriya Vidyalaya, Bailey Road beat PWC Blue Panthers 15-3, 15-2and Patna Central School beat Kendriya Vidyalaya, Kankarbagh (secondshift) 15-6 and 15-4.

Boys' (round robin league): Aryan Club beat Government High School, Shastrinagar 15-6, 15-5; Patna Central School beat Government High School, Shastrinagar 13-15, 15-11, 15-5; PN Anglo Sanskrit School beat BMP High School 6-15, 15-11, 15-5 and BMP High School beat Patliputra Public School, Parsa Bazar.

Photo caption: Top: Girls in action during their throwball match.

Bottom: Bhupesh Kumar, director, Lucent Senior Secondary School and Bilkis Jehan, principal, Bankipore Girls School jointly inaugurating the 14th Dhyanchand throwball championships in Patna on August 26, 2009.

Photo: Aftab Alam Siddiqui

Bihar state badminton: Top players register easy wins in first round matches

Patna, August 26, 2009:
All leading players including top seed Shantnu Kumar of Bhagalpur, Amaritya Raj (Nawada), Amarish Kumar (Samastipur), Prakhar Kumar (Patna) and Gaurav Nirala (Khagaria) had no hic-cups to win their first round matches of the cadet boys’ singles in the Bihar State badminton championship at the Secretariat badminton hall here on Wednesday.

Shantanu Kumar outplayed Ojas Kumar 30-9 while Amartya Raj drubbed Md Aftab Alam 30-15 in one-sided encounters.

Earlier Director General of Police (Bihar), Anand Shankar, inaugurated the tournament in a colourful function. Badri Kumar Rastogi, secretary, Patna District Badminton Association (PDBA) welcomed the guests and Balram Prasad, advisor, PDBA proposed a vote of thanks.

Deepak Kumar, president, PDBA and principal secretary, Urban Development and Housing presided over the function. Rakesh Ranjan, former MLC, KN Jaiswal, secretary, Bihar Badminton Association (BBA), Ashok Kumar Mishra, treasurer, BBA, Rajeev Pratap Rudy, former MP, Anuj Kumar Singh and former state player Omprakash were present at the inaugural function.

Results:
Cadet boys’ singles (first round): Shantanu Kumar bt Ojas Kumar 30-9; Amartya Raj bt Md Aftab Alam 30-15; Amrish Kumar bt Krishma Kumar 30-21; Prakhar Kuamr bt Prakash Kumar 30-19; Saurav Anand bt Md Amir Nasim 30-19; Debanshu Shekhar bt Navneet Kumar 30-28; Arshad Sadab bt Rohit Kumar 30-27; Anudeep Sundram bt Nikhil Kumar 30-15; Neeraj Kumar Hemant Raj 30-20; Vishal Kumar bt Md Rehman Ali 30-26; Md Danish bt Rohit Kumar Ranjan 30-25; Gautam Kumar bt Yogendra Narayan Tiwari 30-13; Gautam bt Akash Kumar 30-13; Aryan Raj bt Rja Shanshir Pratyush Pratik got walk-over.

Sub-junior boys’ singles (first round): Navneet Raj bt Naukhez Haider 30-22; Avinash Sharma bt Pawan Kr Singh 30-27; Md Taushif Alam bt Kumar Arshi Anand 30-09; Md Javed bt Saiyum Bari 30-20; Kumar Abhinav bt Anish Kumar 30-23; Rajat Aryan bt Aditya Chandra 30-10; Sagar Mrinal bt Saddam Hussain Ahmed 30-28; Anup Kumar bt Utkarsh Maskara 30-10; Ankit Kumar bt Kunal Kr Sinha 30-19; Mishir Jha bt Md Danish Akhtar 30-18; Abhishekh bt Mayank Raj 30-10; Gulshan Kumar bt Ankit Kumar 30-16; Kundan Kr Sinha bt Purushottam Kumar 30-16; Rahul Kumar bt Gaurav Kumar 30-27; Raman Gaurav bt Priyanshu Agarwal 30-26; Samar Vijay bt Akash Kumar 30-12; Ashish Ranjan bt Akash Deep 30-29; Uday Rajan bt Dushad Akhter 30-21; Shashi Kant bt Rahul Kumar 30-10; Shubham bt Rahul Kumar 30-25; Ankit Kumar bt Gulshan Kumar 30-15.

Raj Milk clinch Patna Super Division soccer league title

Patna, August 21, 2009:
The result came into expected line. Raj Milk Football Club beat Civil Audit Recreation Club 4-2 via tie-beaker to clinch the SP Sinha memorial Patna Super Division soccer league title at the New Police Lines ground here.

When Raj Milk edged out strong contender Bihar Regimental Centre, Danapur, in a grueling semifinal, it was expected that milkmen would hardly get worthwhile resistance to regain the title. But the fierce battle that stretched to extra time gave ample proofs how Civil Audit got them prepared for the final showdown. They fought hard and made Raj Milk run for their money.

In the first half, Civil Audit had an edge over their rivals and took 1-0 lead. In the 20th minute, Civil Audit Club’s striker Sanjay Kumar entered rival box and took a powerful shot, which was deliberately stopped by hand by Raj Milk stopper back Krishna Prasad. Referee Kailash Prasad awarded a penalty kick to Civil Audit and also showed a red card to Krishna Prasad. Sanjay took the spot kick and did the rest (1-0).

Stunned by the reverse, Raj Milk Club pressed themselves hard for the equaliser and they succeeded in their mission in the 75th minute when striker PG Raj beat the Civil Audit Club goalkeeper (1-1).

The regulation period ended 1-1 and the extra-time too failed to bring in the result. Penalty shoot outs were enforced for the result. In the tie-breaker, Raj Milk Club scored three while Civil Audit Club hit the target once.

Photo caption: Jubilant members of the Raj Milk Club with Patna Super Division soccer league shield in Patna on August 21, 2009.

Photo: Aftab Alam Siddiqui

Justice RP Mandal TT: Bhagyasri wins a treble

Patna, August 21, 2009:
Varsha Bhagyasri of Delhi Public School (DPS) won a treble in the Justice RP Mandal memorial inter-school table tennis tournament at the Bihar Young Men’s Institute hall here.

Bagyasri bagged junior girls’ singles, sub-junior girls’ singles and cadet girls’ singles crowns. Patna Central School clinched the boys’ team championship title defeating DPS 3-0 in their last round robin league encounter.

Rahul Kumar also made it a treble winning junior boys’ singles, sub-junior boys’ singles and boys’ doubles titles.

Sanjay Singh, president, Bihar Table Tennis Association (BTTA), who was the chief guest at the closing function distributed the prizes. Mukesh Roy, secretary, BTTA, welcomed the guests and Mahadeo Prasad Yadav, vice-president, BTTA, proposed a vote of thanks. Prem Kumar Singh, chairman, Patna District Table Tennis Association and Sunil Kumar, executive member, BTTA, were presentat the function.

Photo caption: Winners of Justice RP Mandal table tennis championships in Patna on August 21, 2009.

Photo: Aftab Alam Siddiqui

Muzaffarpur to host Bihar U-19 chess

Patna, August 21, 2009:
Bihar state under-19 chess championship (boys & girls) will be held at Muzaffarpur from September 5, according to Arvind Kumar Sinha, secretary, All Bihar Chess Association.

Top four finishers of the championships, would represent Bihar in the National under-19 chess championship to be held in Chennai from September 19, he added.

Gill happy with the construction work of Commonwealth Games 2010 stadia

New Delhi, August 24, 2009:
Dr. M.S. Gill, Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports on Monday visited Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium, Dr. Shyma Prasad Mukherjee Aquatics Complex and Talkatora Indoor Stadium, being built for hockey, swimming and boxing events for the Commonwealth Games, 2010 respectively.

Dr. Gill had a comprehensive review of the construction progress of the stadia with the officials of the CPWD, Sports Authority of India, New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) and representatives of Organising Committee. The officers made presentations to the Minister, and briefed him about the progress made as on date of various tasks being undertaken.

While talking to the media persons after visiting the sites, Dr. Gill said “every human efforts are being put in to deliver the sporting facilities well before the time”. Regarding Swimming Complex (Dr. Shyma Prasad Mukherjee Aquatics Complex), Dr. Gill said that it would be ready well before the time for holding the test events in April. This project has a very complex engineering design and execution of this is being undertaken with the advice of the international consultants.

While complimenting the engineers and the workers forbuilding such complex engineering facilities, Dr Gill emphasised the need to take adequate safety precautions while execution of this complex engineering project.

On the construction progress of the Major Dhyan Chand Stadium for hockey events, Dr. Gill said that he is impressed with the progress and plenty of work has been completed. He said that the CPWD officials have assured him that the stadium in all respects will be completed by the end of the year. About the Talkatora Indoor Stadium for Boxing events, the NDMC officials briefed the Minister regarding various facilities coming up in the stadium and assured him that the stadium will be completed by the 1st week of November this year.

Source: Press release from Union Sports Ministry

Raj Milk take on Civil Audit for Patna Super Division football league title

Patna, August 19, 2009
Raj Milk will take on Civil Audit Recreation Club in the final of the SP Sinha memorial Patna Super Division football league. In the semifinals played today, Raj Milk beat tough contender Bihar Regimental Centre (BRC) 5-4 via tie-breaker while Civil Audit prevailed over Food Corporation of India (FCI) 2-0 to set up final showdown.

At the Police Lines ground, the match between Raj Milk and BRC was undoubtedly the match of the super league. Both the teams played attacking football to keep the spectators glued to their seats till the final whistle. The first half failed to produce any result.

After the lemon break, BRC shot into the lead as their star striker Pritam Bahadur found the target. But just after two minutes Sulabh Rana scored the equalizer for Raj Milk. The rest of the scheduled play failed to break the deadlock. Play stretched to the extra-time but that too did not produce the result.

Neeraj Kumar, Vijay Thapa and Jeetan Lohar scored for BRC in the tie-breaker while Sushil Hansda and Durgacharan failed to score. Raj Milk goalkeeper Chandan Kumar saved a Sushil Hansda shot diving through his left while Durgacharan shot wide off the target. For Raj Milk, Krishna Kumar, Guhat Raj, Md Afzal and Syeed did the justice.

The second semifinal between FCI and Civil Audit began from where it was left on August 17 due to rains. In the 20th minute of the second half Civil Audit got a spot kick but Tinku Lama missed the target. Tinku, however, amended his mistake scoring the first goal of the match off a Sanjay Kumar pass in the 25th minute. Santosh Singh increased the margin in the 35th minute (2-0).

Photo caption: Raj Milk and BRC players vie to capture the ball during their Patna Super Division soccer league semifinal match in Patna on August 19, 2009.
Photo: Aftab Alam Siddiqui

Patna Super Division soccer: BRC in semifinals

Patna, August 8, 2009
Bihar Regimental Centre, Danapur, moved into the semifinals of the SP Sinha memorial Patna Super Division football league defeating FCI 2-1 in a keenly contested match at Patna High School ground here on Saturday.

BRC shot into the lead in the 12th minute of the game when RK Mahto struck home. Pritam Bahadur made it 2-0 in the 18th minute. BRC were 2-0 up at the end of the first half.

Mukesh Kumar reduced the margin for FCI in the 65th minute of the match.

Photo caption: BRC and FCI players fight for the ball during their Patna Super Division football league match in Patna on August 8, 2009.

Photo: Aftab Alam Siddiqui

Patna district badminton championships: Gloria bags U-13 girls' singles title

Patna, August 8, 2009
Gloria Anthony won the girls U-13 (midget) singles title of the Patna district badminton championships defeating Akshara 21-11, 21-6 at the Secretariat Badminton Hall here on Saturday.

Shubhi won the U-10 girls title defeating Aditi Kumari 21-16, 21-11.

In the sub-junior girls section, Jasnoor, Gloria, Sukriti and Pooja booked their berths in the semifinals. In the midget boys’ singles event Akashdeep, Shakya, Shantanu Singh, Kunal Kumar Sinha, Rohit umar, Pulkit Aditya, Prakhar Kumar and Atishya entered the quarter-finals.

World Cup archery (Stage IV): India make sad exit

Patna, August 8, 2009
Indian archery hit the depths of despair in the ongoing World Cup archery (Stage IV) at Shanghai on Saturday. After facing the ignominious early exit in the individual section of the recurve division the previous day, the Indian men’s and women’s teams made a quiet departure at the quarterfinal stage bowing to lower ranked opponents, according to information reached here on Saturday.

Having won two gold medals and a silver medal in the earlier three legs, the third-seeded men’s team moved into the quarterfinals with a facile victory over 14th ranked Ukraine 217-207. But the Indian trio of Rahul Banerjee, Mangal Singh Champia and Jayanta Talukdar allowed sixth seed Mexico to dominate the proceedings and win a semifinal berth with a 218-210 verdict.

Mexico, however, failed to go past Korea in the semifinals and will play Spain in the bronze medal play-off. Spain lost to France in the other semifinals.

The story in the women’s section also followed the same script except that the protagonists were different. The Indian threesome of Rimil Buriuly, Pratima Boro and Dola Banerjee, seeded third, made short work of 14th ranked Kazakhstan 213-200 but came a cropper against sixth-placed Italy in the quarterfinals 215-219.

Italy eventually lost to Russian Federation and Korea beat China in the semifinals. It will be Korea vs Russian Federation final and China vs Italy bronze medal play-off on Sunday.

India could have gained an unexpected bronze medal but the Indian duo of Rimil Buriuly and Jayanta Talukdar lost to France 138-140 in a closely fought third-place play-off match in the mixed team event. The Indian pair had to first shoot off with Russian team because of a tie in the qualification. Having won the contest and seeded fourth in the four-team event, India lost to Korea 143-153 and moved to the third-place play-off which did not prove lucky.

With this India's campaign in the four-leg World Cup series ended.
Source: Press release from Archery Association of India

DPS boys capture inter-school badminton title

Patna, August 7, 2009
Delhi Public School (DPS) proved their superiority claiming the senior boys’ team championship title of the Patna district inter-school badminton tournament at the Secretariat badminton hall here on Friday.

In the final, DPS boys routed DAV Public School, Walmi, 2-0.

DAV Public School, BSEB Colony, won the junior boys’ team event title winning all the matches in the round robin league. DPS got the second position.

Individual events also began today. Akashdeep, Nikhil Kumar, Rishabh Sinha, Shakya, Rohit Kumar, Yogendra Narain Tiwari and Abhijit Kumar moved into the boys under-10 singles (cadet) quarter-finals.

Abhijit Raj, Surya Narain Tiwari, Aditya Chandra, Prakhar Kumar, Akashdeep, Shakya, Shantanu Singh and Kunal Kumar won their respective matches in the boys’ under-13 singles.

Results:
Senior boys' team championship final: DPS beat DAV, Walmi 2-0 (Shubham beat Kundan Kumar Sinha 21-12, 24-12; Shubham and Navkesh beat Kundan Kumar Sinha and Kamal Kumar Sinha 21-10, 21-16).

Boys' U-10 cadet pre-quarter-finals: Akashdeep beat Kaushik Chowhan 30-11, Nikhil Kumar beat Divanshu 30-24, Rishabh Sinha beat Akash Pandey 30-10, Shakya beat Sanjivini Singh 30-18, Rohit Kumar beat Pratyush Pratik 30-11, Yogendra Narain Tiwari beat Mohit 30-17 and Abhijit Kumar beat Kartik 30-15.

Boys' under-13 midget singles: Abhijeet Raj beat Rohit Kumar 30-15, Surya Narain Tiwari beat Atish 30-23, Aditya Chandra beat Pulkit Aditya 30-24, Prakhar Kumar beat Aditya Kumar 30-21, Akash Deep beat Priyanshu 30-13, Shakya beat Sanjay Prakash 30-27, Shantanu Singh beat Shashank Shekhar 30-27 and Kunal Kumar Sinha beat Rishav Sinha 30-15.

Jr. National strength lifting: Bengal lad Akhilesh wins gold in 50kg category

Patna, August 7, 2009
West Bengal’s Akhilesh Lohar won the gold in the 50 kg section of the 16th junior National strength lifting championship (men and women) at the Post and Telegraph Recreation Club hall here on Friday.

Akhilesh lifted a total of 610 kg. Lovishdev Singh Jamal of Jammu and Kashmir (total lift 557.5 kg) and Chandesh Kumar of Uttar Pradesh (total lift 517.5 kg) bagged the second and third positions.

Earlier, Art, Culture and Youth Affairs Minister, Renu Devi inaugurated the championships. Dipali Nandi, secretary, Bihar Strength Lifting Association (BSLA) welcomed the guests while Raj Kumar Sharma, treasurer, BSLA proposed a vote of thanks. Babul Vikas, president, Indian Strength Lifting Federation, presided over the function.

Bihar Police out of Patna Super Division football league title race

Patna, August 7, 2009
Defending champions Bihar Police failed to qualify for the semifinals of the SP Sinha memorial Patna Super Division football league at Patna High School ground here on Friday.

Needing a big win against Civil Audit Recreation Club, Bihar Police managed to play a goalless draw only to see them out of title race. With this win Civil Audit moved into the semifinals.

Bihar Police have so far played 12 matches, won seven, lost four and drew one and collected 21 points. Civil Audit Club played ten matches, won eight, lost one and drew one.

The result of the today’s match, however, proved to be a boon for FCI as they made it to the semifinals.

Ranjit Kumar Verma of Civil Audit Club was shown red card by referee Umesh Prasad Singh. Now, Ranjit will sit out in next match of the Civil Audit Club.

Ganauri Das chess: Ashutosh, Krishna Prasad earn full points

Patna, August 7, 2009
Ashutosh, Vijay, Kunal, Krishna Prasad and Ved Prakash Sinha faced no worthwhile resistance to win their second round in the Ganauri Das memorial chess tournament at the RBI premises here on Friday.

Results (after second round):
Kunal (2) beat Apreshwar Kapish (1); Ved Prakash Sinha (2) beat Anjani Kant Sinha (1); Ashutosh (2) beat Anuj Kumar (1); Vijay Kumar (2) beat Ashwani Arya (1); Krishna Prasad (2) beat Ashish Raj (1); Rajesh Kumar Sinha (2) beat Praveen Kumar (1); Ravindra Kumar (2) beat Nandan Kumar (1); Nilesh Shankar (2) beat Kumar Sambhav (1); Rishi Shankar (2) beat Usha Arya (1); Abdul Hasib (2) beat Mantoo Kumar (1); Aditi Arya (2) beat Rajnish Kumar Singhhh (1) and Akhauri Harshit (2) beat Raja (1).

Ara to host Bihar U-15 chess from August 10

Patna, August 7, 2009
Dr Shail Kumari memorial Bihar state under-15 (boys and girls) chess championships will be held at Ara from August 10, according to Arvind Kumar Sinha, secretary, All Bihar Chess Association.
Top four finishers of boys and girls sections will represent Bihar in the National under-15 chess championship to be held in Kerala. Birendra Upadhyay has been appointed chief arbiter.

Archery World Cup Stage IV: Talukdar qualifies for Copenhagen finals

Kolkata, August 7, 2009
Jayanta Talukdar confirmed his status as No. 1 in the World Cup ranking and qualified for the finals on September 26 at Copenhagen despite an early exit from the World Cup archery (Stage IV) at Shanghai on Friday (August 7). Otherwise, it was a disappointing day for the Indians in the individual recurve section. None made it beyond pre-quarterfinals of a tournament billed as the last competition before the prestigious 45th World Championship coming up in South Korea in early September.

According to information reached here, Talukdar, winner of the second leg of the four-leg World Cup series at Porec, accumulated 45 points to lead two more, Simon Terry of Great Britain (43 points) and Romain Girouille of France (36), in to the finals that promises $ 20,000 as first prize, $10,000 as second prize, $ 5,000 as third prize and $1,000 as fourth prize.

This was the second entry for the Guwahati-born Tata Steel employee in to the finals of World Cup. He had qualified for the 2006 finals where he finished last.

Dola Banerjee was the first Indian to win the prestigious title in 2007 at Dubai.

Talukdar and Rahul Banerjee failed to bury the Korean bogey as Mangal Singh Champia seemed to be struggling with form. The story in the ladies side too was not encouraging. Best ranked Indian Rimil Buriuly lost in the pre-quarterfinals while Dola, increasingly struggling to find form and consistency, fell in the second round. Rookie Pratima Boro and Reena Kumari lost in the opening rounds to complete the Indians’ tale of woe.

Tenth-ranked Talukdar failed to see eye to eye with world champion Im Dong Hyun of Korea and went down 105-114. Seeded 18th Rahul Banerjee fell to second-seeded Korean Lee Chang-Hwan 107-113. Eight-seeded Romain Girouille of France beat 24-th ranked Champia 108-106.

Mariana Avitia of Mexico put out Reena Kumari in the first round at 94-98. Pratima lost to Malgarzata Cwienczek of Poland 101-103, also in the first round. Dola Banerjee was beaten by Aida Roman of Mexico 106-110 in the second and Aida ousted Rimil in the pre-quarterfinals, 106-110.

Source: Press release from Indian Archery Association

Ganauri Das memorial chess tournament: Seeded players post easy wins

Patna, August 6, 2009
Seeded players won their respective first round matches in the Ganauri Das memorial chess tournament that began at the RBI, Patna, premises here on Thursday.

Notable winners in first round were Kunal, Ved Prakash Sinha, Ashutosh Kumar and Vijay Kumar.

Earlier, MS Soy, general manager, RBI, Patna, inaugurated the tournament. Rajeev Ranjan, secretary, Reserve Bank of India Sports and Recreation Club welcomed the guests and DK Tripathi proposed a vote of thanks. Pramod Kumar, secretary, RBI Employees Association, Arvind Kumar Sinha, secretary, All Bihar Chess Association and Manoj Ranjan were present at the inaugural function.

Results (after first round):
Kunal (1) beat Vindyavashini Kumar (0); Ved Prakash Sinha (1) beat Devesh Kumar (0); Ashutosh Kumar (1) beat Ganesh Kumar (0); Vijay Kumar (1) beat Himanshu Harsh (0); Krishna Prasad (1) beat Jitendra Kumar (0); Rajesh Kumar Sinha (1) beat Krishna Prasad Singh (0); Kumar Sambhav (1) beat Vicky Vishal (0); Nandan Kumar (1) beat Kumar Vishesh (0); Rishi Shankar (1) beat Manish Kumar (0); Mantoo Kumar (1) beat Abhishek Kumar (0); Aditi Arya (1) beat Mohit Raj (0); Praveen Kumar (1) beat Akhauri Sakshi (0); Akhauei Vinit (1) beat Pirtosh Kumar (0); Swapan (1) beat Sadashiv Kumar (0); Akhauri Harshit (1) beat PN Prasad (0) and Ravindra Kumar (1) beat Amit Kumar.

Photo caption: MS Soy, general manager, RBI, Patna, inaugurates Ganauri Das memorial chess tournament in Patna on August 6, 2009.

Neeraj named technical official for World badminton

Patna, August 6, 2009
Neeraj Kumar of Bihar has been nominated technical official for the World badminton championship to be held Hyderabad from August 10, according to KN Jaiswal, secretary, Bihar Badminton Association.

Neeraj, a former national player, did his job as a technical official in the ninth Asian Games (1982) and several National Games earlier.

Patna inter-school badminton championships: Notre Dame Academy win senior girls' title

Patna, August 6, 2009
Notre Dame Academy stamped their authority claiming the senior girls’ team championship title in the Patna district inter-school badminton championship at the Secretariat badminton Hall here on Thursday.

Notre Dame Academy beat Delhi Public School (DPS) 2-0 in the last league match of the team championship to clinch the crown.

However, DPS girls won the junior girls’ team tile beating Bihar Bal Bhavan Kilkari 2-0.

In the senior boys’ team event final, DPS will take on DAV School, Walmi. In the semi-finals, DPS crushed Holy Mission School 2-0 and DAV School, Walmi beat Patna Central School 2-0.
DAV Public School, BSEB Colony and DPS won their respective matches to earn full points.

Results:
Senior girls’ team event: Notre Dame Academy beat DPS 2-0 (Sukriti beatRiti Raj 21-16, 21-3, Sukriti and Gloria beat Puja and Jasnoor 21-7, 21-11).

Junior girls’ team event: DPS beat Bihar Bal Bhawan, Kilkari 2-0 (Priya Agrawal beat Juli Kumari 21-8, 21-5, Akanchha and Payal beat Juli and Sonam 21-6, 21-10).

Junior boys’ team event: DAV, Board Colony, beat DPS 2-1 (Abhijit Raj beat Aditya Chandra 21-16, 19-21, 21-18, Akanchhadeep beat Priyanka Agrawal 21-18, 18-21, 19-21, Aakashdeep and Abhijit Raj beat Aditya and Priyanka 21-9, 21-8).
Loyala High School beat Bihar Bal Bhawan, Kilkari 2-0 (Sonal beat Kartik Kumar 21-4, 21-3, Saurav and Gautam beat Mohit Kumar and Sanjay Kumar 21-14, 21-13).
DPS beat Bihar Bal Bhawan, Kilkari 2-0 (Prakhar beat Mohit Kumar 21-6, 21-3, Prakhar and Aditya beat Kartik and Sanjay Kumar 21-6, 21-4).

Senior boys' team event: DPS beat Holy Misson School 2-0 (Shikhar Kumar beat Pawan Kumar Singh 21-19, 21-19, Shubham and Navkesh beat Mayank and Pawan 21-9, 21-10).
DAV (Valmi) beat Patna Central School 2-0 (Kundan Kumar Sinha beat Shashikant 21-9, 21-5, Kundan and Abhijit Raj beat Raunak and Shashikant 21-10, 21-17)

Patna Super Division football league: BRC annihilate Secretariat 9-0

Patna, August 6, 2009
Bihar Regimental Centre, Danapur, kept their slate clean trouncing Secretariat 9-0 in the SP Sinha memorial Patna Super Division soccer league at the Patna High School ground while Police Boys’ Club edged past Rainbow 3-1 at Gandhi Maidan here on Thursday.

BRC shot to a commanding 8-0 lead in the first half.

Jitan Lohar (two), RK Mahto (two), Dil Bahadur Thapa (one), Binod Lohar (one), Chinna Marandi (one), Jinnah Marandi (one) and Rajnish Kumar (one) struck for the winners. BRC so far have collected 21 points in seven matches.

Uttam Kumar drew the first blood for Police Boys’ Club in the 23rd minute (1-0). Shahabuddin Khan increased the margin in the 33rd minute (2-0). D Handa reduced the score in the 47th minute (2-1). Praveen Kumar completed the tally in the 74th minute (3-1).

Vikas Kumar and Vidya Kant Singh of Rainbow Club and Uttam Kumar of Police Boys’ Club were shown the yellow cards by referee Kailash Prasad for rough play.

World Cup Archery (Stage IV): Rimil, Dola excel as Indian women too finish third

Kolkata, August 6, 2009:
Excellent show by Rimil Buriuly and Dola Banerjee, propelled the Indian women’s recurve team to the third place behind world champion Korea and Russia in the World Cup archery (Stage IV) at Shanghai on Thursday.

According to information reached here, the trio enabled India score a total of 3974 points to be placed behind Korea (4100) and Russian Federation (4007). India will meet 14th-ranked Kazakhstan in the first round of the team elimination on Saturday.

The 18-year-old Rimil from Jamshedpur proved to be the toast of the Indian team. The Tata Archery Academy cadet totalled 1344 points from the FITA round qualification to achieve a sixth rank. Junior international and a team silver medal winner at the 2008 youth world championship in Turkey, Rimil came into the senior side early this year as the fourth member of the Indian side and toured Dominican Republic for the first World Cup.

Rimil shot 334 points over the 70m distance and was surprised to find herself placed second overall behind Korean Yun Ok-Hee (336). The Korean, however, set a world record in the next distance – 60m – with a score of 353 which bettered her compatriot Kim Yu-Mi’s score of 351 set in 2004.

Veteran Dola Banerjee was placed 11th overall with a score of 1331 and the Railway employee emerged the fifth best in the 30m distance with a score of 353. Rookie Pratima Boro was all nerves and failed to live up to her potential and finished 31st with a total of 1299. The fourth member, Reena Kumari, was one place behind with 1298.

FITA round qualifications were held over four distances – 70m, 60, 50 and 30m – with each archer allowed to shoot 36 arrows over each distance for a total of 144 arrows.
Source: Press release from Indian Archery Association.

Patna district badminton: DPS, Patna Central School enter senior boys' team semifinals

Patna, August 5, 2009:
Delhi Public School, Patna Central School, Holy Mission School and DAV School (Walmi) booked their berths into the senior boys’ team championships semifinals of the Patna district and inter-school badminton championships at the Seceratarait Badminto Hall here on Wednesday.

In the senior girls’ team event, Notre Dame Academy started their campaign in style beating Don Bosco Academy 2-0.

Earlier, Bihar Government’s Urban Development secretary Deepak Kumar inaugurated the week-long event in simple but colourful function. Former MLC Rakesh Ranjan and Deepak Kumar were also introduced to the players. Patna District Badminton Association (PDBA) secretary Badri Kumar Rastogi welcomed the guests while Balram Prasad, advisor, PDBA, proposed a vote of thanks.

Results:
Senior boys’ team event (quarter-finals): Delhi Public School beat St. Paul High School 2-0 (Shikhar beat Kiran Singh 21-6, 21-9; Shikhar and Navkhaj beat Amit and Abhishek Raj 21-8, 21-7).
Holy Mission beat Don Bosco Academy 2-0 (Satya Prakash beat Rahul Kumar 21-10, 17-21, 21-11; Satya Prakash and Mayank Kumar beat Rahul and Piyush 21-9, 21-9).

DAV Walmi beat Himalyan Public School 2-0 (Kundan Kumar beat Abhinav 21-05, 21-01; Abhijeet and Kundan beat Ranjan and Gandhi 21-8, 21-05).

Patna Central School beat DPS 'B' 2-1 (Shashi Kant beat Aarshi Anand 21-16, 14-21, 21-16; Shashi Kant and Rounak beat Shahil and Sagar 16-21, 21-10, 16-21; Rounak Kumar beat Sagar 21-14, 21-14).

Senior girls’ team event league round:
Notre Dame Academy beat Don Bosco Academy 2-0 (Shyima Mahmood beat Ankita 21-12, 21-18; Sukriti and Galariya beat Manisha and Tanya 21-4, 21-4).

DPS beat Don Bosco Academy 2-0 (Jasnoor beat Manisha 21-11, 21-8; Jasnoor and Puja beat Tanya and Akansha 21-3, 21-7).

Junior girls’ team event:
DPS beat St Paul Academy 2-0 (Payal Kumari beat Shilpi Kumari 22-20, 21-16; Riya Agrawal and Shubhi beat Shilpi Kumari and Neha Kumari 21-17, 21-12).

Photo caption: Players are being introduced to Bihar Government's Urban Development secretary Deepak Kumar at the inauguraton of Patna district and inter-school badminton championships at Secertariat badminton hall in Patna on August 5, 2009.

Photo: Aftab Alam Siddiqui

Archery World Cup (Stage IV) at Shanghai: Inconsistency hits Indian men’s recurve team

Kolkata, August 5, 2009
Indian men’s recurve trio of Jayanta Talukdar, Rahul Banerjee and Mangal Singh Champia seems to have hit a mild trough in their form in the World Cup archery (Stage IV) which began at Shanghai (China) on Wednesday.

The Indian team for the first time finished third overall in four World Cup meets and the best individual placing was 10th by Jayanta Talukdar with a total of 1324 points in the FITA qualification round.

The trio gave India a total of 3941 points which placed the country third overall behind Korea (4044) and France (3953). By virtue of the third place, India’s first round opponent in the team event will be Ukraine which finished 14th overall.

Rahul Banerjee finished 18th with a total of 1313 and Champia was placed 24th with 1304 points.

Oh Jin Hyek of Korea topped the individual qualifier with 1366 points. Lee Chang Hwan, also of Korea, was second with 1351 and Chen Wenyuan of China was third with 1338.

Talukdar, who is all set to qualify for the four-man World Cup finals at Copenhagen in Denmark on September 26, had qualified to the meet proper by finishing 12th at Santo Domingo, second at Porec and sixth at Antalya in the previous three meets. Banerjee had ended first, seventh and third respectively while Champia had stood second, sixth and 19th in the previous three tournaments' qualifiers.

In the FITA round qualifier at Shanghai’s Yuan Shen Stadium, Talukdar did badly in the 50m event finishing 42nd (321/360) while occupying fourth (315) in the 90m, eighth (333) in the 70m and sixth (355) in the 30m events. His poor show in the 50m event obviously dragged him down to overall 10th.

Banerjee excelled in the 70m occupying fifth position (335) and seventh in the 50m event (334). He, however, did not measure up in the 90m where he was placed 38th (296) and 40th in 30m (348).

Champia, who was the lone male from India to qualify for the Beijing Olympics, has been slipping in each meet. At Antalya he was 19th overall and at Shanghai he went down further in ranking to 24th. He was 36th in 90m (297), 10th in 70m (333), forty-ninth in 50m (319) and eighth in 30m (355). Had form played true, India would have stayed at second spot in the team standings.

The third place finish in the team event meant the Indian team would be drawn at the bottom half of the draw thus avoiding meeting top seed and favourite Korea before the final.

The Indian men's team had won gold medals at the Santo Domingo and Porec World Cup meets and a silver medal at Antalya.

The four Indian women recurve archers, Rimil Buriuly, Dola Banerjee, Pratima Boro and Reena Kumari, will be seen in action on Thursday (August 6). The first three will form the Indian team. Reena will compete only in the individual event.
India is participating only in recurve section.

Source: Press release from Indian Archery Association

Kumar Gaurav, Akansha win Bihar state under-13 chess titles

Patna, August 4, 2009
Kumar Gaurav of Purnia won the Bihar State under-13 chess championships title here on Tuesday. At the end of sixth and final round play Kumar Gaurav won a lightning match against Saurav Kumar of Muzaffarpur to emerge the top at the Youth Hostel Hall.

Akansha of Saharsa with four points claimed the girls’ title.

In the boys’ section, Kumar Gaurav and Saurav Kumar of Muzaffarpur were tied at 5.5 points. The two players had also earned equal progressive points at the end of the sixth and final round.

Chief referee Rakesh Ranjan arranged a lightning match to decide the champion in which Kumar Gaurav beat Saurav Kumar.

Surabhi Kumari of Muzaffarpur claimed the second position in the girls’ section.

Diljit Khanna, managing director, Siddartha Advertising, gave away the prizes. Arvind Kumar Sinha, secretary, All Bihar Chess Association, Anis Bari and Ashok Kumar were present at the prize distribution function. Rakesh Ranjan welcomed the guests and Sudhir Kumar Mishra, organizing secretary, proposed a vote of thanks.

Final standings
Boys:
1. Kumar Gaurav, Purnia (5.5, 20.0)
2. Saurav Kumar, Muzaffarpur (5.5, 20.0)
3. Saurabh Anand, Purnia (4.5, 17.5)
4. Ayush Anand, Patna (4.5, 16.5)
5. Akhuori Harshit, Patna (.4, 16.0)
6. Gaurav Kumar, Muzaffarpur (4, 15.5)
7. Siddhartha Khanna, Patna (4, 15.0)
8. Samer Sengar, Chapra (4, 5.0)
9. Amit Ranjan, Muzaffarpur (4, 15.0)
10. Shail, Muzaffarpur (4,14.5)
Girls
1. Aakasha, Saharsa (4, 14.0)
2. Surbhi Kumari, Muzaffarpur (4, 13.0)
3. Kumari Shristi, Patna (4, 12.0)
4. Shristi Gautam, Patna (4, 11.0)
5. Srija, Muzaffarpur (3, 11.0)
6. Preyashi Raj, Muzaffarpur (3, 9.0)
7. Neeta Kumari, Purnia (3, 9.0)
8. Adit Aditya, Patna (3, 7.0)
9. Akchita Kumari, Darbhanga (3, 7.0)
10. Aditi Arya, Patna (2, 8.0).

Photo caption: Top three finishers of Bihar state under-13 chess championships display their trophies and certificates in Patna on August 4, 2009.

Photo: Aftab Alam Siddiqui

Patna Super Division football league: Raj Milk crush Bihar Police to move into semifinals

Patna, August 4, 2009
Raj Milk avenged the last year’s Super Division league final defeat against Bihar Police. In a crucial match here on Tuesday, Raj Milk thrashed Bihar Police 3-0 to make their way into the semifinals of the SP Sinha memorial Patna Super Division football league.

Raj Milk have so far collected 23 points I 10 matches with seven win, one loss and two draws while Bihar Police earned 21 points in 11 matches with seven win, one loss and three draws.

In another match of the day Bihar State Electricity board crush Kzanchi Road 3-0.

In the field it was a day of hat-tricks. Sayedee of Raj Milk Football Club andBhuvneshwar Prasad of Bihar State Electricity Board (BSEB) scored magnificent hat-tricks in their sides’ big win.
Sayedee drew opened the account in the 28th minute (1-0). After brather, he increased themargin in the 54th minute (2-0). Sayedee completed his coveted hat-trick in the 85th minute off a spot kick (3-0).

In the second match at Gandhi Maidan, Bhuvneshwar shot home in the 29th, 38th and 76th minutes to complete the hat-trick.

Bihar U-13 chess: Gaurav, Saurav in joint lead

Patna, August 3, 2009:
Kumar Gaurav of Purnia and Saurav Kumar of Muzaffarpur shot into joint lead with four points each at the end of fourth round’s play in the boys’ section of the Bihar state under-13 chess championship at the Youth Hostel here on Monday.

In the girls’ section, Akasha of Saharsa and Surbhi Kumari of Muzaffarpur emerged joint leaders with three points each at the end of as many rounds.

Results:
Boys’ (after fourth round): Kumar Gaurav (4) beat Saurav Anand (3); Saurav Kumar (4) beat Akhauri Harshit (3); Siddharth Khanna (3) beat Anubhav Shresht (2); Ayush Anand (3) beat Bhashkar Mehta (2); Kushagra Divyam (3) beat Kumar Harsh (2); Samir Langer (3) beat Sudhanshu Kumar (2); Amit Ranjan (3) beat Sumit Saurav (2) and Gaurav Kumar (3) beat Ashish Ranjan (1.5).

Girls’ (after third round): Surbhi Kumari (3) beat Kumari Shrusti (2); Akasha (3) beat Surja (2); Shrusti Gautam (2) beat Ankita Sharma (1); Aditi Aditya (2) beat Shreyashi Raj (1); Smirti (2) beat Riya Singh (1); Aditi Arya (2) beat Akshita Kumari (1) and Suyashi Pathak (1) drew with Divyani Pathak (1).

25th All-India Sukhdeo Narain inter-school cricket to begin in October

Patna, August 2, 2009:
BP Sinha Foundation will orgainse the 25th All-India Sukhdeo Narain memorial inter-school cricket tournament here in October, according to Bijoy Kumar Narain Cunnu, organising secretary and CEO of the foundation.

The organization is planning to host the silver jubilee edition of the championships in a grand manner.
The last date for entry is September 6, 2009. Entry forms are available at Luv-Kush Tower, Exhibition Road, Patna, till August 30.

St Xavier's School to host inter-school table tennis championships from August 18

Patna, August 2, 2009:
St Xavier’s High School, Patna, will organise Xavier inter-school table tennis tournament at their campus from August 18, according to Father George Nedumattam, principal of the school.

He said that the tournament was recognized by the Bihar Table Tennis Association. The last date of entry is August 16.

Kumar Club clinch BP Sinha Cricket Trophy

Patna, August 2, 2009
Kumar Club clinched the fifth BP Sinha memorial cricket trophy defeating YCA by two runs in the final at the Patna High School ground here on Sunday.

Batting first, Kumar Club scored 147 all out off 19.2 overs. Rupak Kumar scored bulk of the runs. He slammed a quick-fire 72 runs. Animesh Sharma took six wickets for 18 runs.

In reply, YCA missed the target by just two runs after being all out of 145 off 19.2 overs. Vipesh (36), Ranjan (24) and Abhishek (23) contributed well for YCA. Badrinath captured three wickets for 23 runs.

Animesh Sharma of YCA, who claimed six wickets for 18 runs, was declared man of the match. Sushant (YCA) and Badrinath (Kumar Club) were adjudged best batsman and best bowler respectively. Kamlesh Kumar and Kislay Kishore Sharma were declared best wicketkeeper and promising player, respectively. Anjani Kumar Sinha distributed the prizes.

Brief scores:
Kumar Club: 147 all out in 19.2 overs (Rupak Kumar-72, Ranjan-11, Kamlesh-11, Animesh Sharma-6/18, Abhishek-1/16).
YCA: 145 all out in 19.2 overs (Vipesh-36, Ranjan-24, Abhishek-23, Badrinath-3/23, Amit-2/ 0, Abhinav-1/20).

Patna Super Division football league: BRC, BSEB earn full points

Patna, August 2, 2009:
Bihar Regimental Centre (BRC) outclassed Bihar Police 2-0 while Bihar State Electricity Board beat Raibow 3-1 in the SP Sinha memorial Patna Super Division football league here.

At Gandhi Maidan, Bihar Regimental Centre took the 1-0 lead in the 11th minute of the match as B Thapa struck home. BRC were leading one goal to nil at the end of the first half’s play.

In the 67th minute of the second half, Jeetan Lohar netted the second and final goal of the match (2-0).

At Patna High School ground, Sunil (17th) and Imtyaz (27th) put BSEB 2-0 up in the first half. Pankaj Kumar struck the third goal in the 63rd minute. Vilas Kumar reduced the margin for Rainbow.

Earlier on Saturday, Bihar Police earned full points against Khazanchi Road Football Club despite the match was declared abandoned after nine minutes of play. At that time both teams were locked goalless.

Referee took the decision in Bihar Police favour as Khazanchi Road failed to field required number of players in the given time. The match began on a dull note. Khazanchi Road Club entered the ground with eight players against Bihar Police. After five minutes of play, one player of the Khazanchi Road Club got injured and he had to leave the ground. The Club continued the game with seven players.

In the ninth minute, another player of the Khazanchi Road Club was injured and left the ground. Referee Manoj Kumar had no alternative only to blow the final whistle.

Union Sports Minister Gill urges states to avail maximum assistance under PYKKA

New Delhi, August 3, 2009
Union Youth Affairs and Sports Minister Dr M. S. Gill on Monday called upon the states to avail themselves of maximum assistance under Panchayat Yuva Krida Aur Khel Abhiyan (PYKKA) and provide the higher budgetary support to sport in their respective state budgets.

The Minister was addressing the Conference of the State Ministers of Youth Affairs and Sports held here today. Dr Gill highlighted the recent initiatives taken by the Government of India to recognise and reward excellence in sport and provide assistance to states for the promotion of Sports for All. Pratik Prakashbapu Patil, Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports was also attended the conference.

On the larger issue of central assistance for urban sports infrastructure, Dr. Gill assured the states that he would take up the matter of introducing a centrally sponsored scheme for urban sports infrastructure with both the Planning Commission and the Finance Ministry. He assured early action with regard to expansion of NYKS to remaining 122 districts.

Dr Gill expressed confidence that with the joint effort of the Centre and states, India could take full advantage of the huge dividend it enjoys on account of its large and growing youth population, which can be productively used not only for sports development but also for national development through participation of youth in the national building process.

Appreciating the State Ministers for their active participation in the conference, Dr Gill acknowledged the valuable inputs provided by them. He assured the States that their suggestions with regard to allowing greater flexibility in implementing PYKKA scheme would receive serious consideration and the existing provisions/guidelines will be modified to that extent. With regard to deployment of SAI coaches to states, he stated that their request would be considered favourably.

In the Conference, the issues on the sport side that were discussed includes PYKKA; discharge of committed liabilities under the erstwhile sports infrastructure schemes; setting up of an institutional mechanism for playing fields; Sports Authority of India’s (SAI) activities at the national, state and district level; and the newly introduced scheme to promote sports and games among disabled. The main issues discuss on the youth side included expansion of Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS) to remaining 122 districts, formulation of a new scheme for creating voluntary National Youth Corps and expansion of Youth Hostels.

During the discussion, the State Ministers expressed overwhelming support for the newly introduced scheme of PYKKA and informed about the progress made in the implementation of scheme in their respective State. Several useful suggestions were made on PYKKA, which included flexibility in choosing Pancahayat level Implementing Agency (PLIA), composition of state, district and block level committees, financial assistance towards travel costs in connection with participation in sports competitions under the scheme, grant of financial assistance to meet the administrative expenses on the implementation of the scheme, flexibility in the number of disciplines to be covered at block and district level competitions, higher level coverage in respect of North-Eastern and Hilly States, higher level of funding in hilly areas, financial assistance for training of Kridashrees, enhancement in the honorarium to Kridashrees. A few states cited the non-availability of open space in rural areas as a major constraint in the implementation of the scheme.

All the States unanimously supported the initiative of setting up the National Playing field Association of India and assured of similar action at the state level. A large number of States also conveyed their intent to protect playing fields through appropriate legislation, if required.

With regard to SAI activities, all the States demanded higher deployment of SAI coaches, opening of more SAI centres and access of SAI centre to local population.

While appreciating the positive action taken by Government of India with regard to discharge of committed liabilities in respect of sports infrastructure projects sanctioned under the erstwhile Sports Infrastructure Scheme, the States unanimously demanded the restoration and introduction of Sports Infrastructure Schemes to help States develop urban sports infrastructure, to provide the urban youth with the access to playing facilities and organised competitions.

All the States supported the initiative taken with regard to scheme of introduction to promoted sports and games among disabled.

On the Youth side, all the States were unanimous in their demand for early expansion of NYKS to the remaining 122 districts. The States expressed their willingness to make available officers on deputation to run these centres, if required. Most states also express the need of greater number of youth hostels.

The States gave positive feedback on the concept note circulated with regard to formation of National Youth Corps and also assured to submit their inputs for taking the proposal forward.
Source: Press release from Ministry Youth Affairs & Sports

Patna Super Divsion football league: FCI prove too strong for Secretariat

Patna, July 31, 2009
Food Corporation of India (FCI) scored a thumping 5-0 win over Secretariat Sports Club while Patna Police struggled to beat Raibow 2-1 in the SP Sinha memorial Patna Super Division soccer league here on Friday.

At Patna High School ground, FCI were leading 1-0 in the first half.

FCI mounted pressure from the very start of the match with their halves feeding the strikers well. Manoj opened the account in the 20th minute (1-0). After conceding a goal, Secretariat players played some brilliant football but failed equalize the score.

FCI came into full colour in the second half and scored four more goals to take the tally to 5-0. Manoj increased the margin in the 60th minute (2-0). Makai Lal hit the third goal in the 70th minute (3-0). Ten minutes later, Kaila netted in the fourth goal (4-0). Ajay completed the tally in the 87th minute (5-0).

FCI so far had played 10 matches, won seven and lost three. Secretariat out of ten matches drew one and lost nine.In the second match at Gandhi Maidan, Sohail Khan put Patna Police into the lead in the fifth minute (1-0). Pradeep Oraon increased the margin in the 60th minute (2-0). Jai Singh reduced the margin for Rainbow in the 61st minute (2-1).

Photo caption: FCI and Secretariat players fight for the ball during their Patna Super Division football league match in Patna on July 31, 2009.

Photo: Aftab Alam Siddiqui

DPS, Patna clinch school football trophy

Patna, July 30, 2009

Delhi Public School (DPS), Patna, clinched the inter-school football tournament trophy beating Don Bosco Academy 2-0 in the final at the St Michael’s High School ground here on Thursday.

DPS took the commanding 2-0 lead in the first half.

DPS boys played an attacking and calculated football in the first half of the match. Anurag Kumar shot home in the 31st minute to put his team into a 1-0 lead. Anurag Pratik completed the tally in the 50th minute scoring second goal (2-0).

Sudhir Prasad, senior branch manager, LIC, Danapur, distributed the prizes. Father Peter Arockiasamy, Principal, St Michael’s School welcomed the guests.

Abhijeet Kaushik of DPS, Patna was adjudged the best scorer of the tournament. Vaibhav of Don Bosco Academy and Sansu Kumar of St Michael’s High School were declared best goalkeeper and player of the tournament respectively.

Photo caption: DPS (Patna) and Don Bosco Academy players pose for a group photograph in Patna on July 30, 2009.

Photo: Aftab Alam Siddiqui

Patna Super Division football league: SBI shock Bihar Police

Patna, July 30, 2009:
State Bank of India (SBI) shocked Bihar Police 2-1 while Police Boys Club outplayed Bihar State Electricity Board (BSEB) 2-0 in the SP Sinha memorial Patna Super Division soccer league here on Thursday.

At Patna High School ground, Navin Thapa shot home in the 4oth minute to put Bihar Police into the lead. Md Kaiser equalized the lead for SBI in the 48th minute. Manoj Kumar struck the winning goal in the 54th minute.


At Gandhi Maidan, Police Boys Club and BSEB were locked goalless in the first half.

Shahbuddin Khan opened the account for Police Boys in the 70th minute while Uttam Kumar made it 2-0 in the 75th minute. Mohan Kumar of Police Boys and Shyamdev of BSEB were shown yellow cards.

Patna badminton from August 5

Patna, July 30, 2009
Patna district badminton championship and Patna district inter-school championship would be held at the Secretariat badminton hall here from August 5, according to Badri Kumar Rastogi, secretary, Patna District Badminton Association.

The Patna district team for the Bihar State championship will be selected on the basis of during the championships. The last date for entry is August 2, he added.

Patna Super Division football league: Contrasting wins for Raj Milk and Patna Police

Patna, July 29, 2009:
Raj Milk chalked out fluent 5-1 win over Food Corporation of India (FCI) while Patna Police fought hard to beat Bihar State Electricity Board (BSEB) 1-0 in the SP Sinha memorial Patna Super Division football league here.

The match began in a sordid note for Raj Milk as defender Saroj Kumar Singh struck a suicidal goal in the 9th minute of the game off a pass from Govinda.

After gifting a goal to FCI, Raj Milk players played like a cohesive unit with perfect attacking plan. Raj Milk bounced back to bring the equalizer off a spot kick taken by Afzal in the 20th minute, Syedi made it 2-1 in the 30th minute. First half ended at 2-1 for Raj Milk.

Sulabh Rana struck twice in the second half (63rd and 73rd minutes) and Shahbaz in the 66rd minute to take the final tally to 5-1.

The second half of the game saw some rough play from both the sides. Amit Kumar of FCI was shown the door with red card while Rajan Kumar of the same team got the yellow card. Ola of Raj Milk too received a yellow card.

In the second match at the Patna High School ground, Pradeem Oraon netted the match winner for Patna Police in the 68th minute.

Photo caption: Patna Police and BSEB players in action during their Patna Super Division football league at Patna High School ground on July 29, 2009.
Photo: Aftab Alam Siddiqui

Don Bosco Academy take on DPS (Patna) in inter- school soccer final

Patna, July 29, 2009:
Don Bosco Academy will take on Delhi Public School (DPS, Patna) in the final of the Inter-School football tournament at the St Michael’s School ground here.

In the semi-finals, Don Bosco Academy prevailed over St Michael’s School ‘A’ 4-3 via sudden death while DPS, Patna beat Loyola High School 2-1 after an engrossing 90-minute tussle.

Don Bosco Academy and St Michael’s School played 1-1 draw at the end of regulation time.

Delhi Public School boys took lead in the througha Abhijeet Kartk goal in the 10th minute. Ratnesh brought the equalizer in the 24th minute for Loyola High School. Abhay Kumar put DPS into the lead in the 24th minute (2-1).

DPS were leading 2-1 at the end of the first half. The second half saw Loyola boys pressed hard for the equalizer but poor finish came to their way. DPS boys changed the game plan and concentrated more on to defend their citadel.