15 Bihar athletes to represent East Zone

Patna, August 22, 2010: Fifteen athletes from Bihar will represent East Zone in the 22nd National inter-zonal athletic championships to be held at Guntur from September 3, according to a Press release of the Bihar Athletic Association.

Athlets are; Ashutosh Kumar, Anjani Kumar, Kundan Kumar, Prem Prakash Gupta, Santosh Kumar Yadav, Pramila Bag, Shilpa Kumari, Sarista Mandal, Putul Sarkar, Veena Kumari, Anand Kishore, mantosh Kumar, Raushan Kumar, Shintu Kumar and Monu Kumar. Sanjay Kumar Singh (coach, Bihar Police) and Vinay Krishna (manager, Rohtas).

Apresh Ghosh TT: Aditya Umang wins cadet boys' singles title

Patna, August 23, 2010: Aditya Umang won the cadet boys’ singles title shocking top seed Ayush Adarsh 11-6, 6-11, 11-8, 9-11 and 11-9 in the Apresh Ghosh memorial table tennis championships at the Bihar Young Men’s Institute here on Sunday.

Aditya also clinched the doubles crown when pairing with Rohan he beat the pair of Amit and Saurav 11-8, 11-6, 9-11, 9-11 and 8-11.

In the sub-junior boys’ singles, Amit Kumar, Saurav Kumar, Gouresh Nishad and Yash Anand advanced into the semi-finals. Arohi Utkarsh, Ankit Kumar, Piyush D Gandhi and Rahul Prakash entered the semi-finals of the junior boys’ singles event.

Results: Sub-junior boys’ singles (quarter-finals): Amit Kumar bt Mit 11-4, 11-5, 11-6; Yash Anand bt Ayush Adarsh 11-6, 11-8, 11-9; Gouresh Nishad bt Gagan Nir 11-6, 11-8, 9-11, 11-8 and Saurav Kumar bt Rohan Kumar 11-6, 8-11, 11-9, 9-11 and 11-8.

Junior boys’ singles (quarter-finals): Arohi Utkarsh bt Rohan Kumar 11-6, 11-8, 11-7; Ankit Kumar bt Gouresh Nishad 11-6, 11-7, 11-8; Piyush D Gandhi bt Yash Anand 6-11, 11-8, 11-9, 11-8 and Rahu Prakash bt Vedant Patwari 11-7, 11-8, 9-11,7-11 and 11-6.

Saharsa girl Akasha is Bihar sub-jr chess champ

Patna, August 22, 2010: Saharsa girl Akasha won the 35^th Bihar sub-junior chess championships title at the Moinul Haq Stadium here on Sunday. Akasha got four points at the end of fifth and final round.

In the final round match, Akasha beat Shurti Priya of Kishanganj.

Shubham of Bhagalpur took sole lead with five points after the end of fifth round play in the boys’ section.

Results: Boys’ (after fifth round): Shubham (5) bt Rahul Raj (4); Rishi Shankar (4.5) bt Gaurav Kumar (4); Kumar Gaurav (4) bt Anurag Kumar (3); Ayush Anand (4) bt Himanshu Harsh (3); Saurav Anand (4) bt K Divyam (3); Saurav Kumar (4) bt Shivam Verma (3); Samir Sengar (4) bt Utkarsh Dev (3); Vikas Kumar Dwivedi (4) bt Vivekanand (3); Ashish Raj (3.5) bt Kumar Mayank (2.5); Manish Kumar (3.5) bt Alok Priyadarshi (2.5); Piyush Praveen (3.5) bt Aditya Devputra (2); Sidhant Gautam (3.5) drew with Anirvan Choudhary (3.5); Dilshad Ashraf (3) bt Aditya Singh Raja (2); Ishan Tarunesh (3) bt Ajit Kumar (2) and Ishan Archit (3) bt Akash Anand (2).

Girls’ (standing): 1: Akasha (4). 2: Shurti Priya (3). 3: Surbhi Kumari (3). 4: Surishti Gautam (3). 5: Soumya (2). 6: Tanuja Bharti (2). 7: Macha (2).

Six share lead in Bihar sub-junior chess

Patna, August 21, 2010: Six players shared the lead at the end of the third round of the 35th Bihar state sub-junior chess championship at the Moinul Haq Stadium here on Saturday.

Results: Boys (after third round): Shubham (3) bt Ajit Kumar (2); Rahul Raj (3) bt Anirvan Choudhary (2); Gaurav Kumar (3) bt Prince Kumar (2); Samir Sengar (3) bt SM Atif Alam (2); Utkarsh Dev (3) bt Saurav Kumar (2); Sidhant Gautam (3) bt Vikas Kumar Dwivedi (2); Ashish Raj (2.5) drew with Manish Kumar (2.5);Rishi Shankar (2.5) drew with Kumar Mayank (1.5); Ayush Anand (2) drew wih Dilshad Ashraf (2); Kumar Gaurav (2) bt Ishan Achiti (1) and Saurav Anand (20 bt Krishna Prabhat (1).

Quarter-finalists spotted in cadet boys’ singles

Patna, August 21, 2010: Quarter-finalists were spotted in the cadet boys’ singles of the Apresh Ghosh memorial table tennis tournament at the Bihar Youngh Men’s Institute (BYMI) here on Saturday.

Results: Cadet boys’ singles: (pre-quarter-finals): Ayush Adarsh bt Tushar Arora 11-6, 11-8, 11-9; Rishutosh bt Aniket Soni 11-8, 11-6, 8-11, 4-11, 11-9; Akash Kumar bt Yogesh 11-8, 11-9, 12-10; Rohan Kumar bt Abhishek Kumar 11-6, 11-8, 5-11, 11-6; Sagar Kumar bt Shreyansh 11-8, 11-3, 11-3; Ayush Anand bt Md Adnan 11-9, 11-3, 11-3; Mit bt Pratik 11-6, 11-8, 11-9 and Aditya Umang bt Akash Trivedi 8-11, 11-6, 11-9, 11-8.

Sub-junior boys’ singles (second round): Gagan Nir bt Avinash 11-8, 11-8, 115; Ayush Kumar bt Nikhil 11-8, 11-5, 11-8; Nbaid bt Chirag 8-11, 8-11, 11-7, 11-7, 11-8; Gouresh Nishad bt Sunil 11-8, 11-8, 11-9; Rohan Kumar bt Rohan Raj 11-8, 11-5, 11-9; Aniket Kumar bt Akash Kumar 11-8, 11-9, 11-7; Sanjog bt Aryan Dev 11-6, 11-8, 11-9; Saurav Kumar bt Uttam 11-8, 11-9, 6-11, 11-9; Amit Kumar bt Naman Trivedi 11-7, 11-9, 11-8; Ankit Soni bt Nilank 8-11, 5-11, 11-8, 11-8, 11-4; Akash Ansh bt Mit 11-8, 11-9, 11-8; Kumar Babul bt Shivam Anand 11-8, 11-6, 9-11, 11-6 and Shreyansh bt Tushar Arora 11-6, 11-8 and 11-9.

Bihar sub-junior chess meet begins in Patna

Patna, August 20, 2010: Top seed Ravi Shankar outplayed Ishant Tarunesh in a first round boys’ section match of the 35th Bihar state sub-junior chess championship at the Moinul Haq Stadium here on Friday.

In girls’ section match, Srishti Gautam beat Isleen Kaur while Akasha outsmarted Manya Diptam.

Earlier, Arun Kumar Sinha, MLA, Patna Central, inaugurated the championship.

Results: Boys’ first round: Ravi Shankar bt Ishant Tarunesh; Shubham Kumar bt Ishan Achiti; Rahul Raj bt Kishan Kumar; Krishna Prabhat bt Gaurav Kumar; Sidhant Gautam bt Kumar Atul Anand; Kumar Gautam bt Kushagar Divyam; Mithilesh Kumar bt Saurav Anand; Saurav Kumar bt Nazish Akhtar; Rahul Kumar bt Aditya Singh Raja; Ajit Kumar bt Raushan Kumar; Akash Anand bt Ritesh Raj and Ritik bt Akash Kaushal.

Girls (first round): Srishti Gautam bt Isleen Kaur; Akasha bt Manya Diptam; Surbhi Kumari bt Neeta Kumari; Soumya bt Antra Deep Srivsatava and Shurti Priya bt Gaurav.

Photo caption: Patna Central MLA Arun Kumar Sinha inaugurates Bihar sub-junior chess championships in Patna on August 20, 2010.

Photo: Aftab Alam Siddiqui

Sudarshi Singh shines in Apresh Ghosh TT meet

Patna, August 20, 2010: Sudarshi Singh of Litera Valley School won the cadet girls’ singles title in the Apresh Ghosh memorial table tennis tournament winning her all matches of the round-robin league at the Bihar Young Men’s Institute here on Friday.

Sourya Prabhakar was declared runner-up in the same section.

Earlier, Banarasi Prasad, former Bihar state table tennis champion inaugurated the tournament. Mukesh Roy, secretary, Bihar Table Tennis Association (BTTA) welcomed the guests.

Results: Cadet girls singles (round robin-league): Sourya Prabhakar bt Priya 11-3, 11-6, 11-7; Sudarshi Singh bt Prapti Arora 11-6, 11-2, 11-8; Sourya Prabhakar bt Prapti Arora 11-8, 6-11, 11-5, 11-8; Sudarshi Singh bt Priya 11-3, 11-3, 11-4; Sudarshi Singh bt Sourya Prabhakar 11-1, 11-2, 11-3; Priya bt Prapti Arora 11-3, 11-4, 11-6; Sudarshi Singh bt Pragati Goswami 11-3, 11-6, 11-8; Sourya Prabhakar bt Pragati Goswami 11-3, 11-6, 11-8; Prapti Arora bt Pragati Goswami 11-2, 11-4, 11-6 and Priya bt Pragati Goswami 11-6, 11-4 and 11-2.

Photo caption: Former Bihar TT champion Banarasi Prasad (left) trying his hands on the board against BTTA secretary Mukesh Roy at the inauguration of Apresh Ghosh memorial table tennis championships in Patna on August 20, 2010.

Photo: Aftab Alam Siddiqui

Bihar swimming team for Sr Nationals named

Patna, August 19, 2010: Bihar Swimming Association (BSA) announced an 11-member state team for the Senior National swimming championships to be held in Jaipur from August 24 to 28.

BSA joint secretary Prabhakar Nandan said Upemdra Kumar and Shashi Bala would be the managers for men and women teams respectively. Manoj Kumar Jha would be the coach of men team while Nanda Singh would be the coach of women team, he added.

Men: Binod Kumar (50 and 100-m breaststroke), Kundan Kumar (50-m butterfly and 200-m individual medley), Dilip Kumar (400 and 200-m freestyle), Ganeshwar Manjhi (100 and 50-m backstroke), Narendra Nishad (200-m butterfly), Aman Kumar (800, 1500-m freestyle) and Mantu Yadav (200, 100, 50m freestyles).

Women: Neha Singh (50-m backstroke and 50-m butterfly), Baby Kumari (200, 100, 50-m breaststroke).

Diving: R Mishra (1 and 3 spring board) and Sarojit Ghosh (high board and spring board).

Re-examination of BCCI Level-A Coaches' to be held in Jaipur

Patna, August 18, 2010: Rajasthan Cricket Association will host the re-examinations of BCCI Level-A Coaches’ course for the students who failed to pass earlier examination, on August 30 and 31 in Jaipur, according to a press release of Bihar Cricket Association Ad-hoc Committee.

Seven coaches of the BCA that includes Ali Rashid, Raju Vals, Navin Bhushan Sharma, Rajiv Kumar, Alok Kumar, Anil Kumar Mishra and Rajesh Kumar would appear in the examinations, the release stated.

Muzaffarpur to host sub-jr basketball trials

Patna, August 18, 2010: Selection trials of the Bihar sub-junior basketball team will be held in Muzaffarpur on August 29, according to Sushil Kumar, coordinator, Basketball Association of Bihar.

Bihar would participate in the sub-junior National basketball championships to be held in Himachal Pradesh from September 24, he added.

2nd Bihar State Major Ranking TT from August 28

Patna, August 18, 2010: The second Bihar State Major ranking table tennis championships will be held in Katihar from August 28, according to Mukesh Roy, secretary, Bihar Table Tennis Association (BTTA).

Katihar District Table Tennis Association secretary JP Sharma would be the organising secretary for the meet, he added.

Abhishek, Pallavi win chess titles

Patna, August 16, 2010: Abhishek Kumar Sonu of Muzaffarpur won the 39th Bihar state junior chess championship title at the Moinul Haq Stadium here. Pallavi Kumari of Bhagalpur won the women’s title.

Standing:

Boys: Abhishek Kuma Sonu (5 points, progressive 20). Vijay Kumar (5 points, progressive 17). Kumar Gaurav (5points, progressive 16). Nilesh Shankar (4 points, progressive 16).

Girls: Pallavi Kumari (4 points, progressive 12.5). Kumari Shristhi Gautam (4 points, progressive 12). Komolika Chakarvorty (3.5 points, progressive 11) and Saraswati Kumari (3.5 points, progressive 9.5).

Minki, Smita, Pammi share lead in Bihar state women chess championships

Patna, August 13, 2010: Three players Minki Sinha, Smita Kumari and Pammi Rani won their third round matches to take joint lead with three points each at the end of third round in Bihar State women chess championships at the Moinul Haq Stadium here on Friday.

In the Bihar state U-19 boys’ chess championships at the same venue, Rishi Shankar, Abhishek Sonu and Nilesh Shankar emerged joint leaders with three points each after the end of as many round.

Results:Women (after third round): Minki Sinha (3) bt Shristi Gautam (2); Pammi Rani (3) bt Jyoti Singh (2); Smita Kumari (3) bt Saraswati Kumari (2); Komolika (2) drew with Amrita Choudhary (2); Pallavi (2.5) bt Aditi Arya (1); Sandhya Srivastava (20 bt Nibha Ranjan (1); Soumya (2) bt Nirmala Srivsatava (1); Priya Rani (2) bt Vibha Sinha (1); Priyanka Kumari (2) bt Smita Choudhary (1); Bharti Kumari (1) bt Ritu Meha (0); Maya Diptam (1) bt Sheetal Kumari (0) and Mona Priya (1) bt Sinki Mehta (0).

U-19 boys (after third round): Rishi Shankar (3) bt Vijay Kumar (2); Abhishek Sonu (3) bt Rupesh Ranjan (2); Nilesh Ranjan (3) bt Sidhant Gautam (2); Sindhu Shekhar (2) bt Samir Sengar (2); Shubham Kumar (2) bt Samir Anand (1); Alok Priyadarshi (2) bt Subhash Anand (1); Vivekanand (1.5) drew with Aditya Singh Raja (1.5); Parag Kumar (2) bt Vikas Diwedi (1); BM Ashish (2) bt Kumar Mayank (0); Amir Alam (1) bt Shiv Narain Mehta (0); Sonu Kumar (1) bt Deepak Kumar Chourasia (0) and Surya Bhushan (1) bt Anshuman Arvind (0).

Photo caption: (Top) Vijay Kumar and Rishi Shankar in action during Bihar state under-19 chess championships in Patna on August 13, 2010.

Bottom: Shristi Gautam and Minki Sinha in action during their Bihar state women chess championships in Patna on August 13, 2010.

Photos: Aftab Alam Siddiqui

Anil Kumble to work with SA spinners

Johannesburg, August 13, 2010: Some of South Africa's leading and up and coming spin bowlers will get a rare opportunity to spend quality time in the company of former Indian leg spinner, Anil Kumble, who will be in the country next week to take part in a coaching clinic in Johannesburg on Thursday.

Kumble will be joined by Proteas stars and fellow spinners, Paul Harris and Johan Botha, as a host of franchise and up and coming spinners receive first hand coaching from one of the best bowlers of all time.

Cricket South Africa (CSA) CEO Gerald Majola said: "Anil Kumble is a living legend, and CSA is honoured that he has accepted our invitation to come out to South Africa and work with tomorrow's stars. We will also invite some of our women cricketers, young batsmen and wicket keepers, who we believe, will benefit from the experience.

"CSA is encouraged by the progress made by our High Performance team, and we are confident that this visit is going to boost the good work being done in the spinning department."

The spinning clinic, which will also be attended by CSA's high performance spinning coaches, Shafiek Abrahams, Harry Shapiro and Paul Adams, will run alongside the second CSA Annual Conference, which will take place from 18-21 August in Sandton.

The CSA Annual Conference brings together the entire cricket family, whose task this year is to map the way forward for the next four years.

The Conference will also include the 2010/2011 Season Launch on Friday, August 20, and the Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Saturday, August 21.

Press release from Business Wire India

Easy wins for seeded players in Bihar chess

Patna, August 12, 2010: Seeded players faced no troubles to win their respective first round matches in the 34th Bihar State women and 38th Junior Under-19 chess championships at the Moinul Haq Stadium here on Thursday.

Earlier, Vijay Prakash, principal secretary, Planning Department, inaugurated the tournament.

Results:

Women: Pallavi (Bhagalpur) beat Priya Rani (Patna), Soumya (Muzaffarpur) beat Arati Kumari (Kishanganj), Komolika Chakraborty (Kishanganj) beat Pinki Mehta (Patna), Smita Choudhary (Muz) beat Manya Diptam (Patna), Smita Kumari (Kishanganj) beat Mona Priya (Patna), Nibha Ranjan (Patna), beat Vibha Sinha (Patna), Minki Sinha (Patna) beat Nirmala Srivastava (Chapra), Pummi Rani (Patna) beat Priyanka Kumari (Gaya), Shristi Gautam (Patna) beat Rita Mehta (Patna) and Saraswati Kumari (Kishangnaj) drew with Jyoti Singh (Patna).

38th Junior Under-19 chess championships

Boys: Siddanth Gautam (Patna) beat Surya Bhushan Kumar (Madhubani), Sidhu Shekhar (Patna) beat Deepak Kumar Chaurasia (Khagaria), Vivekanand Sharma (Gaya) beat Anshuman Arvind (Khagaria), Parag Kumar (Khagaria) beat Aditya Sainha Raja (Khagaria), Vijay Kumar (Bhojpur) beat Shiv Narayan Mehta (Patna), Nilesh Shankar (Patna) beat Vikas Kumar Dwevedi (Chapra), Rishi Shankar (Patna) beat Prakhar Raj (Chapra), Shubham (Bhagalpur) beat Sonu Kumar (Chapra) and Saurabh Anand (Purnia) beat Syed Md Amir Alam.

Photo caption: Vijay Prakash, principal secretary, department of planning-government of Bihar, inaugurates Bihar women and Bihar junior boys chess championships in Patna on August 12, 2010.

Photo: Aftab Alam Siddiqui

15th Dhyanchand throwball from August 27

Patna, August 12, 2010: Throwball Association of Bihar (TAB) will organise the 15th Dhyanchand throwball championships at Bankipore Girls School here from August 27, to 29.

TAB secretary Niraj Kumar Pappu said the tournament would be organized in boys and girls sections. Top three finishers of each group would be given prizes. The last date for entry is August 18.

Acharya Sudarshan Sports and Cultural Foundation formed

Patna, August 12, 2010: With an aim to promoting sports and culture, Acharya Sudarshan Sports and Cultural Foundation has been formed at Patna Central School here on Thursday.

The foundation will provide sports infrastructure and basic facilities to budding talents of Bihar in different games.

Acharya Sudarshan Ji Maharaj, who has been named patron-in-chief of the body, said the foundation had adopted throwball, tennikoit, chess, kho-kho, athletics, volleyball, basketball and swimming.

Patna Central School vice-chairman BK Sudarshan said the foundation would also promote cultural activities of Bihar.

Office-bearers: SB Prasad (patron), SP Singh (president), Neeraj Kumar Pappu (secretary), Dr Sudhir Kumar (joint secretary), Ajit Kumar Singh, Rakesh Ranjan, Shivesh Ranjan, R Kumatr, Raju Mishra, Ajay Upadhyay, Rina Singh and Nitu (all members), DN Sinha, Shailesh Kumar and Abhishek Kumar (all advisory committee members).

Semifinalists spotted in Patna super division football league

Patna, August 10, 2010: Patna Police moved into the semifinal of Patna Football Association (PFA) super division league beating Rainbow Football Club by a solitary second half goal at the New Police Lines ground here on Tuesday.

Jagannath Mahto scored the match-winner in the 52nd minute.
Patna Police will meet BRC in the first semifinal while Raj Milk Football Club will take on Bihar Police in the other semifinal.

Photo caption: Patna Police and Rainbow players in action during their PFA super division soccer league match in Patna on August 10, 2010.
Photo: Aftab Alam Siddiqui

Dilip, Neha rule the pool in Bihar swimming

Patna, Auhust 7, 2010: Dilip Kumar Gauda and Neha Singh cornered glory winning the individual championship titles in men and women sections respectively at the 33rd Bihar state senior swimming championship at the Bankipore Club swimming pool here on Saturday.

About 129 swimmers from various districts of Bihar participated in the championships.
Earlier, Major Manjeet Singh Sarla inaugurated the championship. Dr Sanjeev Kumar, director, Magadh Hospital and Nikesh Prasad, secretary, Bankipore Club, jointly distributed the prizes. Ram Bilas Pandey, secretary, Bihar swimming Association, welcomed the guests.

Important results:
200-m freestyle: Dilip Kumar (gold); 200m freestyle women: Ritika Raj Singh (gold); 1500-m freestyle: Sailesh Kumar (gold); 200-m breaststroke: Vinod Kumar (gold); 400-m freestyle: Dilip Kumar (gold); 100-m backstroke women: Neha Singh (gold).

Photo caption: Dilip Kumar (top right) receiving the individual championships trophy while all the winners (bottom) of the Bihar State swimming championships pose for group photograph in Patna on August 7, 2010.

Photos: Aftab Alam Siddiqui

Three players share lead in Ganauri Das chess

Patna, August 7, 2010: Top seed Rupesh Ranjan shared the lead with Vikek Nandan and Rahul Kumar with three points each at the end of third round in the Ganauri Das memorial Open chess tournament at the RBI hall here on Saturday.

Results: (after third round): Rupesh Ranjan (3) bt Mukesh Kumar (2); Vikesh Nandan (3) bt Aditi Aditya (2); Rahul Kumar (3) bt Anubhav Sahay (2); Rajesh Ranjan (2.5) bt Ayush Kashyap (1.5); Anirvan Choudhary (2.5) bt Prince Kumar (1.5); Ashish Raj (2) bt Sudhanshu Kumar (1); Akhauri Harshit (2) bt Subhash Kumar (1); Akhauri Sakshi (2) bt Manya Diptam (1); Alok Priyadarshi (2) bt Shivang Aryan (1); Arvind Kumar (2) bt Vijay Narayan (1); Subhash Saurav (1.5) bt Abhishek Chandra Singh (.5); Kumar Satyam (1.5) bt Tushar Sinha (.5); Mona Priya (1.5) bt Piyush Pankaj (.5); Mohit Raj (1.5) bt Satyaki (.5); Abhishek Kumar (1) bt Sumesh (0); Himanshu Harsh (1) bt Tanul Tanay (0) and PN Prasad (2) drew with Akhauri Vinit (2).

Photo caption: Tushar Sinha (left) and Rajesh concentrating on their next moves in the Ganauri Das Memorial Open Chess Tournament in Patna on August 7, 2010.

Photo: Aftab Alam Siddiqui

Indian women’s team in final

Patna, August 9, 2010: In a remarkable achievement, the Indian women’s team, comprising Dola Banerjee, L. Bombayla Devi and Deepika Kumari, made it to the final of the World Cup archery Stage III at Ogden (the US) on August 6, 2010. India will take on World Champion Korea in the summit clash.

According to information received here, sixth ranked India outplayed Georgia 220-201 points in the first round, ousted Spain in the quarterfinals at 218-182 and overcame second ranked China in the semifinals at 215-206.

Interestingly, Deepika, the youngest member of the team, won the world cadet recurve individual gold medal last year at the same venue.

The men’s recurve team, delivering medals of all hues since 2008, missed out this time losing to Italy in the quarterfinals. Tarundeep Rai, Mangal Singh and Kapil lost at 216-219 after defeating Colombia at 215-213 in the first round in a 16-team field.

Source: Indian Archery Association press release

Indian archers face early exit

Patna, August 8, 2010: Indian archers faced an early elimination in the individual round of the Archery World Cup State III at Ogden (US) on August 5, 2010.

According to information received here, only two women archers, Dola Banerjee and Deepika Kumari managed to reach the pre-quarterfinals before bowing out. Dola fell to Shanshan Zhu of China while Deepika lost to Joo Hyun-Jung of Korea.

L. Bombayla Devi crashed to Dola in the second round while Punya Prabha was defeated by Justyna Mospinek of Poland in the first round.

Tarundeep Rai bowed to Sebastian Rohrberg of Germany in the second round as veteran Mangal Singh Champia was no match to Elian Cuesta of Spain in the opening round. Kapil lost to Fujun Yong of China in the first round and debutant K. Shiva Shankar bowed to highly ranked Oh Jin Hyek of Korea.

Earlier on Wednesday, the men’s team stood third overall with a total of 1982. The women’s team ended sixth overall with 1915 points.

Source: Indian Archery Association press release

Rupesh Ranjan starts campaign in style

Patna, August 7, 2010: Rupesh Ranjan beat Himanshu Harsh to collect full points in the opening round match of the Ganauri Das memorial open chess tournament at the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) hall here on Friday.

Manishankar Kumar and Manya Diptam also won their respective first round matches.

Earlier, Mohan Yadav, deputy general manager of RBI, Patna, inaugurated the tournament. RBI Employees’ Sports and Recreation Club secretary Rajeev Ranjan welcomed the guests.

Important results: Rupesh Ranjan (1) beat Himanshu Harsh (0), Manishankar Kumar (1) beat Ashish Raj (0), Manya Diptam (1) beat Abhisshek Chandra (0), Aditi Aditya (1) beat Piyush Pankaj (0), Rahul Kumar (1) beat Aditya Jyoti Srivastava (0), Shivan Aryan (1) beat Akhouri Sakshi (0), Alok Priyadarshi (1) beat Subhash Kumar (0), Anubhav Sahay (1) beat Sumesh (0), Arvinda Kumar (1) beat Tanul Tanyan (0), Satyaki (.5) drew with Akhouri Vinit (.5).

Amitabh Bachchan is the brand ambassador of Champions League T20 cricket

Mumbai, August 6, 2010: ESPN STAR Sports, the official broadcaster and commercial partner of Airtel Champions League Twenty20, has signed Bollywood legend and cultural icon, Amitabh Bachchan, as the brand ambassador for this edition of the tournament.

Bachchan will feature prominently in a high decibel, multi-dimensional marketing campaign which has been launched across all forms of media - electronic, print, digital & outdoors. Former India captain and illustrious southpaw Sourav Ganguly was also present on the occasion.


The sports broadcaster has signed Sourav Ganguly and Andrew Symonds as expert analysts for ACL T20. The tournament will be held from September 10-26, 2010 in South Africa across 4 venues - Johannesburg, Centurion, Durban and Port Elizabeth. All matches will be telecast live and exclusive on STAR Cricket.

Speaking on the occasion, Manu Sawhney, Managing Director, ESPN STAR Sports, said, "Airtel Champions League T20 is the world championship of the top T20 teams from various cricket playing nations. It marks the grand finale of T20 cricket where champion teams battle for the ultimate honour - Champion of Champions - which leads to the theme of our marketing campaign - Ab Hoga Asli Muqabla. The brand ambassador of such a prestigious property had to be someone who represented all such critical values - Competitiveness, Excellence, Class and Lineage. It is intense, premium and aspirational - and Bachchan fitted the bill perfectly for us to take this association to the next level."

Talking about the association, Amitabh Bachchan, said, "I am delighted to be associated with Airtel Champions League Twenty20. It is an interesting format - an international T20 tournament where only champion teams compete for the top prize. I am a huge cricket fan and always want to see Indian teams win laurels on the international stage. I am confident that the 3 IPL teams from India participating in this tournament will put-up a good show and get us the coveted trophy. I wish the very best to the three Captains - MS Dhoni, Sachin Tendulkar and Anil Kumble for this event and hope that their teams do their best in this prestigious T20 event."

The Airtel Champions League Twenty20, starting from September 10, 2010, will see an impressive line-up of more than 100 elite international players. The biggest names in cricket including Sachin Tendulkar, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Mahela Jayawardene, Dale Steyn, Rahul Dravid, Shaun Tait, Jean-Paul Duminy, Ajantha Mendis, Anil Kumble, Matthew Hayden, Ross Taylor, Muttiah Muralitharan, Kieron Pollard, Harbhajan Singh, Jacob Oram, Malinga Bandara, Doug Bollinger, Dwayne Bravo, Michael Hussey, David Hussey and Sanath Jayasuriya will battle for the ultimate honour. The three Indian teams - Mumbai Indians, Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore will lock horns with champion T20 club teams from Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and West Indies.

2010 Airtel Champions League Twenty20 - Competing Teams

-- Chennai Super Kings (DLF Indian Premier League - India)

-- Mumbai Indians (DLF Indian Premier League - India)

-- Royal Challengers Bangalore (DLF Indian Premier League - India)
-- Victorian Bushrangers (KFC Twenty20 Big Bash - Australia)

-- South Australian Redbacks (KFC Twenty20 Big Bash - Australia)

-- Warriors (Standard Bank Pro 20 Series - South Africa)

-- Highveld Lions (Standard Bank Pro 20 Series - South Africa)

-- Central Stags (HRV Cup Twenty20 - New Zealand)

-- Wayamba Elevens (Inter-Provincial Twenty20 Cup - Sri Lanka)

-- Guyana(West Indies Domestic Twenty20 Champions)

Saina Nehwal gets Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award

Patna, August 5, 2010: The Union Government on Thursday announced the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award, Arjuna Awards, Dhyan Chand Awards, Dronacharya Awards and Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar for the year 2010, in New Delhi.

A large number of nominations were received for these awards this year, which were considered by two select panels of eminent sportspersons and sports administrators; one headed by P.T. Usha ( for Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award, Arjuna Awards, Dhyan Chand Awards and Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar) and other by Ashok Kumar (for Dronacharya Awards).

Based on the recommendations of the committees and after due scrutiny, the government has approved to confer awards upon the following sportspersons, coaches and organizations.

Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award - 2010: Saina Nehwal (badminton).

Arjuna Awards 2010: Joseph Abraham (athletics), Krishna Poonia (athletics), Dinesh Kumar (boxing), Parimrajan Negi (chess), Julan Goswami (cricket-women), Deepak Kumar Mandal (football), Sandeep Singh (hockey-men), Jasjeet Kaur Handa (hockey-women), Dinesh Kumar (kabaddi), Sanjeev Rajput (shooting), Rehan Jehangir Poncha (swimming), Kapil Dev K.J. (volleyball), Rajeev Tomar (wrestling), Rajesh Chaudhary (yachting), Jagseer Singh (paralympic, athletics).

Dhyan Chand Award 2010: Satish Pillai (athletics), Kuldeep Singh (wrestling), Anita Chanu (weightlifting).

Dronacharya Awards for 2010: A.K. Kutty (athletics), Subhash B. Aggarwal (billiards and snooker), L. Ibomcha Singh (boxing), Ajay Kumar Bansal (hockey), Captain Chandrup (wrestling).

Rashtriya Khel Protsahana Puruskar 2010:
1. Services Sports Control Board (Community Sports Identification and nurturing of budding and young talent). 2. Tata Steel Limited (Financial Support for Sports Excellence). 3. Khel Evam Yuva Vibhag , Government of Madhya Pradesh (Establishment and Management of Sports Academies of Excellence)4. Services Sports Control Board ( Employment of sportsperson and sports welfare measures).

National Sports Awards are given every year to recognize and reward the excellence in sports. Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award is given for spectacular performance in the year under consideration; Arjunan Award is given for consistently outstanding performance for three consecutive years preceding the year of award; Dhyan Chand Award for lift time contribution to sports development; and Dronacharya Award for producing medal winners at prestigious international sports events in past three years.

Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award is given to only one sportsperson in a year. Arjuna Award is given to not more than 15, Dhyan Chand Award to not more than 3 and Dronacharya Award to not more than 5 persons.

With a view to recognizing the contribution made to sports development by entities other than sportspersons and coaches, Government has instituted last 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.

Apart from a medal and a citation, Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Awardee will receive a cash prize of Rs.7.5 lakh. Arjuna, Dhyan Chand and Dronacharya Awardees will receive statuettes, citations and cash prize of Rs.5 lakh each. The recipients of Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar will receive trophy and citation.

The awardees will receive their awards from the President of India at a specially organized function at the Rashtrapati Bhawan on August 29, 2010.

Source: Union Sports Ministry press release

Now, Bihar Swimming from August 7

Patna, August 4, 2010: The 33rd senior state swimming championship will be held at the Bankipore Club swimming pool on August 7, according to Bihar Swimming Association secretary Ram Bilas Pandey.


He said Manjeet Singh Sarla would inaugurate the championship. Bihar teams for the senior National swimming championships to be held in Jaipur from August 24 would be selected on the basis of performance in the meet, he said.

Grand treble for Naman, Rinki wins women's singles crown

Patna, August 3, 2010: Naman Kumar of Patna was the star on the concluding day of the first Bihar State Major Ranking table tennis tournament at the Bihar Young Men’s Institute here on Tuesday.

Naman earned a grand treble winning the junior boys singles, youth singles and men’s singles titles to assert his supremacy. In the coveted men’s singles final, Aman beat Any Raj 11-8, 11-9, 11-7 and 11-9 to annex crown.

Aman captured the youth singles title defeating Rahul Kumar 11-8, 11-7, 9-11, 11-8 and 11-5 while in junior boys’ singles final, Aman chalked out 11-8, 11-7, 11-8, 11-9 victory over Piyush D Gandhi.

Rinki Ghosh of Patna clinched the women’s singles crown beating Saiqua Parween (Bhojpur) 8-11, 11-5, 11-6, 11-5 and 11-4. Priya Kumari won the youth girls’ singles title beating Suprna Joshi 6-11, 11-7, 11-5 and 11-9.

Former Bihar Ranji Trophy team skipper Avinash Kumar, who was the chief guest in the prize-distribution function, gave away the prizes. Dilip Kumar Gandhi, organising secretary welcomed the guests. Mukesh Roy, secretary, Bihar Table Tennis Association (BTTA) proposed a vote of thanks.
BTTA also felicitated Avinash Kumar on the occasion.

Photo caption: Winners of the First Bihar State Major Ranking Table Tennis Tournament display their trophies and certificates in Patna on August 3, 2010.

2. Priya Kumari and Saiqua Parween (right) in action during their women's singles match on August 2, 2010.

Photo: Aftab Alam Siddiqui

Rinki Ghosh and Saiqua Parween enter final

Patna, August 2, 2010: Rinki Ghosh and Saiqua Parween stormed into the women singles final of the Bihar State First Major Ranking table tennis tournament at the Bihar Young Men’s Institute here on Monday.

In the first semi-final, Saiqua Parween fought hard to down Priya Kumari 11-4, 11-8, 8-11, 8-11, 11-7 while Rinki Ghosh outplayed Chumki Mandal 11-8, 11-9, 9-11, 11-6 to set up title clash.

In sub-junior boys’ singles final, Amit Kumar outpaced Saurabh Kumar 11-7, 11-3, 7-11 and 11-8. Aditya Umang won the cadet boys’ singles title beating Rohan Kumar 11-8, 11-9, 11-9.
In the youth girls’ singles, Priya Kumari will take Suparna Joshi in the final.

Lekh Raj, Somnath Roy, Ankit Kumar, Naman Kumar, Francis, Ankit Tarve, and Piyush D Gandhi moved into the men’s singles quarterfinals winning their respective matches.

Results: Youth girls’ singles (semifinals): Priya Kumari bt Riyansi Gupta 11-8, 11-6, 11-8; Suparna Joshi bt Chandna Raut 11-8, 11-8, 6-11, 9-11, 15-13.

Junior boys’ singles (pre-quarterfinals): Rahul Kumar bt Pawan Kumar 11-3, 11-6, 11-7; Deepak Kumar bt Suman Kumar 11-6, 11-7, 8-11, 8-11, 11-5; Ankit Kumar bt Deepak Mishra 14-12, 11-5, 11-2; Naman Kumar bt Aniket Kumar 11-9, 11-9, 11-5; Saurabh Kumar bt Rahul Prakash 11-8, 11-9, 6-11, 11-9; Tushar Kanti Das bt Arohi Utkarsh 11-8, 11-9, 7-11, 11-9; Amit Kumar bt Ramnik Ratan 11-6, 11-8, 5-11, 11-9; Piyush D Gandhi bt Aniket Kumar 11-6, 11-7, 11-6.

Youth boys’ singles (pre-quarterfinals): Rahul Prakash bt Lekh Raj 11-8, 11-6, 8-11, 11-9; Arohi Utkarsh bt Ankit Tarve 11-6, 11-8, 11-9; Rahul Kumar bt Amit Kumar 11-8, 11-9, 11-8; Kishan Raj bt Deepak Kumar 9-11, 11-6, 8-11, 11-7, 11-7; Any Raj bt Deepak Mishra 11-9, 11-8, 11-7; Naman Kumar bt Sumit Kumar 9-11, 11-7, 12-14, 11-6, 11-8; Ankit Kumar bt Aniket Kumar 11-6, 11-9, 11-8 and Piyush D Gandhi bt Rahul Shah 11-6, 11-8, 8-11, 9-11 and 14-12.

Photo caption: Rinki Ghosh (left) in action during her women's singles match of the First Bihar State Major Ranking TT Tournament in Patna on August 2, 2010.

Ganauri Das Open chess meet from August 6

Patna, August 2, 2010: Ganauri Das Open chess tournament will be held at Reserve Bank Employees Sports and Recreation Club Hall here from August 6, according to club secretary Rajeev Ranjan.


The championship will be played on nine-round Swiss league basis in U-10, U-13, U-15 and U-19 age groups.

Madhepura girl Riyansi bags a grand double

Patna, August 1, 2010: Feisty Madhepura girl Riyansi Gupta cornered glory on the Day Two of the Bihar State Major Ranking table tennis tournament at the Bihar Young Men’s Institute here on Sunday winning the sub-junior and cadet girls’ singles titles in a remarkable style.

Riyansi took Riya Kumari (Motihari) straight 11-8, 13-11, 11-6 to win sub-junior girls crown while in cadet girls’ final, Riyansi fought it out to beat her teammate Riya Kumar 11-6, 5-11, 11-4, 6-11 and 11-7 for the crown.

Four Patna players Aditya Umang, Ayush Anand, Rohan Kumar and Sagar Kumar entered the cadet boys’ singles semifinals.

In sub-junior boys singles, line up for the pre-quarterfinals have been decided as Amit Kumar, Prashant Roshan, Priyanshu, Saurabh, Aniket, Deepak Kumar, Gagan, Saurabh Kumar, Rishutosh, Aniket Kumar, Yash Anand, Aman Tiwari, Aditya Umang, Tushar Kanti and Rohit Kumar won their respective second round matches.

Results
Sub-junior girls’ singles final: Riyansi Gupta bt Riya Kumari (Motihari) 11-8, 13-11, 11-6.
Semifinals: Riyansi Gupta bt Varsha Bhagyashree 7-11, 11-8, 13-11, 11-9; Riya Kumari bt Smita Ravi 11-6, 13-11, 11-6.

Cadet girls’ final: Riyansi Gupta bt Riya Kumar (Madhepura) 11-6, 5-11, 11-4, 6-11, 11-7.
Semifinals: Riyansi Gupta bt Sapna (Madhepura) 11-2, 11-5, 11-2; Riya Kumar bt Vijyalakshmi 12-10, 13-11, 11-4, 11-8.

Cadet boys' singles quarterfinals: Aditya Umang bt Shivam Singh 11-3, 11-7, 11-5, Aayush Anand bt Risutosh Kumar 11-9, 11-8, 8-11, 11-6, Rohan Kumar bt Master Shivam (Madhepura) 9-11, 11-8, 11-5, 8-11, 14-12, Sagar Kumar bt Kunwar Dalwar (Madhepura) 11-8, 9-11, 11-6, 11-7.

Sub-junior boys singles (second round): Amit Kumar bt Naved Hasan 13-11, 11-9, 9-11, 11-8, Prashant Saurabh bt Sudhanshu (Madhepura) 11-4, 11-6, 11-7, Priyanshu bt Musbah Aajim 11-9, 11-6, 11-7, Saurabh Basotiya bt Bhit Singh 11-7, 11-8, 11-6, Shubham Kumar bt Tuhin 11-2, 11-9, 11-3, Aman Kumar bt Utakarsh Anand 11-8, 7-11, 11-8, 12-10, Deepak Kumar bt Shivam Singh (Madhepura) 9-11, 11-5, 11-6, 11-5, Gagan Neer bt Mikki Anand 11-2, 11-3, 11-5, Saurabh Kumar bt Avinash Kumar Bhaskar 11-7, 11-8, 15-13, Risutosh bt Master Shivam 12-10, 11-9, 11-9, Rohit Kumar bt Risabh Kumar 14-12, 11-5, 11-7, Aniket Kumar bt Yogesh Kumar 11-7, 11-8, 14-12, Yash Anand bt Akash 11-8, 11-6, 11-8, Aman Triwedi bt Aditya Raj 11-2, 11-3, 11-8, Aditya Umang bt Kunwar Dalwar 11-3, 11-4, 11-9, Tusar Kanti Das bt Avinash 7-11, 7-11, 11-3, 11-3, 11-3

Bihar State women chess from August 12

Patna, July 31, 2010: The 34th Bihar state women and 38th junior state chess championship will be held in Patna from August 12, according to All Bihar Chess Association secretary Arvind Kumar Sinha.

Top four finishers of the state women championships would represent Bihar in the National ‘B’ championship to be held in Guwahati from August 20, he added.

Bihar powerlifting team announced

Patna, July 31, 2010: Bihar Powerlifting Association (BPA) named a seven-member state team for the senior National powerlifting championships to be held in Chennai from August 4, according to BPA general secretary Ashok Kumar Mehta.

Team: Vijay Kumar, Kundan Raj, Md Rinku, Navin Srivastava, Vikas Kumar and Abhishek Kumar. Women: Sudha Kumari. Manager: Sukhdev Prasad. Coach: Abhishek Kumar.

Madhepura girls hog limelight on Day One of Bihar State Major Ranking TT

Patna, July 31, 2010: It was a day of Madhepura girls on the Day One of the Bihar State Major Ranking table tennis championships at the Bihar Young Men’s Institute here on Saturday.

Leading the pack was Riyansi Gupta who along with three other teammates entered the cadet girls’ singles semifinals. Five Madhepura girls also booked their berths in the sub-junior girls’ quarterfinals.

Earlier, former state women table tennis champion Chulbul Das inaugurated the five-day tournament in a simple function. Jai Prakash Sharma, assistant secretary, Bihar Table Tennis Association (BTTA) welcomed the guest. Pradeep Srivastava, secretary, Katihar District Table Tennis Association, proposed a vote of thanks.

Results: Cadet girls’ singles (quarterfinals): Riyanshi Gupta (Madhepura) bt Pooja Kumari (Katihar) 11-8, 11-8, 11-6; Sapna Kumari (Madhepura) bt Mausami Kiran (Patna) 11-5, 11-6, 11-6; Vijay Laxmi (Madhepura) bt Beauty Kumari (Katihar) 9-11, 12-10, 16-14, 14-12, 11-8; Riya Kumar (Madhepura) bt Tanishka (Patna) 11-6, 11-9, 11-8.

Cadet boys’ singles (second round): Aditya Umang bt Adnan 11-8, 11-9, 12-10; Aman Trivedi bt Mubarak Ali 11-1, 11-2, 11-6; Shivam Singh bt Ayush Kumar 11-7, 11-4, 14-12; Ayush Anand bt Yogesh Kumar 11-8, 11-3, 11-9; Sudhanshu Kumar bt Ashutosh 11-8, 11-3, 11-4; Saurabh Kumar bt Raj Hans 11-6, 11-5, 11-6; Rishutosh Kumar bt Aditya 15-13, 11-9, 5-11, 11-7; Rohan Kumar bt Tuheen 11-8, 11-5, 11-8; Rohit Kumar bt Yathartha 11-5, 2-11, 11-9, 11-23; Master Shivam bt Ayush 9-11, 11-7, 11-6, 11-7; Akash Kumar bt Onkareshwar11-6, 11-5, 11-2; Aditya Raj bt Pratik 2-11, 11-8, 11-8, 11-7; Kunwar Dalwar bt Shanu Kumar 11-9, 11-9, 14-12; Aman Kumar bt Harsh Raj 11-8, 5-11, 5-11, 11-8, 11-8 and Sagar Kumar bt Sanyog Singh 14-12, 11-3, 11-4.

Photo caption: Former state champions Rahul Das (left) and Chulbul Dey Das (right) try their hands on the board to inaugurate the first Bihar State Major Ranking table tennis tournament in Patna on July 31, 2010.