Lone goal win for Patna Football Academy

Patna, October 31, 2009:
Football Academy, Patna (FAP) edged past Eleven Brothers by a solitary goal in the opening match of the Patna senior division football league at the New Police Lines ground here on Friday.

Mrinal scored the match winner in the 55th minute. Eleven Brothers came near the equalizer at the fag end of the second half but Mintu Kumar shot wide from the top of the box. Abhishek Anand, Tauquir Johar of Patna Football Academy and Manoj Kumar of Eleven Brothers were shown yellow cards by referee NK Sahani.

Earlier, senior footballer Kabir Khan inaugurated the tournament. Jwala Prasad Sinha, office secretary, Bihar Football Association (BFA), Syam Babu Yadav, vice-president, Patna Football Association and BFA women’s wing secretary, Gopi Nath Dutta were present in at the inaugural function.

Photo caption: Patna Football Academy and Eleven Brothers players in action during Patna senior division football league in Patna on October 30, 2009.

Photo: Aftab Alam Siddiqui

Sukhdeo school cricket fixtures announced

Patna, October 31, 2009:
St Karen’s High School, Patna will take on Siddhartha Public School, Sasaram in the opening match of the 25th All India Sukhdeo Narain memorial inter-school cricket tournament at the Moinul Haq Stadium here on November 15, according to organizing secretary, Bijoy Kumar Narain Chunnu.

He said the matches would be of 25 overs a side. The opening day match would begin at 1 pm after the inaugural function.

Fixtures:
November 15: St Karen’s High School vs Siddartha Public School (1 pm).
November 16: BPL Residential School vs Baldev Inter High School (7:30am), Litera Valley School vs Sun International School (11:30am).
November 17: Deo Public School, Saharsa vs St Paul High School, Begusarai (7:30am), Don Bosco School vs Town High School (11:30am).
November 18: Indian Public School, Sasaram vs St Joseph’s High School (7:30am), Residential Bal Shiksha Niketan, Bihta vs Jen Paul Senior Secondary School, Ara (11:30am).
November 19: Dony Polo School vs MD Inter School, Gorakhpur (7:30am), Christ Church Dyson School vs DAV Public School (11:30am).
November 20: Shikshayatan Public School vs Marwari Pathshala, Bhagalpur(7:30am), Aryan Public School, Ara vs Teresa The Mother Public School(11:30am).
November 21: MS Memorial School vs Divine Public School, Gorakhpur (7:30am), Sri Sri Ravishankar Bal Mandir vs St Joseph’s High School (11:30am).
November 22: Siddhartha Higher Secondary School, Gorakhpur vs RUM School, Jehanabad (7:30am), St Domic Savio’s School vs Mother Teresa Montessori School (11:30am).
November 23: Ashwani Public School vs Sports Hostel, Gorakhpur.

Purnia to host Bihar State football championships from November 22

Patna, October 31, 2009:
The 61st Bihar state football championships for the SM Moinul Haq Cup will be held at Purnia from November 22, according to Jwala Prasad Sinha, office secretary, Bihar Football Association. Katihar District Football Association will meet face Banka District Football Association in the opening match.

Sad exit for West Point High School

Patna, October 31, 2009:
It was a sad exit for West Point High School from the Rock inter-school football tournament. They played superbly throughout the regulation time. But in the tie-breaker, they failed to convert all the spot kicks into goals and bowed out of the tournament losing 3-5 to BMP High School at the outer ground of the Moinul Haq Stadium here on Friday.

West Point shot into the lead in the 12th minute when Abbas Ali struck home through his solo effort. BMP High School equalized the lead in the 28th minute when Satyendra Mehra scored a brilliant goal (1-1). Rest of the first half saw both the teams looking for the opportunities to increase the tally but poor planning and marksmanship spoiled their chances. The first half of the match ended 1-1.

In the second half too both the teams played attacking football. West Point boys a bit of upper hand in the second half but they could not find the target. The score was 1-1 till the referee blew the final whistle.

Penalty shootouts came into force to decide the fate of the match. Md Sarfraz, Shahnawaz, Mukesh Kumar and Shiv Kumar found the target for the BMP High School while Prince Kumar and Shadab Khan scored the goals for the West Point High School.

Photo caption: A BMP High School player (in blue) tries to hit a volley during their match against West Point High School in Rock inter-school football tournament in Patna on October 30, 2009.
Photo: Aftab Alam Siddiqui

Rajendra, Puja claim 100-m sprint golds

Patna, October 31, 2009:
Rajendra Paswan raced to glory in the 100 metres boys’ sprint events of the BD College annual sports meet at the Sanjay Gandhi Stadium here on Friday. Puja Kumari won the girls’ 100-m gold medal.

Earlier, Dr Satyendra Prasad Singh inaugurated the meet.

Results (girls): 100 m race: Pooja Kumari (first); Shruti Kumari (II), Sunita Kumari (III). 200 m race: Jyoti Kumari (first), Puja Kumari (II), Shruti Kumari (III). Spoon race: Laxmi Kumari (first). Needle and thread race: Laxmi Kumari (first).

Boys: 100 m race: Rajendra Paswan (first), Raksh Kumar (II), Sunny Kumar (III)200 m race: Lalit Kumar (first), Rakesh Kumar (II) and Arvinda Kumar (III).
High jump: Rahul Kumar (first). Long jump: Rahul Kumar (first). Shot put: Rahul Kumar (first). Discus throw: Rahul Kumar (first). Javelin throw: Sunny Kumar. 1,500 m race:Gopal Kumar (first).

Photo caption: Medal winners of BD College annual sports meet pose for a group photograph in Patna on October 30, 2009.
Photo: Aftab Alam Siddiqui

Ravi steers BD Public School into quarterfinals

atna, October 30, 2009:
Ravi struck the match winner in the 46th minute to steer BD Public School into the quarterfinals of the Rock inter-school football tournament at the SAI ground of the Moiunl Haq Stadium here on Thursday. BD Public School beat Srimati Girija Kunwar High School, Masaurhi 1-0 in a keenly contested match.

The match began in fast pace as both the teams raided their rivals’ territory using their flanks well. In the 18th minute BD Public School’s Prakash and Indrajeet combined well to take the ball to opponents’ danger zone but Indrajet missed an open sitter. Girija High School boys bounced back with some good moves. Ranjeet Kumar, Akhilesh Kumar and Gautam Kumar played heart out soccer. The trio altogether made seven moves but could not convert it into a goal.

At the lemon break the score was 0-0. The second half of the game saw identical display from both the teams. Ball was mostly confined to the midfield. In a sudden move, Ravi netted the match winner for BD Public School. In the 46th minute Ravi latched on ball after it was sent to him off a measured cross from Nitsh, and struck home nicely with a power-packed volley.

Girija High School boy tried hard for the equaliser but poor marksmanship came as a big hurdle on the way.

Photo caption: Top: Srimati Girija Kunwar High School, Masaurhi boys pose for a group photograph before the start of the match in Patna on October 29, 2009.

Middle: BD Public School team

Bottom: BD Public School (in blue) and Srimati Girija Kunwar High School, Masaurhi (in golden yellow) vying for the possession of the ball during their Rock inter-school football tournament in Patna on October 29, 2009.

Photo: Aftab Alam Siddiqui

Gyandeep KV edge out DPS, Patna

Patna, October 29, 2009:
Gyandeep Kendriya Vidyalaya, Shahpur edged out Delhi Public School, Patna 2-0 to move into the quarterfinals of the Rock inter-school football tournament at the outer ground of the Moinul Haq Stadium here on Wednesday.

Gyandeep School captain Sudhir Kumar netted in the first goal of the match in the 17th minute of the first half through his solo effort. Gyandeep boys started the game with a brisk pace and proper combination. Playing with 2-3-5 format, they attacked the rival territory umpteen times. At the breather, Gyandeep boys were leading 1-0.

After the break, DPS fought hard to bring in the equalizer but poor finish poured cold water in their attempts. Even the DPS boys failed to convert two spot kicks. DPS boys looked a bit tired in the fag end of the second half. Maheshwar Prasad increased the tally in the 51st minute for Gyandeep School (2-0).

Earlier, chairman cum managing director of Rock Securities and Intelligence Pvt Ltd, Manoj Kumar Prasad Singh, inaugurated the tournament in a colourful function. The tournament is being organized by Association for People’s Welfare and Development (APWAD), a non government organization.

Photo caption: Gyandeep Kendriya Vidyalaya, Shahpur, Delhi Public School, Patna boys and other distinguished guests pose for a group photograph at the inaugural function of the Rock inter-school football tournament in Patna on October 28, 2009.
Photo: Aftab Alam Siddiqui

DPS to play Gyandeep KV in Rock inter-school soccer opener

Patna, October 27, 2009
Delhi Public School, Patna, will take on Gyandeep Kendriya Vidyalaya, Shahpur, in the opening match of the second Rock Securities inter-school football tournament at the outer ground of the Moinul Haq Stadium on October 28, according to tournament director Manoj Kumar.

The tournament is being organised by Association for People’s Welfare and Development (APWAD). The tournament will be played in knock out format and the final match would be played on November 15, Manoj said.

Fixtures:
October 28: Delhi Public School vs Gyandeep Kendriya Vidyalaya.
October 29: BD Public School vs Srimati Raza Kunwar High School, Masaurhi.
October 30: BMP High School vs West Points High School.
October 31: Army School, Danapur vs AN Singh Inter High School, Saran.
November 1: Patna Central School vs Ram Govind Prasad Sah High School,Byapur (1:00 pm) and Don Bosco Academy vs Sri Ganesh High School,Bakhtiyarpur.
November 2: Sri Ganesh Adarsh Sanskrit High School, Bakhtiyarpur vs Raj Inter High School, Dumraon (2:00 pm).

Sukhdeo school cricket from November 15

Patna, October 27, 2009:
Thirty six teams will take part in the silver jubilee edition of the All India Sukhdeo Narain memorial cricket tournament to held at the Moinul Haq Stadium here from November 15.

Organising secretary of the tournament, Vijay Kumar Narain Chunnu said four teams Goodwill Public School, Jammu Kashmir Modern Public School, New Delhi, St Francis School, Punjab and Sahu Jain High School, Champaran had been given direct entry into the quarterfinals while rest 32 teams would vie to capture four quarterfinal spots.

Teams:
Pool ‘A’: St Karen’s High School, Patna, Siddharth Public School, Sasaram, BPL Residential Public School, Patna, Baldev Inter High School, Danapur, Litera Valley School, Bhagwat Nagar, Patna, Sun International School, Kankarbagh, Patna, Dev Public School, Sharsha, St Paul’s High School, Begusarai, Don Bosco School, Patna, Town High School, Patna, Indian Public School, Sasaram, St Joseph’s High School,Patna, Residential Bal Shiksha Niketan, Bihta, John Paul’s Senior Secondary School, Ara, Doni Polo School, Patna, M G Inter School, Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh.

Pool ‘B’: Christ Church Dyson School, Patna, DAV Public School Punaichak, Patna, Shikshayatan Public School, Patna, Marwari Pathshala, Bhagalpur, Aryan Public School, Ara, Teresa The Mother Public School, Kankarbagh, Patna, M M Memorial School, Patna, Divine Public School, Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar BalMandir, Patel Nagar, Patna, St Joseph’s High School, Boring Road, Patna, Siddharth Higher Secondary School, Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, Rashtriya. Utkramit Madhya Vidhalaya, Larsa, Jehanabad, St Dominic Savio School, Digha, Patna, Mother Teresa Mont. School, Anisabad, Patna, Ashwani Public School, Danapur, Sports Hostel, Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh.

Gill sanctions Rs 20 lakh for Subroto Cup

New Delhi: October 25, 2009:
In view of the Golden Jubilee year of the Subroto Cup football tournament, Dr. M.S. Gill, Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports, has sanctioned an additional amount of Rs. 20 lakh to the organizers of the tournament.

This is in keeping with his vision, that encouragement and scaling up the level of sports at the school and college levels is crucial to the overall improvement of sporting talent and accomplishments in India. The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has been traditionally supporting the tournament with an annual grant of Rs. 5 lakh.

The Subroto Cup football tournament, is a unique tournament, in which champion school teams from the States and Union Territories of India battle it out for top honors in the under-14 and under-17 age categories. It is the only Indian football tournament for school boys. The tournament is conducted by the Indian Air force and it is dedicated to the memory of first Indian Air Chief, late A.M. Subroto Mukherjee.

This year, the tournament celebrates its golden jubilee year. The tournament has progressively under-gone a sea change in terms of number of participating teams, spectator interest and showcasing the sport in National Capital. Its increasing importance can be gauged from the fact that the European teams have started participating in the tournament.

Source: Union Sports Ministry press release

Hubnet AITA tennis: Saurav, Shweta clinch crowns

Patna, October 24, 2009:
Playing flawless tennis throughout the tournament, Bengal’s Saurav Panja tamed his state mate and higher ranked Manoj Sewa 6-3, 6-3 to win the men’s singles crown of the Hubent AITA tennis championships at the Patliputra Colony courts here on Saturday.

Sewa started the match as the firm favourite but Panja displayed an attacking game to stop his rival’s Juggernaut in a great fashion. Saurav broke Manoj twice in each of the straight two sets and captured the crown.

Karnataka girl Shweta G Khakandaki displayed another exemplary performance and won the women’s singles title outplaying Rani Smita Jain of IAF 6-2, 6-0. Rani was just no match to Shweta’s powerful ground strokes and serves.

Saurav Panja and Manoj Sewa, both from Bengal, captured the men’s doubles title beating Assam-Orissa pair of Anshuman Dutta and Chandrashekhar Mohanty 6-4,4-6 ,7-6(3) in the final.

Women’s doubles title went in favour of Depti Srivastava (WB) and Shwetha G Kakhandki (Karnataka), who beat Shilpi Jaiswal (Bihar) and Deepna Vazirani (Maharashtra) 6-3, 7-5 in a grueling final.

Dr. Akhouri B Prasad, secretary, Bihar Lawn Tennis Association, distributed the prizes. A.K. Sinha, secretary Patliputra Cooperative Society, was the guest of honour at the closing function.

Photo caption: Winners of the Hubnet AITA tennis championships pose for a group photographs with their trophies and prizes in Patna on October 24, 2009.

Middle: Shweta G Khakandaki in action agianst Rani Smita Jain in the women's singles final.

Bottom: Saurav Panja takes a forehand shot against Manoj Sewa during their men's singles final match in Patna on October 24, 2009.

Photo: Aftab Alam Siddiqui

Manoj Sewa faces Saurav Panja in final

Patna, October 23, 2009:
Manoj Sewa of West Bengal will take on state mate Saurav Panja in the men’s singles final of the Hubnet AITA ranking tennis championships at Patliputra Colony courts here.

In the semi-finals played on Friday, Manoj overcame a stiff challenge from Rubal Shandilya of Delhi 6-2, 7-6 (5) while Saurav Panja outplayed Bihar’s Devpriya Jaiswal in a one-sided match 6-1, 6-0.

In women’s singles semi-final matches Rani Smita Jain (IAF) outclassed Bihar’s Shilpi Jaiswal 6-4, 6-2 while Shweta G. Khakandaki (TN) edged past Ikteesh Chahal of Delhi 7-5, 6-4 to enter the final.

In the men’s doubles, the pair of Anshuman Dutta (Assam) and Chandrashekhar Mohanty (Assam) set up title clash West Bengal combination of with Surabh Panja and Manoj Sewa.

In women’s doubles, the Bengal-Tamil Nadu pair of Depti Srivastava and Shwetha GKakhandki will face Shilpi Jaiswal (Bihar) and Deepna Vazirani (Maharashtra) for the crown.

Results:

Men’s singles semi-finals: Manoj Sewa (WB) beat. Rubal Shandilya(Delhi) 6-2,7-6(5); Saurav Panja (WB) beat Devpriya Jaiswal (Bihar) 6-1, 6-0.

Women’s singles semi-finals: Shweta G. Khakandaki (TN) beat Ikteesh Chahal (Delhi) 7-5, 6-4; Rani Smita Jain (IAF) beat Shilpi Jaiswal (Bihar) 6-4, 6-2.

Men’s doubles semi-finals: Anshuman Dutta (Assam) and Chandrashekhar Mohanty (Assam) beat Bibaswan Dev (WB) and Farid Alam (WB) 6-2,6-4; Surabh Panja (WB) and Manoj Sewa (WB) beat Devpriya Jaiswal (Bihar) and Chinmay Pradhan (Orissa) 6-4,6-3.

Women’s doubles semi-final: Depti Srivastava (WB) and Shwetha G.Kakhandki (TN) beat Ikteesh Chahal (Delhi) and Susita Das (Orissa) 6-2,6-3; Shilpi Jaiswal (Bihar) and Deepna Vazirani (Maharashtra) beat Shruti Jaiswal (Bihar) and Pamir Gogoi (Orissa) 6-1, 6-2.

Photo caption: Saurav Panja (top) and Manjo Sewa (bottom) in action during their respective singles semi-final matches of the AITA ranking tennis championships in Patna on October 23, 20o9.

Photos: BLTA

Tennis Mania in Patna

Promising players are in action during the third day's of play of the Hubnet AITA Ranking tennis championhips in Patna on October 22, 2009.

From top: Shweta G Khakandaki (Tamil Nadu), Saurav Panja (West Bengal), Ikteesh Chahal (Delhi), Dipti Srivastava (WB) and Devpriya Jaiswal play their shots against their rivals in Patna on October 22, 2009.

Photos: Aftab Alam Siddiqui

Shilpi surges ahead, Shruti slips

Patna, October 22, 2009:

Top seed Manoj Sewa of West Bengal continued his upward march in the Hubnet AITA ranking tennis tournament at the Patliputra Colony courts here on Thursday. Manoj did not face any worthwhile challenge in his quarter-final match against Aditya Tiwari of Madhya Pradesh and won the match convincingly at 6-1, 6-2. With this win, Sewa moved into the semi-finals.

Bihar’s Devpriya Jaiswal too found the things easy in his quarter-final match against John Carino of Tamil Nadu. Devpriya dominated the match right from the start with his nipping serves and ground strokes. Carino could not do much and lost the match 3-6, 2-6.

Rubal Shandilya (Delhi) and Saurav Panja (WB) too qualified for the semi-finals winning their respective matches in contrasting style. Rubal sturggled to beat Farid Alam (WB) 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 while Saurav was too good for Vedant Kapoor (Delhi) 6-1, 6-2.

Bihar’s Shilpi Jaiswal moved into the women’s singles semi-finals beating Amreen Chauddhary (UP) 6-4, 6-2. Her sister Shruti, however, lost her quarter-final match against Rani Smita Jain (IAF) 6-1, 6-1.

It was a bad day for Sruti as she did not find her rythm through out thematch. Ikteesh Chahal of Delhi and Shweta G Khakandaki also made the lastfour grades in the women’s section.

Results:

Men’s singles quarter-finals: Manoj Sewa (WB) beat Aditya Tiwari (MP) 6-1, 6-2; Raubal Shandilya (Delhi) beat Farid Alam (WB) 6-2, 3-6, 6-2; Devpriya Jaiswal (Bihar) beat John Carino (TN) 6-3, 6-2; Saurav Panja (WB) beat Vedant Kapoor (Delhi) 6-1, 6-2.

Women’s singles quarter-finals: Ikteesh Chahal (Delhi) beat Dipti Srivastava (WB) 6-3, 7-5; Shweta G Khakandaki (TN) beat Deepa Wazirani (MP) 6-1, 6-2; Shilpi Jaiswal (Bihar) beat Amreen Chauddhary (UP) 6-4, 6-2; Rani Smita Jain (IAF) beat Shruti Jaiswal (Bihar) 6-1, 6-1.

Men’s doubles quarter-finals: Anshuman Dutta and Chandrasshekhar Mohanty (both Assam) beat Rubal Shandilya and Vedant Kapoor (Delhi) 6-4, 6-7, 10-5.Devpriya Jaiswal (Bihar) and Chinmay Pradhan (Orissa) beat Kamal Sharma (Karnaztaka) and Jhhon Crino (Tamil Nadu) 6-2, 7-6(5).

Photo caption: Top: Shruti Jaiswal plays against Rani Simta Jain in a quarter-final match of the Hubnet AITA ranking tennis championships in Patna on October 22, 2009. Shruti lost the match.

Middle and Bottom: Shilpi Jaiswal is in action against Amreen Chaudhary of UP in Patna on October 22, 2009.

Photos: Bihar Lawn Tennis Association

Bihar's Shilpi, Shruti enter quarter-finals

Patna, October 21, 2009:

Bihar’s Jaiswal siblings Shilp and Shruti entered the women’s singles quarter-finals of the Hubnet AITA ranking tennis championships at the Patliputra Colony courts here on Wednesday.

Shruti warded off a stiff challenge from Manuella Gomes (Delhi) 5-7,6-4, 6-2 while Shilpi trounced Seema Kumari (Delhi) 6-0, 6-0 to have a go in the quarters.

Shruti had erratic first set and Manuella capitalised on the advantage with a 7-5 win. But in the second set Shruti found her touch and broke Manuella’s serve. She captured the second set at 6-4. In the decider Shruti was just too good for Manuella 6-2.

In the men’s section top seed Manoj Sewa played another clinical tennis to beat Chinmay Pradhan (Orissa) 6-4, 6-4 and moved into the quarter-finals.

Bihar’s Devpriya Jaiswal fought hard to beat Pranshu Bartwal (UP) 4-6, 6-2, 6-1.

Results:

Men’s singles 2nd round: Manoj Sewa (WB) bt Chinmay Pradhan (Ors) 6-4, 6-4; Rubal Shandilya (Dli) bt Dhruv Agarwal (UP) 6-2, 6-3; Farid Alam (WB) bt Shivraj Singh (WB) 7-6 (4), 5-7, 6-3; Devpriya Jaiswal (Bih) bt Pranshu Bartwal (UP)4-6, 6-2, 6-1; John Carino (TN) bt Chandrashekhar Mohanty (Asm) 3-6,6-2, 7-6; Saurav Panja (WB) bt Rajendra Prasad Rai (UP) 6-1, 6-2.

Women’s singles 2nd round: Dipti Shrivastav (WB) bt Indu Punia (Har) 6-1, 6-1; Ikteesh Chahal bt Abhilasha Mehra (Dli) 6-2, 6-2; Shweta G Khakandaki (TN) bt Pamir Gogoi 6-2, 6-1; Amreen Chaudhary (UP) bt Kumari Omlata Rai (UP) 6-1, 7-6; Shilpi Jaiswal (Bih) bt Seema Kumari (Dli) 6-0, 6-0; Shruti Jaiswal (Bih) bt Manuella Gomes (Dli) 5-7, 6-4, 6-2; Rani Smita Jain (IAF) bt Dhriti Verma (Dli) 4-6, 6-3, 6-1.

Photo caption: Shruti Jaiswal (top) is in action against Manuella Gomes (bottom) during their Hubnet AITA tennis championships match in Patna on October 21, 2009.

Photo: Aftab Alam Siddiqui

Neeraj, Rashmi are the best carrom players in Bihar

Patna, October 21, 2009:

It was an anti-climax of a sort in the men’s singles final of the 19th Bihar State and inter-district carrom championships at the Post and Telegraph Recreation Club here on Wednesday.

Much was expected from promising Jalaj Kumar of Muzaffarpur, who played magnificently throughout the tournament. Experienced Neeraj Kumar proved his is still the best bet in Bihar carrom. He beat Jalaj Kumar 15-0, 7-9, 14-0 to win the coveted crown.

The women’s singles final, however, went onto expected line. Former world champion Rashmi Kuamri of BSNL just toyed with Guriya Rani Singh 11-1, 15-0 to win the title.

Sarfarazul Haq (Barh) beat Nizam Ansari (Madhubani) 20-4, 17-8 to capture the veteran’s singles title.

Engineers Association chairman Dr AK Srivastava, Bihar Olympic Association secretary Md Mushtaq Ahmad and financial advisor, Bihar State Road Transport Corporation RP Kanth gave away the prizes.

Results:

Men’s single final: Niraj Kumar beat Jalaj Kumar 15-0, 7-9, 14-0.

Semi final: Niraj Kumar beat R C Choubey 12-1, 20-0; Jalaj Kumar beat Navin Arya 6-5, 22-0.

Women’s single final: Rashim Kumari beat Guriya Rani Singh 11-1, 15-0.

Semi-finals: Rashim Kumari beat Sandhya Kumari 14-0, 18-0; Guriya Rani Singh beat Kajal 6-8, 13-1, 12-4.

Junior boys final: Pawan beat Wasir Akhtar 13-12, 6-9, 11-0.

Semi-finals: Pawan Kumar beat Md Saddam 8-10, 9-1, 6-4; Wasim Akhtar beat Md Wasim 12-1, 7-6.

Photo caption: Winners of 19th Bihar State and Inter-District carrom championships pose for a group photograph with distinguished guests in Patna on october 21, 2009.

Photo: Aftab Alam Siddiqui

Sewa survives scare; Bihar's Shilpi, Shruti enter second round

Patna, October 21, 2009:
Manoj Sewa of West Bengal escaped seven match points against Sagar Ahuja of Maharashtra to win the match after a grueling battle 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (8) and moved into the second round of Hubnet AITA tennis championships at Patliputra Colony courts here on Tuesday.

Ahuja played a great match but lost at the end. At one stage, Sewa was down 3-5, 15-40 in the decider but he showed some great resilience to survive all these match points with his experience. He needed only one match point to win the match.

In women’s singles local star Shilpi Jaiswal demolished Sheikh Naaz of UP 6-1, 6-0 to start her campaign in style. Naaz was no match to Shilpi in any department of the game. Shilpi served twelve aces in the match.

In another match Jaiswal sibling Shruti outclassed Ayushi Yadav of UP 6-0, 6-2. Shruti played some awesome tennis in first eleven games of the match. Ayushi was unable to do anything against the very powerful strokes of Shruti. When the score was 6-0, 5-0 in favor of Shruti then Ayushi showed a few good hands to win a two consolation games.

Results:

Men’s Singles first round:
Manoj Sewa (WB) beat. Sagar Ahuja (Mahrashtra) 6-1,3-6,7-6 (8-6); Shivraj Singh (WB) beat Bibaswan Deb (WB) 6-4,6-3; Pranshu Bartwal (UP) beat Akshay Kishor (Delhi) 6-3,6-0; Saurav Panja (WB) beat Inderjot Singh (Punjab) 6-1,6-1; Rubal Shandilya (Delhi) beat Gaurav Triphati (MP) 6-3,6-2; Anshuman Datta (Assam) beat Devendra Kumar Yadav (UP) 6-3,6-1; Jhon S. Carino (TN) beat Adamya Vikrant (Bihar) 6-0,6-0; Chinmay Pradhan (Orisaa) beat Shivam Verma (UP) 6-1,6-2; Chandrashekhar Mohanty (Assam) beat Kamal Surana (Karnataka) 7-6(3),7-6(3); Rajander Prasad Rai (UP) beat Agastya Dalmia (Delhi) 6-1,6-3; Dhruv Agarwal (UP) beat Nitin Thete (Maharashtra) 6-4, 6-3; Aditya Tiwari (MP) beat Hari Chidambaram (IAF) 6-4, 6-3.

Women’s singles first round:
Shilpi Jaiswal (Bihar) beat Sheikh Naaz (UP) 6-1, 6-0; Shruti Jaiswal (Bihar) beat Ayushi Yadav (UP) 6-0, 6-2; Dhriti Verma (Delhi) beat Rashi Wahal (UP) 6-1, 6-0; Manuella Gomes (Delhi) beat Disha Satish Agarwal (Delhi) 6-3, 6-2; Seema Kumari (UP) beat Yogita Kumari (UP) 6-4, 6-4; Amreen Chaudhary (UP) beat Pragya Singh (UP) 6-1, 6-1; Omlata Kumari Rai (UP) beat Neelakshi Kumar (UP) 6-0, 6-0; Sweta g. Kakhandki (Karnataka) beat Nehel Sahani (Delhi) 6-2, 7-6 (3); Susita Das (Orissa) beat Sripriya Sarraf (Bihar) 6-3, 3-6, 6-0; Pamir Gogoi (Assam) beat Shivwangi Singh (UP) 6-0, 6-0.

Photo captions:

From Top: Sourav Panja of West Bengal, Dhriti Verma of Delhi, Shruti Jaiswal of Bihar and Shilip Jaiswal of Bihar in action during their respective singles matcshes of the Hubnet AITA ranking tennis championhips in Patna on October 20, 2009.

Photos: Aftab Alam Siddiqui

Patna men clinch Bihar carrom title

Patna, October 21, 2009:
Patna proved their supremacy in the state carrom winning the men’s team championships tile of the 19th Bihar state and inter-district championship at Post and Telegraph Recreation Club hall here on Tuesday.

Patna outplayed Chapra 2-1 to win the crown. West Champaran annexed the women’s team championship title demolishing Patna 3-0 in the final.

Results:

Men team final: Patna beat Chapra 2-1 (Niraj Sinha lost to Navin Arya 6-10, 0-10; Abhay Sharma bt Neeraj 2-1, 20-2; S Aditya and Pramod beat Pankaj and P C Choubey 12-2, 14-0).

Semi-finals: Chapra beat Samastipur 2-1 (Niraj lost to Md Nadeem 3-11, 0-15; Navin Arya beat Z Khan 14-1, 11-1; Pankaj and R C Choubey beat Md Akhtar and Md Naushad 7-9, 11-1, 15-11).
Patna beat Postal 3-0 (Neeraj Kumar beat Vivek Kumar 13-3, 0-8, 10-1; Abhay Kumar Sharma beat Subodh Sharan Sinha 19-1, 14-1; Pramod and M Aditya beat A K Jha and Mahfuz 14-6, 8-6).
Women team final: West Champaran beat Patna 3-0 (Viva beat Sandhya Sinha 6-5, 14-8; Kajal beat Guriya Rani Singh 10-4, 7-0; Archana and Neha got walk over against Deepika and Sweta) .

Semi-finals: Patna beat Muzaffarpur 2-0 (Guriya Rani Singh beat Rinki Ranjan 12-0, 10-6; Sandhya Sinha beat Sriya 5-7, 12-0, 20-0).

West Champaran beat Patna ‘B’ 2-0 (Kajal Kumari beat Khoosbu Karn 13-0, 11-4; Viva Kumari bt Puja Kumari 7-2, 8-4).

Men’s single first round: Ravi (Patna) beat Gulab Babu 12-0, 8-8, 16-4; Mithilesh Sah beat Sahnaz 9-2, 2-5, 14-5; Mouinuddin beat Alok Kumar 10-6, 12-9; Devbashish beat K Gopal 11-2, 11-3; Manish Jaiswal beat Rajan 2-8; 12-6, 11-10; M A Khan beat Ritesh Kumar 15-2; 4-14; 13-3.

Photo caption: MK Khan plays against Ritesh Kumar in men's singles of the Bihar state and inter-district carrom championships in Patna on October 20, 2009.

Photo: Aftab Alam Siddiqui

Devpriya moves up in AITA ranking tennis

Patna, October 20, 2009:
Bihar’s Devpriya Jaiswal began his title hunt in style defeating Mani Mishra of Uttar Pradesh 6-4, 6-1 in a first round match of the All-India ranking tennis championships at Patliputra Colony courts here on Monday.

Mishra began well and broke Devpriya’s service in the fifth game of the first set. But he failed to capitalize the advantage as Devpriya displayed some accurate top spin shots to capture the set at 6-4. In the second set Devpriya was just too good for Mani.

Earlier, senior superintendent of police, Patna, Vinit Vinayak inaugurated the tournament. Bihar Lawn Tennis Association secretary Dr AB Prasad, tournament director Sisir Jaiswal and Hubnet technology managing director, Rajeev Kumar were present at the opening function.

Results:
Men’s doubles: Shivam Verma (UP) and Nitish (Maharashtra) beat Aditya Tiwari (MP) and Gaurav Tripathi (MP) 6-1, 6-4; Arvind (Karnataka) and Sachin Antony (Karnataka) beat Samaresh Singh (UP) and Devendra Kumar Yadav (UP) 6-4, 6-2; Vishwanath (Karnataka) and Chinmay (Karnataka) beat Adib Ali (Delhi) and Amar Jyuti Deka (Assam) 6-1, 6-0; Sanjeev (Bengal) and Shivraj Singh (Bengal) beat Austya Dalmia (Delhi) and Gaurishankar (Delhi) 6-1, 6-2.

Photo caption: Bihar's Devpriya Jaiswal in action during AITA ranking tennis championships in Patna on October 19, 2009.
Photo: Aftab Alam Siddiqui

Bihar State carrom: Buxar, NABARD men start campaign in style

Patna, October 20, 2009:
Buxar, NABARD, Bhojpur and Samastipur won their respective team event matches of the men’s section in the Bihar state and inter-district carrom championships at Post and Telegraph Recreation Club hall here on Monday.

The opening day of the championships saw no upset coming from any board while two slams were recorded. Jalaj Kumar of Muzaffarpur hit first white slam of the tournament while Navin Arya of Chapra executed the second one.

Earlier, AG Bihar Arun Kumar Singh inaugurated the tournament playing a board with Bihar Players’ Association president Mritunjay Tiwari. Pankaj Kumar, regional director, Punjab Technical University was the special guest at the opening function. Working president Bihar Carrom Association, Ravi P Sinha welcomed the guests while organizing secretary Ramashish Sinha proposed a vote of thanks.

Results:
Men’s knock out round: Seohar beat Gaya 2-0, Muzaffarpur beat Jamui 3-0, Post and Telegraph beat darbhanga 3-0, LIC beat Katihar 3-0.

Photo caption: AG Bihar, Arun Kumar Singh plays a board against Bihar Players' Association president Mritunjay Tiwari during the inaugural function of the Bihar state carrom championships in Patna on October 19, 2009.
Photo: Aftab Alam Siddiqui

Bihar junior squash team named

Patna, October 19, 2009:
Bihar Squash Racquet Association on Monday announced state team for the National junior championships to be held at Indore from October 21 to 25.

Teams:
Boys’ under-17: Aditya Raj, Ranvijay, Shreshta Bhargav and Rohit Kumar.
U-15 boys: Shivam Kant, Siddarth Kishore, Rahul Kumar, SM Saquib and Md Sabsul Arfin.
Girls U-19: Jyoti Singh, Hina Parween, Soni Kumari and Anupam Kumari.

Photo caption: Bihar junior squash team in Patna on October 19, 2009.
Photo: Aftab Alam Siddiqui

Indian archery teams named for Asian GP, Asian championships

Kolkata, October 16, 2009:
Archery Association of India (AAI) on Friday named the Indian teams for the fifth Asian Grand Prix at Dhaka from October 21 to 24 and for the 16th Asian championship at Bali (Indonesia) from November 16-21.

The two-day trials held at the Sports Authority of India, Eastern Centre on October 14 and 15, saw some fine performances by up and coming archers. The biggest surprise of the trials was the failure of the three women Beijing Olympians, Dola Banerjee, Laishram Bombayla Devi and V. Pranitha to make it to the first team for the Asian championship.

The AAI had decided to send the top four to the prestigious Asian meet and the next four to the Asian Grand Prix.

Competitions were held in FITA round and over 70m. The 52 archers in four categories (men’s and women’s recurve and men’s and women’s compound) participated in the FITA round where the men shot 36 arrows each over four distances: 90m, 70, 50 and 30m, for a total of 144 arrows. The women too shot 36 arrows each (total 144) over four distances: 70m, 60, 50 and 30m.

The next day the archers shot 36 arrows four times over 70m distance for a total of 144 arrows. The two totals were combined and the ranking finalised in a most transparent manner to the satisfaction of all archers.

At the end of two days of action, youngsters like Atanu Das and Pawan Xalxo (men’s recurve), Belsari Narsary (women’s recurve), Priyanshu Kachhap and Gagandeep Kaur (both women’s compound) came to the fore giving Indian archery a terrific fillip.

Former junior men’s compound world champion (2006) Palton Hansda returned to the Indian team after a considerable gap. Reigning cadet girls’ world champion Deepika Kumari was unlucky to finish 10 due to equipment breakdown on the first day. Deepika, who is being groomed for the 2012 London Olympics, was the most impressive among the youngsters, according to coaches who attended the trials.

The return of Chekrovolu Swuro of Nagaland to the Indian team for the Asian meet was being seen as the resurgence of the old guard. With the form of veteran Dola Banerjee dipping by the day, the women’s recurve team needed an experienced hand to lead the charge. Chekrovolu and Bombayla spent considerable time in Korea recently.

Talukdar too seemed to have regained his rhythm going by the scores he achieved during the trials. Rimil Buriuly’s fourth place finish was a cause for worry as she would not be participating in the team championship.

The Asian GP squad:
Recurve, men: Pawan Xalxo (Steel Plant Sports Board), Tarundeep Rai (Services), Kapil (Chandigarh) and K. Shiva Shankar (Services).
Women: Dola Banerjee (Railways), L. Bombayla Devi (Railways), Belsari Narsary (Assam) and V. Pranitha (SPSB).
Compound, men: Chungda Sherpa, Gokul Tamuli, Bijay Rai (all Services) and Amrinder Singh (Punjab).
Women: Asrita Kerketta (Jharkhand), S. Jayalakshmi (Maharashtra), Sumanlata Murmu and Priyanshu Kachhap (both Jharkhand).

The Asian championship squad:
Recurve, men: Jayanta Talukdar (SPSB), Mangal Singh Champia (Rly), Rahul Banerjee and Atanu Das (both SPSB).
Women. Chekrovolu Swuro (Nagaland), Reena Kumari (Railways), Laxmirani Majhi and Rimil Buriuly (both SPSB).
Compound, men: C. Srither (Ser), Isaiah R. Sanam (AP), Kh. Ratan Singh (Ser) and Palton Hansda (Jharkhand).
Women: Jhano Hansdah, Namita Yadav, Manjudha Soy (all Jharkhand) and Gagandeep Kaur (Punjab).

Source: Press release from Indian Archery Association

Gaurav qualifies for the main draw of All-India ranking tennis championships

Patna, October 19, 2009:
Gaurav Triptahi of Madhya Pradesh led the pack of eight players into the main draw of men’s singles in the Hubnet All India ranking tennis championships at the Patliputra Courts here on Sunday.

Gaurav edged out Akshay Kumar 6-1, 6-3 in the third round of the qualifiers. Other players, who made it to the main draw, were Sanjeev Karketta (Bengal), Nitin Thette (Maharashtra), Aditya Tiwari (MP), Nagendra Rai (UP) and Devendra Kumar Yadav (UP).

Bihar’s lone hope in the qualifiers Aman Kumar lost his third round match against Devendra Kumar Yadav 3-6, 2-6.

In women's singles Fatema Packer (Bihar) moved into the main draw beating Sheikh Naaz.

In the final round matches of the qualifiers, Sanjeev Karketta beat Uttam Singh 6-2, 6-0, Nitin Thette beat Rajendra Prasad Rai (UP) 6-4, 6-3, Aditya Tiwari beat Shartlal MS (Karnataka) 6-2, 7-6 and Nagendra Rai beat Amarjyuti Deka (Assam) 6-1, 6-1.

Earlier, Aman Kumar of Bihar moved into the third round defeating Danish Hasan (Bihar) 8-0.

Results:
Men’s singles qualifying (second round):
Akshye Kishor (Karnataka) beat Prasant Sawant (Maharashtra) 8-7, 10-5; Saurav Tripathi (MP) beat Keshav Kishan (UP) 8-5; Sanjib Kerketta (WB) beat Vishwanath Savadi (Karnataka) 8-3; Uttam Singh (Karnataka) beat Syed Mohammad Danish (WB) 8-1; Rajendra Prasad Rai (UP) beat Arvind S (Karnataka) 8-3; Aditya Tiwari (MP) beat Dushyant Verma (MP) 8-3; Kagendra Rai (UP) beat Tarun Choudhary (Karnataka) 8-5; Amarjyuti Deka (Assam) beat Naunin (Delhi) 8-5; Devendra Kumar Yadav (UP) beat Nagendra Yadav (UP) 8-1; Shinmay Pardhan (Orissa) beat Kush Yadav (UP) 8-5; ShivamVerma (UP) beat Md Arif(Bihar) 8-0; Dhruv Agarwal (UP) beat Rahul Singroly (MP)8-2 and Sachin Antony beat Satwik Pandey (UP) 8-3.

Tatparya to lead DPS, Patna chess team

Patna, October 17, 2009:
Tatparya Shankar will lead a five-member Delhi Public School (DPS), Patna team in the CBSE East Zone inter-school chess championships to be held at St Xavier’s School, Dhanbad, from October 19, according to B Vinod, Principal, DPS, Patna.

Team: Tatparya Shankar (captain), Siddhartha Khanna (vice-captain), Anirvan Choudhary, Ayush Kashyap and Satyiki. Manager: Pinaki Goswami. Coach: Rakesh Ranjan.

Archana Bara to lead Bihar athletics team

Patna, October 17, 2009:
Archana Bara will lead a 20-member Bihar team in the 49th senior National athletic championships to be held in Chennai from October 21, according to Liaquit Ali Khan, secretary, Bihar Athletic Association.

Team: Archana Bara (captain), Shambhunath Shukla, Mukesh Kumar Singh, Krishna Kumar Sharma, Amit Kumar, Nand Lal Singh, Veer Bahadur Singh, Dipendu Manjhi, Amit Mazumdar, Sunil Prasad, Pawan Kumar Yadav, Abhishek Rathore, Shakti Kumar Singh, Kaushal Kumar Singh, Kuldeep Ambedkar, Sadashiv Pandey, Jyoti S Nayar and. TC Ghosh Coach: Shams Tauheed and Md Arshad.

Patna Senior Division soccer league from Oct 30

Patna, October 17, 2009:
Eleven Star will take on Nausha FC in the opening match of the Patna Senior Division football league at Patna High School ground here on October 30.

Patna Football Association (PFA) secretary Rajendra Prasad Yadav said in the other match on the same day, Football Academy, Patna would face Eleven Brothers at Patna Police Lines ground. Both the matches would begin at 3 pm, he added.

Eight teams have been participating in the league. Teams are divided into tow pools.
Group A: XI Star Club Mokamah; Nausha FC; BMP Boys; Yuva Shakti Club Sanda.
Group B: XI Brother SFC; Football Academy Patna; Taj Club; Junior Police Boys.

Fixtures:
October 30: XI Star Mokamah vs Nausha FC at PHS; FA Patna vs XIBrothers at PPL.
October 31: BMP Boys FC vs Yuba Shakti at PHS; Taj Club vs Jr Police Boys at PPL. November 1: XI Star Mokamah vs BMP Boys at PHS; XI Brothers FC vs Taj Club at PPL.
November 2: Nausha FC vs Yuba Shakti at PHS; FA Patna vs Jr Police Boys at PPL.
November 3: XI Star Mokamah vs Yuba Shakti at PHS; XI Brothers FC vs Jr Police Boys at PPL.
November 4: FA Patna vs Taj Club at PPL; BMP Boys FC vs Nausha FC at PHS.

Grand double for Piyush in Bihar Major Ranking TT

Patna, October 14, 2009:
Piyush D Gandhi of Patna earned a grand double in the second Bihar State Major Ranking table tennis tournament winning both junior and sub-junior boys crowns titles at the Bihar Young Men’s Institute here on Tuesday.

Piyush, son of former Bihar table tennis champion and present secretary of Patna District Table Tennis Association Dilip Gandhi, beat Amit Kumar 7-11, 11-9, 11-6, 11-9 in thesub-junior boys’ singles final.

Pitted against the same rival in the junior boys’ singles final, Piyush did face much difficulty to tame Amit again at 9-11, 12-10, 11-5 and 11-8 for the coveted title.

However, in the men’s singles final, Piyush lost his steam against K Das 6-11, 6-11,8-11, 10-12 .
Katihar girl Chandra Raut won the women’s singles crown beating her teammate Ahra Pal 11-4, 5-11, 11-5, 8-11, 13-11 in a hard-fought final.

Riyanshi clinched the sub-junior girls’ title beating Vishakha 11-9, 11-9, 14-12 and 13-11 in the final. Kaustubh won the youth boys’ title defeating Anmol Basant 11-7, 12-10, 11-9 in the final.

President, Bihar Table Tennis Association (BTTA), Sanjay Singh, MLC, distributed the prizes. Mukesh Roy, secretary, BTTA, welcomed the guests and former international TT player, Sanjiv Shankar proposed a vote of thanks. AjayKumar Bose, deputy director, Art, Culture and Youth Affairs Department (Bihar), Sunil Kumar, Pradeep Kumar Srivastavand Sanjay Bhattacharya were present at the prize distribution function.

Raj Ranjan and Sudarshi Singh were adjudged best promising players in boys and girls sections respectively.

Photo caption: All the winners and runners-up of Second Bihar State Major Ranking table tennis championships pose for group photograph in Patna on October 13, 2009.

Photo: Aftab Alam Siddiqui

Sarita to lead Bihar sub-junior throwball team

Patna, October 14, 2009:
Sarita Singh will lead a 14-member Bihar girls team in the 16th sub-junior National throwball championship to be held in Goa from October 25, according to Niraj Kumar ’Pappu’, secretary, Throwball Association of Bihar.

Team: Sarita Singh (captain), Sneha Ranjan, Sakshi, Priti, Anvita Pandey, Supriya Kumari, Vaishnavi, Pammi Kumari, Neha Singh, Priyanka khalko, Priyanka Dayal, Sneha, Sunita and Soni Verma. Chief-de-mission: Kamna Bharti. Coach: Rakesh Ranjan.and manager: Aryan.

Photo caption: Bihar sub-junior throwball team in Patna on October 13, 2009.

Photo: Aftab Alam Siddiqui

Katihar's Varsha wins cadet girls' singles title

Patna, October 13, 2009:
Katihar lass Varsha Kumari won the cadet girls’ singles title of the second Bihar state Major Ranking table tennis championships beating Riyanshi Gupta of Madepura 11-7, 5-11, 11-6, 8-11 and 11-5 in a well contested final at the Bihar Young Men’s Institute here on Monday.

In the women’s singles event, Ahra Pal, Poulomi Raha, Saiqua Parween and Chandra Raut moved into the semi-finals.

In the sub-junior boys’ singles, Piyush D Gandhi, Aman Adarsh, Suman Kumar and Amit Kumar booked their appointed place in the semi-finals.Tushar Kanti, Anand Kumar Sah, Gagan Neer and Gauresh Nishad made the last four grades in cadet boys’ event.

Results:
Women’s singles (quarter-finals): Ahra Pal beat Payal Kumari 11-4, 11-2, 11-3; Saiqua Parween beat Priyanka Kumari 11-8, 11-9, 11-6; handra Raut beaVijayalaxmi 11-8, 11-8, 11-9 and Poulomi Raha beat Richa Ghosh 11-6, 11-9, 11-9.

Cadet boys' singles (quarter-finals): Tushar Kanti beat Priyanshu 11-9, 11-3, 11-9; Anand Kumar Sah beat Shubhanshu 8-11, 11-6, 11-6, 11-9; Gagan Neer beat Ayush 11-4, 11-3, 11-4 and Gaursh Nishad beat Aditya Umang 12-10, 11-7, 11-6.

Sub-junior boys’ singles (quarter-finals): Piyush D Gandhi beat Aniket Kumar 11-9, 11-6, 11-9, Aman Adarsh beat Shubham 11-6, 9-11, 10-12, 11-9, 11-6; Suman Kumar beat Gagan Neer 11-8, 11-8, 8-11, 11-8 and Amit Kumar beat Vivek Nishad 9-11, 11-9, 11-9, 11-3.

Junior boy’s singles (pre-quarter-finals): Piyush D Gandhi beat Ratnesh 6-11, 11-6, 11-1,11-8; Anand Kumar beat Ravi Kumar Rauniyar 11-7, 9-11, 13-11, 11-6; Saurav Kumar beat Abhinit 11-3, 4-11, 11-8, 11-4,; Abhishek Kumar beat Nishant Chandra 11-8, 11-7, 9-11, 11-6; Amit Kumar beat Shubham 11-8, 11-6, 6-11, 11-7 and Rahul Prakash beat Manish 11-7, 14-12, 13-11.

Men’s singles (second round): K Das beat Chaman Kumar 11-5, 11-2, 11-5; Ratnesh beat Tushar Kanti 11-8, 11-7, 11-6; Kunal Kumar beat Sandeep Jain 11-5, 11-8, 11-5; Kumar Anand beat Raunak Kumar 11-5, 11-7, 13-11 and Aman Barbaria beat Vikas Kumar Jha 11-3, 11-6, 11-7 and Manish beat Amarnath Mishra 10-12, 11-6, 11-4, 9-11, 11-5.

APWAD inter-school soccer from October 28

Patna, October 13, 2009:
Association for People’s Welfare and Development (APWAD) will organise the second Rock State-level inter-school football tournament at the outer ground of the Moinul Haq Stadium from October 28, according to Pranav Prakash, general secretary, APWAD.

He said the Rock Securities and Services had agreed upon to sponsor the tournament. The tournament is recognised by the Bihar Football Association, he added.

Pranav said 16 teams would be given entry to participate in the tournament and they would by divided into four groups. Top team from each group would qualify for thesemi-finals, he added.
The last date for entry is October 20.

Darbhanga to host Bihar junior kho-kho tournament from November 20

Patna, October 13, 2009:
The 13th Bihar state junior kho-kho championships will be held at Darbhanga from November 20, according to Dr Sudhakar Prasad Singh, president, Bihar State Kho-Kho Association.

All the affiliated districts of the state association had confirmed their participation for the meet that would see 450 players from different districts of the state vying for top honours, he said.

On the basis of the performance in the meet, Bihar team for the junior National championship to be held in Goa, would be selected, he added.

19th Bihar carrom championships from October 19

Patna, October 13, 2009:
Bihar State Carrom Association (BSCA) in association with Patna District Carrom Association will organize the 19th Bihar State and Inter-District carrom championshipsfrom October 19 to 21 at Post and Telegraph Recreation Club here.

Giving this information, BSCA secretary Bharat Bhushan said that about 300 players (including men and women) would take part in the meet which is being sponsored by Punjab Technical University.

He said Munger, Katihar, Purniia, Araria, Darbhanga, Madhubani, Samastipur, Muzaffarpur, Vaishali, Chapra, East and West Champaran, Rohtas, Bhagalpur, Buxar, Begusarai, Jamui, Sheikhpura, Nawada, Nalanda, Saharsa, Gaya, Sitamarhi, Seohar and Patna had confirmed their participation. Besides this, five institutional teams would also participate in the tournament, he added.

Bhushan said an organising committee under the chief patronship of Pankaj Kumar (regional head, Punjab Technical University) had been formed. The other members of the committee are; Shyam Nandan Sharma (patron), Ravi P Sinha (president), Bharat Bhushan and Badri Prasad Yadav (both vice-presidents), Ramashish Singh (organising secretary) and Dr Sanjay Srivastava (convenor).

Saiqua storms into women's singles quarter-finals

Patna, October 13, 2009
Quarter-finalists have been spotted in the women’s singles event of the second Bihar State Major Ranking table tennis championships at the Bihar Young Men’s Institute here on Sunday.

Saiqua Parween (Bhojpur) led the march along with Payal Kumari (Bhagalpur), PriyankaKuamri (Katihar), Vijaya Laxmi (Madhepura) and Riya Ghosh (Katihar).

In cadet girls’ singles Varsha Kumari, Puja Kumari (both Katihar), Vijaya Laxmi, Riya Kumari, Rabia Kumari and Vishakha (all Madhepura) moved into the quarter-finals.

In pre-quarter-final matches, Saiqua Parween thrashed Bhanupriya (Madhepura) 11-4, 11-6 and 11-2 while Priyanka Kumari beat Supriya Nidhi 11-7, 11-5, 11-4.

Results:
Cadet girls pre-quarter-final: Puja Kumari beat Sapna Kumar 11-8, 13-11, 7-11, 11-8; Vijaya Lakshmi beat Chanchla Dutta 11-8, 11-8, 11-3; Riya Kumari beat Puja Kumari 11-13, 11-7, 11-7, 12-10; Riyashi Gupta beat Himani Priya 11-6, 11-9, 11-5; Rubia Kumari beat Sonu Priya 11-9, 12-10, 11-4; Vishakha beat Ragani Kumari 11-8, 11-3, 11-7.

Women’s singles pre-quarter-finals: Payal Kumari beat Vishakha 11-8, 11-5, 5-11, 11-9; Saiqua Parween beat Bhanu Priya 11-4, 11-6, 11-2; Priyanka Kumari beat Supriya Nidhi 11-7, 11-5, 11-4; Chandra Rawat beat Priyashi Kumari 11-6, 11-3, 11-3; Vijaya Lakshmi beat Ashimatya Rani 11-8, 11-9, 11-4; Richa Ghosh beat Sapana Kumari 11-3, 11-5, 11-3.

Sub-junior boys’ singles second round: Piyush D Gandhi beat Shivam Kumar 11-4, 11-9, 9-11, 11-7; Ritu Joshi beat Anjani Kumar 11-9, 11-9, 11-8; Sourav Nishad beat Kanhiya 11-8, 11-8, 7-11, 11-8; Aniket Kumar beat Rishav Ranjan 11-9, 11-13, 11-13, 11-8, 11-5; Santosh Kumar beat Amit Kumar 11-8, 11-6, 11-6; Aman Adarsh beat Tushar Kanti 11-9, 11-8, 12-10; Aniket (Madhepura) beat Ravi Kumar 11-4, 11-6, 8-11, 11-7; Shuvam beat Mayank Mourya 11-6, 11-7, 10-12, 7-11, 11-8; Suman Kumar beat Rohan Kumar 11-8, 12-14, 11-7, 11-7; Umar Ahsan beat Ayush Adharsh 11-8, 11-5, 7-11, 11-7; Anand Kumar Saha beat Anupam Vivek 11-6, 11-9, 11-9; Gagan Nir beat Shivam Singh 11-3, 11-3, 11-9; Sourav Kumar beat Yogesh 11-6, 11-6, 11-4; Vivek Nishad beat Kumar Utkarsh 11-7, 11-5, 9-11, 11-8; Priyanshu Kumar beat Sagar 11-8, 11-5, 8-11, 11-9; Amit Kumar beat Aditya Umang 11-7, 8-11, 14-12, 15-17, 11-4.

Cadet boys’ second round: Tushar Kanti beat Ritosh 11-6, 12-10, 11-4; Yogesh beat Raj Ranjan 11-7, 11-7, 4-11, 11-6; Mukund Kumar beat Rohan Kumar 12-10, 4-11, 11-7, 11-5; Priyanshu beat Vishanu Prasad 11-7, 11-6, 11-6; Rishav Ranjan beat Kumar Utkarsh 12-10, 14-12, 8-11, 8-11, 13-11; Shubhanshu Kumar beat Kanhaiya 11-5, 11-8, 11-7; Aman beat Ankur 11-4, 11-2, 11-6; Anand Kumar Sah beat Priyanshu Kumar 11-9, 11-8, 11-3.

Seeded players move up in 2nd Bihar State Major Ranking table tennis

Patna, October 13, 2009:
Seeded players Yogesh and Priyanshu along with a dozen others moved into the second round of the cadet boy’s singles event in the Second Bihar State Major Ranking table tennis championship at the Bihar Young Men’s Institute here on Saturday.

Yogesh tamed Aditya 11-6, 11-6, 11-7 while Priyanshu trounced Suparsh Singh 11-6, 11-8, 11-4 in their first round matches.

Prof Rajendra Prasad Gupta, MLC inaugurated the tournament at a glittering function. Before the start of matches he was introduced to the players. Dilip Kumar Gandhi, secretary, Patna District Table Tennis Association (PDTTA), welcomed the guests and Mukesh Roy, secretary, Bihar Table Tennis Association (BTTA), proposed a vote of thanks. Mahadeo Prasad Yadav, vice-president, BTTA, presided over thefunction. Prem Kumar Singh, chairman, PDTTA and its vice-presidentRajiv Ratan Singh were present at the opening function.

Speaking on the occasion, Prof Gupta announced he would sanction a fund from MLC quota in next financial year to BYMI for the construction of a guest house at the institute.

Results:

Cadet boys singles (first round): Yogesh beat Aditya 11-6, 11-6, 11-7; Priyanshu beat Suparsh Singh 11-6, 11-8, 11-4; Rohan Kumar beat Pratik Bansal 11-2, 11-6, 11-8; Subhanshu beat Vicky Kumar 11-7, 11-3, 11-5; Raj Ranjan beat Gaurav Pal 11-5, 11-3, 11-5; Shivam beat Rishabh 11-6, 11-8, 9-11, 11-7 and Atas Raja beat Rohit 13-11, 11-7 and 11-5.

Photo Caption: Professor Rajendra Prasad Gupta, MLC, being introduced to players at the opening function of the Second Bihar State Major Ranking table tennis champiosnhips in Patna on October 10, 2009.

Photo: Aftab Alam Siddiqui

Purnia to host Bihar U-25 chess from October 19

Patna, October 13, 2009:
Bihar state under-25 chess championships will be held at Purnia Zila School, Purnia, from October 19, according to Arvinda Kumar Sinha, secretary, All Bihar Chess Association.
Top two finishers in both boys and girls sections will represent Bihar in the National under-25 chess championships.

Anjani Kumar Singh is new president of Bihar State Kabaddi Association

Patna, October 13, 2009:
After a gap of four years, Anjani Kumar Singh, a senior bureaucrat and Principal Secretary, Human Resource Department, Government of Bihar, is back at the helm of Bihar State Kabaddi Association as president. Singh has been elected president of the BSKA in its annual general meeting held recently after the successful completion of National sub-junior kabaddi championships here.

Kumar Vijay has been retained as secretary for the fourth successive term.

Office-bearers are: Anjani Kumar Singh (president), RN Singh, Gopal Bohra, Ramakant Singh DN Singh and Sanjay Sinha (all vice-presidents), Kumar Vijay (secretary), Pankaj Kumar Singh, Mukesh Kumar, Awadesh Kumar Singh, Jai Shankar Choudhary and Anand Shankar Tiwari (all joint-secretaries), Jagganath Singh (treasurer), RajivKumar Singh, Rana Ranjit Singh, Kumar Deepak Singh, Praveen Kumar andShivshankar Prasad Singh (all executive-members).

First North East Youth Festival begins at Kohima

New Delhi, October 8, 2009:
Chief Minister of Nagaland Neiphiu Rio declared the first North East Youth Festival open in a glittering ceremony held at the Indira Gandhi Stadium at Kohima today. Thundering applause from thousands of audience, firing of the traditional gun, colorful balloons flying high in the cloudy sky, smiling of the early morning sun in between, traditional music all added a festive look to the stadium.

About 1300 youth from all over the country including all the north eastern states are participating in the 3 day North East Youth Festival being organized jointly by the Department of Youth Affairs, Government of India and the Nagaland Government. Majority of the participants are active volunteers of the NYKS and NSS, two field organizations of the Department of Youth Affairs and Sports.

In his inaugural speech, the CM of Nagaland Neiphiu Rio remarked that success at the regional or national level is no longer excellence. He called upon the youth from all over the country to strive to be the best globally, to reach out for international recognition to bring laurels to our people and glory to the country.

Youth and Creativity is the theme selected aptly for the first ever North East youth festival being organized in Kohima. Rio mentioned that the theme is most appropriate for the present time and age as in the past 2 years, the entire world has undergone a time of crisis and economic melt-down.

“The global recession has put forward several questions, many of which are yet to find complete answer. But, there is one definite answer that is bound to be accepted in every walk of life and that is creativity. Companies, governments, entrepreneurs etc. are all looking for creativity and this new creativity will have to emerge from the imagination and the courage of the youth,” he said.
He urged upon the youth to follow the time honoured mantra of 3Ds i.e., Dedication, Discipline and Determination for success.

B M Lanong, Deputy Chief Minister of Meghalaya, also addressed the youth and wished the very best.

The inauguration of the festival was followed by cultural performances which included traditional Nagas indigenous sports viz, Naga wrestling, taekwondo displayed by students and other tribal dances. The three-day festival will witness a number of competitive events like rock band contest, one act play, folk dance, folk music classical dance competitions etc. for which elaborate arrangements have been made. Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangatan has also set up an exhibition displaying various arts and crafts from various parts of the country in the Yuva Kriti. A Convention has also been organized for the NSS students and eminent personalities will address and share their experiences with the students.

The closing ceremony to be held on October 10, will be graced by Ms. Agatha Sangma, Union Minister of State in the Ministry of Rural Development.

Source: Press release from Union Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs.

National Ranking TT: Soumyadeep, Shamini claim singles titles

Gandhidham, October 5, 2009:
Fourth seed Soumyadeep Roy of Petroleum Sports Promotion Board (PSPB) clinched the men’s singles title of the Indian Oil National Ranking Table Tennis Championships defeating ninth seed Anirban Nandy of Railways Sports Promotion Board (RSPB) 11-6, 11-8, 6-11, 8-11, 12-10, 1-11, 11-8 in the final at Kandla Port Trust’s SVP Auditorium here on Monday.

Second seed K.Shamini of Tamil Nadu won the women’s singles title beating fourth seed Divya Deshpande of PSPB 11-13, 11-7, 11-9, 11-8, 5-11, 11-7.

Results:
YOUTH BOYS SINGLES FINALS:
(16) G SATHIYAN(TN) BT (17) SOUMAYJIT GHOSH (NB) [4-2] (11-4, 11-2, 10-12, 7-11, 11-7, 11-5).
YOUTH GIRLS SINGLES FINALS:
(32)ANKITA DAS(NB) BT (2)PALLAVI KUNDU(RSPB) [4-1] (11-8, 4-11, 11-7, 12-10, 11-4)
JUNIOR BOYS SINGLES FINALS:
(1) G SATHIYAN(TN) BT (32)HARMEET DESAI(RSPB) [4-0] (11-5, 13-11, 11-9, 13-11).
MENS’ SINGLES SEMI-FINALS:
(32)SOUMYADEEP ROY(PSPB) BT (13)G SATHIYAN(TN) [4-1] (11-3, 9-11, 11-2, 14-12, 11-7).
(32)SOUMYADEEP ROY(PSPB) BT (13)G SATHIYAN(TN) [4-1] (11-3, 9-11, 11-2, 14-12, 11-7)(48)ANIRBAN NANDI(RSPB) BT (62)R S RAJA(TN) [4-1] (11-8, 11-7, 11-6, 5-11, 11-6).

SUB-JUNIOR BOYS SINGLES SEMI-FINALS: (5)ABHISHEK YADAV(PSPBA) BT (19)SAYANTAN DEY(WB) [4-1] (6-11, 11-5, 11-7, 14-12, 11-6).

WOMENS’ SINGLES SEMI-FINALS: (12)DIVYA DESHPANDE(PSPB) BT (4)MAMTA PRABHU(DB) [4-1] (11-9, 11-8, 11-7, 9-11, 11-8) (32)K SHAMINI(TN) BT (17)MADHURIKA PATKAR(PSPB) [4-2] (11-5, 11-8, 3-11, 12-10, 8-11, 11-8).

JUNIOR GIRLS SINGLES FINALS: (32)MALLIKA BHANDARKAR(MHR) BT (8)S. KARTHICKA(TN) [4-0] (11-8, 11-7, 11-6, 11-9).

SUB-JUNIOR GIRLS SINGLES FINALS:(17)ANUSKA DUTTA(NB) BT (1)OISHWARYYA DEB(NB) [4-2] (8-11, 11-5, 11-4, 10-12, 11-5, 11-9).

Photo caption: Ankita Das of North Bengal (in green) plays against Pallavi Kundu of (RSPB) in the youth girls singles final at Gandhidham on Monday.

Source: Press release from GSTTA

National Ranking TT: Ankita upsets top seed Pooja Sahasrabudhe in women's singles

Gandhidham-Kachchh, October 4, 2009:
Second seed Harmeet Desai of Gujarat entered the junior boys’ final defeating unseeded Sushmit Sriram of Tamil Nadu 8-11, 11-2, 11-3, 11-6, 11-4 in the Indian Oil National Ranking Table Tennis Championships-2009 at Kandla Port Trust’s SVP Auditorium, Gandhidham.

In the final, Harmeet will take on top seed G.Sathiyan of Tamil Nadu, who beat fourth seed Sanmay Paranjpaye of Maharashtra 11-6, 11-9, 11-6, 11-4.

In the men’s pre-quarter-finals, 14th seed Anikhet Khoparkar of Maharashtra caused an upset defeating third seed R.Abhishek of Indian Bank 11-5, 11-8, 12-10, 9-11, 11-4.

In the sub-junior girls’ quarter finals, unseeded Gargi Surwase of Maharashtra beat 4th seed Amrutha Pushpak of Tamil Nadu 8-11, 11-7, 5-11, 12-10, 12-10.
In the junior girls’ quarter-finals, Eighth seed S.Karthicka of Tamil Nadu upset top-seed Ankita Das of North Bengal 5-11, 13-11, 11-7, 8-11, 8-11, 11-6, 11-8.

In another major upset of the championship, in the women’s singles top seed Pooja Sahasrabudhe of Maharashtra was toppled in the pre-quarters by 16th seed Ankita Das of North Bengal 11-9, 13-15, 7-11, 11-8, 11-8, 11-7.

The other upset was in the women’s category, where Olympian Neha Agrawal of Delhi lost in pre-quarters to 12th seed Mausmi Paul of PSPB 9-11, 11-9, 9-11, 11-7, 11-8, 8-11, 11-6. This year’s Arjuna Awardee Paulomi Ghatak lost to eighth seed Mamta Prabhu of Dena Bank in the pre-quarter-finals 11-7, 11-4, 11-7, 11-9.

In the youth boys’ final, 4th seed G.Sathiyan of Tamil Nadu will clash with 3rd seed Somyajit Ghosh of North Bengal.

In first semi-final G.Sathiyan defeated unseeded R.S.Raja of Tamil Nadu 12-10, 5-11, 11-6, 11-7, 12-10 while in the other semi-finals Somyajit Ghosh defeated Sanil Shetty of Maharashtra 2-11, 14-12, 11-7, 5-11, 10-12, 12-10, 11-7.

In the youth girls final 8th seed Pallavi Kundu of Railways will meet 2nd seed Ankita Das of North Bengal. In the first semi-final Pallavi Kundu defeated unseeded Pooja Sahasrabudhe of Maharashtra 6-11, 11-9, 9-11, 2-11, 11-8, 11-9, 11-7.

In the other semi-final Ankita Das defeated 3rd seed Neha Agrawal of Delhi in one of the longest match 11-6, 14-16, 2-11, 11-13, 24-22, 13-11, 11-8.

Results:
MENS’ SINGLES PRE-QUARTERS:
(1)ZUBIN KUMAR(PSPB) BT (8)SANIL SHETTY(MHR) [4-1] (11-7, 11-9, 11-7, 7-11, 12-10); 13)G SATHIYAN(TN) BT (9)SOUGATA SARKAR(WB) [4-1] (7-11, 11-3, 14-12, 11-4, 11-6); (24)AMAN BALGU(RSPB) BT (19)L. SACHIN(TN) [4-2] (9-11, 11-4, 11-7, 11-6, 8-11, 11-9); (32)SOUMYADEEP ROY(PSPB) BT (27)SOUMAYJIT GHOSH(NB) [4-0] (12-10, 11-1, 12-10, 11-9); (40)ANIKET KOPARKAR(MHR) BT (33) R. ABHISHEK (IB)-15 [4-1] (11-5, 11-8, 12-10, 9-11, 11-4); (48)ANIRBAN NANDI(RSPB) BT (43) PRASANNA(IB) [4-0] (11-6, 11-2, 11-8, 11-5); (56)SAYAN PAUL ROY(RSPB) BT (51)L. SATHISHWARAN(TN) [4-0] (11-8, 11-9, 11-7, 11-5); (62)R S RAJA(TN) BT (57)RAJ MONDAL(NB) [4-1] (13-11, 11-9, 5-11, 11-4, 11-7).

YOUTH BOYS’ SINGLES QUARTER-FINALS:
(2)R S RAJA (TN) BT (5)RAJ MONDAL(NB) [4-1] (12-10, 5-11, 11-6, 11-7, 12-10); (16)G SATHIYAN(TN) BT (9)V NITIN(PSPBA) [4-3] (11-7, 7-11, 11-7, 8-11, 3-11, 11-7, 11-4); (17)SOUMAYJIT GHOSH(NB) BT (24)SAYAN PAUL ROY(RSPB) [4-1] (11-4, 9-11, 11-5, 11-7, 11-6); (32)SANIL SHETTY(MHR) BT (25)HARMEET DESAI(RSPB)-12 [4-2] (11-9, 9-11, 8-11, 11-8, 11-8, 11-5).

JUNIOR BOYS SINGLES QUARTER-FINALS:
(1)G SATHIYAN(TN) BT (5)SUDHANSHU GROVER(PSPBA) [4-1] (11-6, 11-4, 11-9, 11-13, 11-4); (16)SANMAY PARANJAPE(MHR) BT (9)ABHISHEK YADAV(PSPBA) [4-3] (6-11, 11-8, 12-14, 11-5, 4-11, 11-7, 11-8); (18)SUSHMIT SRIRAM(TN) BT (24)AVIK DAS(NB) [4-2] (11-0, 6-11, 11-7, 11-8, 10-12, 11-8); (32)HARMEET DESAI(RSPB) BT (25)VIVEK BHARGAVA(PSPBA) [4-0] (11-6, 11-6, 13-11, 11-8).

SUB-JUNIOR BOYS’ SINGLES QUARTER-FINALS:
(1)ABHISHEK YADAV(PSPBA) BT (5)VRAJ HALVAWALA(GUJ)-41 [3-0] (11-6, 11-8, 11-4);
(16)SNEHAMOY MALLIK(WB) BT (9)PANKAJ VISHWAKARMA(PSPBA) [3-1] (11-3, 6-11, 11-8, 11-3); (19)SAYANTAN DEY(WB) BT (23)SHUBHANKAR RENAVIKAR(MHR) [3-1] (7-11, 11-3, 11-9, 11-5); (31)M. ANIRUDH(TN) BT (25)BIRDI BORO(RAJ) [3-0] (11-6, 11-8, 11-8, 0-0).

WOMENS’ SINGLES PRE-QUARTERS:
(4)ANKITA DAS(NB) BT (1)POOJA SAHASRABUDHE(MHR) [4-2] (11-9, 13-15, 7-11, 11-8, 11-8, 11-7); (8)MAMTA PRABHU(DB) BT (5)POULOMI GHATAK(PSPB) [4-0] (11-7, 11-4, 11-7, 11-9); (12)MOUSUMI PAUL(PSPB) BT (9)NEHA AGARWAL(DLI) [4-3] (9-11, 11-9, 9-11, 11-7, 11-8, 8-11, 11-6);
(16)DIVYA DESHPANDE(PSPB) BT (13)A V NIVEDITA(TN) [4-2] (11-5, 5-11, 11-0, 4-11, 11-9, 11-7); (17)MADHURIKA PATKAR(PSPB) BT (20)KASTURI CHAKRABORTY(OIL) [4-3] (12-10, 11-7, 9-11, 4-11, 11-7, 6-11, 11-3); (21)PRAJAKTA TIPALE(RSPB) BT (23)ANANDITA CHAKRABORTY(RSPB) [4-3] (7-11, 11-9, 12-10, 7-11, 7-11, 11-9, 11-8); (25)MOUMA DAS(PSPB) BT (27)KRITIKA SINHA ROY(WB) [4-2] (11-13, 11-6, 11-8, 11-3, 10-12, 11-9); (32) K SHAMINI(TN) BT (29)SOUMI MONDAL(RSPB) [4-0] (11-7, 11-5, 11-9, 12-10).

YOUTH GIRLS SINGLES QUARTER-FINALS:
(8)PALLAVI KUNDU(RSPB) BT (2)SHRUTI TALNIKAR(MHR) [4-0] (11-7, 11-9, 11-8, 11-5); (10)POOJA SAHASRABUDHE(MHR) BT (16)PRAJAKTA TIPALE(RSPB) [4-3] (12-10, 8-11, 9-11, 11-4, 17-15, 8-11, 11-9); ()NEHA AGARWAL(DLI) BT (24)SHREYA GHOSH(RSPB) [4-3] (11-4, 11-1, 11-13, 7-11, 11-7, 10-12, 11-8); (32)ANKITA DAS(NB) BT (25)SOUMI MONDAL(RSPB) [4-0] (11-4, 11-8, 11-4, 11-6).

JUNIOR GIRLS SINGLES QUARTER-FINALS:
(8)S. KARTHICKA(TN) BT (1)ANKITA DAS(NB) [4-3] (5-11, 13-11, 11-7, 8-11, 8-11, 11-6, 11-8); (13)MANIKA BATRA(DLI) BT (11) S NARSIMHA PRIYA(TN) [4-0] (11-9, 11-6, 12-10, 12-10); (20)V SNEHA(IB) BT (24)NIKHAT BANU(AP) [4-2] (16-14, 10-12, 11-8, 12-14, 11-7, 11-6); (32)MALLIKA BHANDARKAR(MHR) BT (26)SHWETA PARTE(MHR) [4-1] (12-10, 3-11, 11-5, 11-9, 11-8).

SUB-JUNIOR GIRLS SINGLES QUARTER-FINALS:
(1)OISHWARYYA DEB (NB) BT (7)MAITHREYEE BAILOOR(KNT) [3-0] (11-7, 11-6, 11-6); (11)GARGI SURWASE(MHR) BT (16)AMRUTHA PUSHPAK(TN) [3-2] (8-11, 11-7, 5-11, 12-10, 12-10); (17)ANUSKA DUTTA(NB) BT (24)R.K. YUKTIROSHINI(TN) [3-1] (7-11, 11-6, 11-5, 13-11); (32)SUTIRTHA MUKHERJEE(WB) BT (26)DEVIKA BHIDE(MHR) [3-2] (8-11, 11-9, 10-12, 11-3, 13-11); (5)K SHAMINI(TN) BT (1)MALLIKA BHANDARKAR(MHR) [4-3] (3-11, 4-, 11-5, 11-6, 11-7, 8-11, 9-11); (9)ANONA AGARWAL(RAJ) BT (13) MEGHNA(CHD) [4-3] (11-3, 11-4, 5-11, 6-11, 7-11, 11-8, 11-9); (21)KALAIVANAN M.(TN) BT (17)FRENAZ CHIPIYA(GUJ) [4-3] (3-11, 4-, 11-5, 11-6, 11-7, 8-11, 9-11); (25)A. RAJATH KAMAL(TN) BT (29)ANIRBAN NANDI(RSPB) [4-3] (11-3, 11-4, 5-11, 6-11, 7-11, 11-8, 11-9).

JUNIOR BOYS’ SINGLES SEMI-FINALS:
(1)G SATHIYAN(TN) BT (16)SANMAY PARANJAPE(MHR) [4-0] (11-6, 11-9, 11-6, 11-4): (32)HARMEET DESAI(RSPB) BT (18)SUSHMIT SRIRAM(TN) [4-1] (8-11, 11-2, 11-3, 11-6, 11-4).

JUNIOR GIRLS SINGLES SEMI-FINALS:
(8)S. KARTHICKA(TN) BT (13)MANIKA BATRA(DLI) [4-1] (5-11, 14-12, 11-7, 11-7, 11-6); (32)MALLIKA BHANDARKAR(MHR) BT (20)V SNEHA(IB) [4-0] (11-6, 11-5, 11-7, 11-9).

SUB-JUNIOR BOYS SINGLES SEMI-FINALS:
(5)ABHISHEK YADAV(PSPBA) BT (16)SNEHAMOY MALLIK(WB) [4-1] (8-11, 12-10, 17-15, 11-8, 11-6); (19)SAYANTAN DEY(WB) BT (31)M. ANIRUDH(TN) [4-2] (11-5, 11-7, 11-9, 7-11, 7-11, 11-6).

SUB-JUNIOR GIRLS SINGLES SEMI-FINALS:
(8)S. KARTHICKA(TN) BT (13)MANIKA BATRA(DLI) [4-1] (5-11, 14-12, 11-7, 11-7, 11-6); (32)MALLIKA BHANDARKAR(MHR) BT (20)V SNEHA(IB) [4-0] (11-6, 11-5, 11-7, 11-9); (1)OISHWARYYA DEB(NB) BT (16)GARGI SURWASE(MHR) [4-2] (9-11, 11-8, 11-7, 11-5, 9-11, 11-7); (17)ANUSKA DUTTA(NB)-33 BT (32)SUTIRTHA MUKHERJEE(WB) [4-1] (11-8, 8-11, 11-7, 11-9, 11-5).

Sources: Press release from GSTTA

Bihar boys script history; win National sub-junior kabaddi title

Patna, October 4, 2009:
Bihar boys re-wrote history at the Moinul Haq Stadium winning the National sub-junior kabaddi championships title here on Sunday. It was indeed an incredible performance. Bihar waited for long to cherish the moment of victory in a team event of a national tournament after the bifurcation of the state in 2000. Bihar beat Delhi 40-28 in absorbing final for the boys’ title.

It could have been a double slam had the Bihar girls not faltered in the final against Delhi. The National Capital girls prevailed over Bihar 19-8 to win the crown.

The losing semi-finalists Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan were declared joint third place winners in the boys’ section while Manipur and Haryana got joint third position in thegirls’ group.
Bihar Governor Debananda Konwar gave away the prizes. Local MP, Shatrughan Sinha presided over the prize-distribution function.
Bhavesh Kumar of Bihar and Rakhi Kumri of Delhi were awarded best player of the tournament in boys and girls’ sections respectively.

Right from the beginning, Bihar boys mounted pressure on Delhi citadel with their blazing raids. Bihar’s attack was spearheaded by Bhavesh, who displayed the magnificent combination of speed, power and skills through out the match. Bihar collected 14 points in the first half on the match while Delhi scored 9.
In the second half, Bihar boys continued to improve their performance in every aspect of the game and put more pressure on Delhi team. It was tough time for Delhi to earn points on raids. Even Delhi’s defence line failed to nab Bihar riders on a number of occasions.
Bihar bagged 26 points in the second half with some effective raids and catches. Delhi too went all out in the fag end of the second half and scored 19 points but that was not enough to see them through. Bihar got 4 bonus and 2 lona points in the match while Delhi earned 5 bonus and one-lona points.
The girls’ final saw a close contest between Delhi and Bihar in the first half. Both the teams adopted defensive tactics as Delhi could manage to score 7 points against Bihar’s 5.

In the second half, Delhi girls came out with a calculated game plan to outwit Bihar. Delhi increased the pace of the game with stunning raids and well planned catches. Delhiscored 12 points in the second half while Bihar could manage to earn three points only.
Rakhi, Archana, Kusum and Akriti showed brilliant skills of kabaddi for Delhi while Devyanti, Rashmi, Navya and Rinku played well for Bihar.

Photo captions: Top: Bihar boys pose for group photograph after winning the National sub-junior kabaddi trophy with Bihar Governor Debananda Konwar and Shatrughan Sinha, MP, in Patna on October 4, 2009.

Top 2: Delhi boys hold aloft runners-up trophy.

Top 3: Delhi girls teaam with winners trophy

Bottom: Bihar girls team with runners-up trophy.

Photos: Aftab Alam Siddiqui