Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Abhishek in quarterfinals at Nanjing Games table tennis

 Nanjing, August 18, 2013: It was a mixed bag for the two-member Indian table tennis team at the second Asian Youth Games here as Abhishek Yadav entered to the quarterfinals in the men’s singles to keep India’s medal hope in the sport, while it was curtains for Suthirtha Mukherjee, who bowed out in the pre-quarterfinals here this evening.

Yadav defeated Iran’s Soroosh Amiri Nia 4-2 (6-11, 4-11, 117, 11-8, 11-9, 11-8) in a 44-minute pre-quarterfinal duel. The Indian, competing at the Games as an Independent Olympic Athletic under OCA flag following the suspension of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), was slow to start with, losing the first two games in just 11 minutes.

Yadav will meet Malaysian Dunley Foo in the quarter-finals tomorrow morning. Foo subdued Japanese Tonin Ruzakiy 4-3 in the pre-quarterfinals. 

Yadav, however, upped the ante in the next two rather comfortably to restore parity. But in the fifth game, Yadav trailed 1-5 before making a steady progress to level the score at 7-all. From there on, it dragged for a while as both the Iranian and the Indian were level at 9-9. With serve on, the Indian simply shut out the Iranian challenge to go 3-2 up.

That was the indication for Yadav to go all out in the next game as he ran up a good lead at 5-1. But Nia managed to bring himself back into the match by reducing the margin to mere two points. However, the day belonged to the Indian who increased the lead to four points at 10-6. Serving for the game and match, he made errors at the net and sent one out to allow his opponent two crucial points. But Nia returned the compliment on his service and the Indian, without wasting any time, clinched the points with a forehand scorcher.

“The fifth game was crucial. The moment I won it, I grew in confidence and went all out in the sixth. My attacking game paid dividends,” said the left-handed Yadav.

But for the fifth seeded Suthirtha Mukherjee, it was all over for the Kolkata youngster as she failed to match the guile of Seul Lee or Korea who won 4-0 (11-7, 11-7, 13-11, 11-4). The Korean took just 28 minutes to clean up Suthirtha who, despite going neck and neck in the first two games at 6-6, lost the initiative. In the third she fought valiantly but the Korean clinched the game at 13-11. In the next the Indian’s drooping shoulders told the tale as the Korean finished the game in just four minutes.

A TTFI Press release


Saturday, August 17, 2013

Bihar sub-junior basketball team announced


Bihar sub-junior basketball team which will participate in the National sub-junior basketball championships beginning at the Patliputra Sports Complex in Patna from August 18, 2013.

Indian junior paddlers win bagful of medals in El Salvador

New Delhi, August 17, 2013:  Continuing their winning ways, Indian juniors claimed all but one title at the ITTF El Salvador Junior and Cadet Open table tennis championships which concluded on Friday night. The Indian paddlers had earlier won both the team titles in the Cadet sections.

Like at Guatemala championships last week, the only title that eluded the Indians was the Cadet Boys’ singles crown.

The surprise finalist Arjun Ghosh finished with the silver medal after going down 1-3 (11-8, 13-15, 8-11, 12-14) to No. 2 seed Kwan Man Ho from Hong Kong in the Cadet Boys final. Though the unseeded Ghosh kept himself in the reckoning with his fine returns and excellent defence, the Mexican proved a notch better than the Indian.

At Guatemala, Birdie Boro had lost the Cadet Boys final to Cuban Livan Martinez but this time the Indian had bowed out to the eventual winner, in the semi-finals 7-11, 11-13, 9-11.  

In Cadet Girls’ Singles Moumita Das, a player with no world ranking emerged as the champion. In the final she accounted for Spain’s Zhang Xuan, the No.2 seed, by the very narrowest of margins in a five-game duel (11-7, 11-9, 8-11, 11-13, 11-9), having at the semi-final stage beaten compatriot and top seed Sagarika Mukherjee in five games (11-6, 9-11, 9-11, 14-12, 11-5). In the earlier round, Moumita ousted compatriot Sreeja Akula, also with no global listing, (9-11, 11-8, 11-5, 11-7).

India also clinched Cadet Boys’ Doubles and Cadet Girls’ Doubles gold medals. Anirban Ghosh and Arjun Ghosh joined forces to win the Cadet Boys’ Doubles title beating colleagues Birdie Boro and Lalrin Puia in the final 10-12, 11-4, 11-2, 9-11, 11-8 and Moumita Dutta and Sagarika Mukherjee did an encore beating the Peruvian duo Valeria Cuba and Andrea Guzman 14-12, 11-8, 12-10.

Anirban Ghosh and Sreeja Akula won the Junior Boys and Junior Girls singles titles, their maiden efforts on the ITTF Junior circuit. For Anirban, who had entered quarter-finals last year, it was a quantum jump. Anirban defeated team mate and No. 8 seed Birdie Boro in the final 12-10, 11-9, 8-11, 5-11, 11-6, 11-9 in a see-saw encounter. Anirban had all ready answers to Boro’s guiles and finished the game with a great winner to the right of Boro.


If Anirban Ghosh’s win was a bit of surprise for many, the success recorded by Sreeja Akula in the Junior Girls’ singles event against a much-known No. 2 seed Sagarika Mukherjee stunned everyone. After beating for Dominican Republic’s Eva Brito, the No.1 seed in the quarter-finals 4-2, then Spain’s Zhang Xuan, the No.4 seed in the semi-finals with a similar margin, she took on Sagarika Mukherjee.  And deservingly, Akula posted another six-game win (8-11, 11-6, 12-10, 9-11, 11-5, 11-4) against the No. 2 seed and in-form player.

A TTFI Press release

Governor of Chhattisgarh congratulates Indian junior women hockey team

New Delhi: August 17, 2013: Governor of Chhattisgarh Shekhar Dutt congratulated Indian junior women hockey team for winning first ever bronze medal in the FIH Junior Women’s Hockey World Cup 2013 held at Monchengladbach, Germany this month.

In the letter sent to Hockey India, Dutt said “I take this opportunity to congratulate the Indian Junior Women Hockey team for their excellent performance. The team has indeed brought laurels to India.”

He also lauded the efforts of Hockey India. In his letter to Hockey India he said “The performance of the Junior Women Hockey team has become possible because of the excellent training provided by the Hockey India”
.  
Dr. Narinder Batra, Secretary General Hockey India Dutt for his letter and said Hockey India will continue to put all out efforts to retrieve past glory of Indian Hockey.

HI Press release


Friday, August 16, 2013

PSPB get top billing for Institutional TT

New Delhi, August 16, 2013: Petroleum Sports Promotion Board (PSPB), like in the past, has received top billing in all the four events of the 43rd Inter-Institutional Table Tennis Championships, to be held at Dharward (Karnataka) between August 22 and 27.

Based on last year’s performance, the Railway Sports Promotion Board (RSPB) has been seeded behind PSPB at the second spot in team events of both men and women sections, while it will be the Airports Authority of India (AAI) teams who have been seeded second in the Youth Boys and Youth Girls sections.

The championships, which are the season opener and the second-most important event after the nationals in the TTFI calendar, attracts country’s top paddlers and will be hosted by the Dharward District Table Tennis Association (DDTTA). The draws for the team events were here held at the TTFI office Friday morning under the supervision of TTFI secretary-general D.R. Choudhary.

With 19 institutions having entered the championships, 18 men’s teams and 12 women’s teams have been divided into six and four groups, respectively, to play in the first stage. Only two teams from each group will qualify for the second stage.

Incidentally, the Institutional championships being the selection event for the Senior Inter-State and National Championships, to be held at Bihar in January 2014, only two top teams in both the events will qualify for the nationals.

There will also be Inter-Institution Youth Boys and Youth Girls team events. We are having four teams in Youth Boys and five teams in the Youth Girls sections. The teams will play in the round-robin league format to determine final positions. The winner in each category will be eligible to participate in the Junior Inter-State and National Championships to be held at Guwahati during December, 2013.

 The individual events which follow the team championships will also see the participation of players from 15 states, apart from the institutions, making it a tough competition for all the paddlers.  

Leading players like Soumyajit Ghosh, Sanil Shetty, Soumyadeep Roy in the men’s category, and K Shamini, Poulami Ghatak, Ankita Das and Madhurika Patkar, to name a few, will all be vying for top honours both for their institutions and states besides individually trying to a prove a point.

The championships carry a total prize purse of Rs. 3.32 lakh, with the top eight sharing the spoils.

A TTFI Press release  




The Duke of Edinburgh Cup from August 17

New Delhi, August 16, 2013: The Indian qualifier of The Duke of Edinburgh Cup presented by Oris and Unitech in India will be held on August 17 and 18 at Unitech Golf and Country Club, Sector 96, Noida.

The qualifiers for Duke of Edinburgh Cup, an international amateur golf event known for its youth charities, are held in more than 10 countries in the world. The winners from the qualifiers are invited to take part in the world finals of the Duke of Edinburgh Cup held in England at Windsor Castle, London.

One winner from each day of the India qualifier will be invited to take part in the world finals at London from September 15th -19th, 2013. Air Travel, accommodation, transportation, meals and green fee expenses of the winners are all paid for.

Around 100 amateur golfers will participate in the India qualifier over two days. The tournament will be played in individual stableford format.

The 36 hole world finals of Duke of Edinburgh Cup take place over two days on two prestigious golf courses. There is also a match with the members at the Royal Household Golf Club, which is the Royal Family's private golf course at Windsor Castle.

"Duke of Edinburgh Cup is one of the most premium events on the golfing calendar world over. We are pleased to be associated with this international event and look forward to Indian team's victory at the world finals at Windsor Castle", said Mayan Mehta (VP- Hospitality) of Unitech.

"The attributes of premium-ness, luxury, class and excellence associated with Duke of Edinburgh Cup are perfectly in sync with the ethos of Oris. We are privileged to present the internationally acclaimed event in India", said Sanjay Mishra, General Manager of Oris Watches. 

Press release from Business Wire India

3rd leg of Bihar State Open Selection League Chess Championship from today

Patna, August 16, 2013: Shambhu Sharan Singh, Regional Director, IGNOU, will inaugurate  the 3rd leg of Bihar State Open Selection League Chess Championship on Saturday at Gautam Hotel, Mirjapur Chowk,  Darbhanga.  

Giving this information Arvind Kumar Sinha, honorary secretary, All Bihar Chess Association said that the top two the championship would get seeding to play an  upper level 10 player- Round Robin State Senior Championship 2013 introduced for the first time. 

Four such players have already been selected from previously held first and second league events at Kishanganj and Muzaffarpur.

According to Smita Choudhary, the convener, there would also be special prizes for women and age group players as such the entries would be open up to 2 pm on Saturday. for which  players may contact at 9431210549 .  

           

   

India ‘A’ Cadet teams win gold at El Salvador

New Delhi, August 15, 2013: In what turned out to be a pure Indian show, India’s junior paddlers won both the Cadet Boys and Cadet Girls team titles in at the El Salvador Junior and Cadet Open Table Tennis championships on Wednesday night.

After their gold medal winning performances at the Guatemala events, the Indians traveled to the neighbouring El Salvador to begin their campaign against teams lime Argentina, Mexico, Puerto Rico and Ecuador. Keeping their top billing intact and picking up the threads from where they had left off at the Guatemala City, India A and India B teams in both the Cadet Boys and Cadet Girls sections proved to be a cut above the rest in fray.

The A squad, comprising Anirban Ghosh and Birdie Boro, defeated India B, which consisted of Arjun Ghosh and Lalrin Puia, 3-0 to claim the title, while in the Cadet Girls section, the India A girls—Sagarika Mukherjee and Harsha Vardhini Ravichandran—downed India B team 3-0 in the final. India B comprised Aishwarya Pathak and Moumita Dutta.

The A and B teams fought well and in the first game where Anirban Ghosh was taken to the wire by Arjun Ghosh before the former won 3-2 (8-11, 9-11, 7-11, 9-11, 7-11). As if on cue, Lalrin Puia put some fight against the attacking Boro who prevailed over his rival 3-1 (11-5, 8-11, 11-6, 11-7). Then the A team duo combined to win the doubles against Arjun and Puia 3-1.

Similarly, in the Cadet Girls section Sagarika Mukherjee lost a game before subduing Ashiwarya Pathak 3-1 (11-8, 11-7, 5-11, 11-8), while Harsha Vardhini was too good against Moumita Dutta to win in straight games of 11-7, 11-9, 11-6. With 2-0 up, India A girls wrapped up the doubles in style with an 11-9, 14-12, 11-1 verdict.

Both the teams had for competition teams from Argentina, Peru, El Salvador and Venezuela. And not once were the Indian teams in trouble against their Latin American teams in the team championships. 

A TTFI Press release

Himmat Singh Rai emerges triumphant at Jamega Tour event in England


Bristol, England, August 14, 2013: India’s Himmat Singh Rai emerged triumphant at a Jamega Tour event at The Players Club near Bristol in England on Tuesday. Rai shot scores of 66 and 71 to end up with a total of three-under-137 at the par-70 course. James Ruth (66-72) of England finished one stroke behind Rai in second place.

The strong field at the 36-hole event included players from the European Tour, Challenge Tour and Asian Tour. The victory gave Himmat his fourth professional title. He also has an Asian Tour title to his credit.

Himmat posted a four-under-66 to be the joint leader in round one along with the English duo of James Ruth and Dan Osbaldeston. Rai’s opening round included seven birdies and three bogeys.

The 26-year-old Himmat showed the patience that was required on a difficult and windy second day as he reeled off nine straight pars on the front nine to remain at four-under for the tournament and lead by one.

Ruth then snatched a great birdie from the difficult, short 10th hole to once again get on level terms with Rai, who then counterpunched with birdie on the 12th to once again move one shot ahead.

Rai tripped and stumbled after his birdie on the 12th and proceeded to bogey the 13th and 15thbut fortunately for him Ruth also bogeyed the par-5 15th and so the pair were still tied with two holes to play.

The turning point came on the 17th hole when Rai hit a super second into a tight pin to birdie whilst Ruth dropped a bogey-5 to fall two shots back with one to play.
A little drama ensued up the eighteenth when Rai could only reach the front of the green in three shots while Ruth had a very makeable birdie putt from around 10 feet.

Rai putted up stone dead and marked, leaving Ruth to try and hole his to force a playoff but his effort looked into the hole but refused to drop and so Rai tapped his in to be a worthy winner.


Hockey India announces Shiv Naresh as apparel partner

New Delhi, August 14, 2013: Hockey India announced Shiv Naresh as its apparel partner for the National Teams as well as Hero Hockey India League. As a part of the partnership with Hockey India, Shiv Naresh will provide both on and off-field playing and training uniform ranging from training shorts and shirts to tracksuits and equipment bags to the teams.

Shiv Naresh will be supplying playing and travelling kit to Senior Men and Women as well as junior teams. These uniforms are specially designed with moisture management fabric to ensure the players stay dry and cool and assist them to perform at their optimum levels.

In its association with Hero Hockey India League, Shiv Naresh will supply uniform for technical officials, Umpires and Hero HIL Staff.

Hockey India president, Mariamma Koshy said “Hockey India has had a fantastic relationship with Shiv Naresh and we look forward to continuing this in the future”.

The Indian senior men hockey Team will be wearing Shiv Naresh apparel during 9th Men's Asia Cup 2013 to be played at Ipoh, Malaysia from August 24 to September 1, 2013. 

Bihar State U-11 Chess Championship to be held in Gaya

Patna, August 13, 2013: Bihar State Under -11 Boys & Girls Chess Championship will be organized from August 23 to 25at Kendriya Vidyalaya, Bairagi, Gaya.  

Giving this information  Arvind Kumar Sinha, secretary, All Bihar Chess Association said that the winner and the runner-up in  boys and girls groups would be selected to play the National U-11 Chess Championship scheduled to be held in New Delhi from September 1.


According to Santosh Kumar, Secretary, Gaya District Chess Association, the last date of entry is August 22 for which players may contact at 8252247580 and 8603175598 for further details. 

India celebrate as Soumyajit, Manika win titles

New Delhi, August 11, 2013: India celebrated a rare success securing both the U-21 men’s singles and U-21 women’s singles titles at the GAC Group 2013 ITTF World Tour Brazil Open at Santos.

After Manika Batra accounted for host nation’s Caroline Kumahara 11-5, 9-11, 12-10, 11-5, 11-5 to take the Under-21 women’s singles crown in what turned out to be a one-sided affair in the final, Soumyajit Ghosh defeated Benjamin Brossier of France 8-11, 6-11, 11-7, 11-6, 9-11, 11-7, 11-2 in a thrilling seven games encounter to win the Under 21 men’s singles title. The Indians also pocketed $1500 each for their title wins.

“I have played Caroline before this year and won the team event in the Slovak Republic,” said Manika. “I started the match confidently and tried to play slowly as she is a strong attacking player,” added the Delhi girl.

Manika, a more matured player, varied her speed and used lot of backspin to dicated terms throughout the final. Unable to cope with her opponent’s bagful of tricks, Caroline succumbed to the disappointment of the hosts.

Earlier, Manika had prevailed over compatriot Suthirtha Mukherjee 11-5, 9-11, 12-10, 11-9, 8-11, 12-10 in a tense match.

Ghosh, who had beaten team mate G Sathiyan in the semi-finals 11-4, 11-7, 14-12, 9-11, 11-9 rather easily, knew Brossier was a hard nut to crack. Though Ghosh was up to the task, the Brazilian was time and again breathing down his neck in the final which saw fortunes fluctuating.

The Indian, however, had the measure of his rival, particularly in the decider, taking a 4-0 lead. Pumping his fist and more vocal with every point he secured through topspin, Ghosh stayed closer to the table to finish the job in style. Brossier was equally vehement in playing the attacking game but Ghosh emerged a notch better than his French rival.

What turned the corner at this juncture was the panicky ‘time out’ taken by the French. In fact, it worked to the Indian’s advance as he just allowed a couple of points before completing an Indian double. Ghosh, the reigning national champion, said after the win.

“I was able to win those crucial points which made the difference in the sixth game. After that I was very confident of winning the match,” said Ghosh.

GOLD FOR SAGARIKA
Meanwhile, Sagarika Ghosh won the Cadet Girls singles title while Birdie Boro had to be satisfied with the silver in the Cadet Boys singles at the Guatemala Junior and Cadet Open Table Tennis championships. Sagarika, the winner of South Asian Junior title recently, beat Sreeja 11-6, 11-5, 11-8 to take gold in the final.  Birdie Boro lost 9-11, 8-11, 5-11 to Cuban Livan Martinez in the final of the Cadet Boys singles event. Earlier Boro had beaten team mate Anirban Ghosh 3-0 to enter the final.

A TTFI Press release  


Desai, Manika, Ankita enter Brazil Open semis

New Delhi, August 10, 2013: Indian paddlers are making their presence felt at the ITTF World Tour Brazil Open being played at Santos as Harmeet Desai entered the Semi finals of the men’s singles today. Not to be left behind, both Manika Batra and Ankita Das too made it to the last four in the women’s singles.

Harmeet Desai defeated Brazilian Thiago Monteiro 4-3 (11-6, 8-11, 11-9, 5-11, 9-11, 11-8, 11-9) in a tough battle to grab the semi-final spot but Soumyajit Ghosh failed to seal his spot in the semis when he lost to another Brazilian Hugo Calderano 3-4 (7-11, 11-9, 10-12, 11-7, 8-11, 8-11) despite leading 2-1.

Earlier, both G. Satiyan and Nitin Vasanth Philips had exited in the round of 16, losing to Thiago Monteiro and Cazuo Matsumoto, respectively. Ghosh had beaten hosts paddler Israel Barreto in straight games to move into the quarterfinals along with Desai who had outlasted Brazilian Humberto Manhani 4-3.

Desai had played exceptionally well to win his pre-quarterfinal and quarterfinal matches, both of which went to the wire. The Indian will now take on local challenter Gustavo Tsuboi in the semifinals.

With both Ankita Das and Suthirtha Mukherjee finding themselves drawn in the same half had to run into each other in the quarterfinal in which Ankita emerged the winner with a 4-2 (8-11, 12-10, 11-9, 7-11, 11-3, 11-8) verdict. Manika accounted for Jissica Yamada of Brazil 11-4, 11-7, 9-11, 11-9, 11-5 without much sweat. Suthirtha had earlier eaten Livia Fontana in straight games in the round of 16. Kritiwica Sinha Roy too lost 2-4 to Jessica Yama in a gruelling fight in the pre-quarterfinals.

In the semifinals, Manika will take on Elizabeta Samara of Roumania while Ankita will meet Brazilian Caroline Kumahara.

Meanwhile, both Soumyajit Ghosh and G. Sathiyan have entered the under-21 Boys singles quarterfinals. Ghosh beat Nitin Philips 11-8, 13-11, 11-7, 11-5 and Sathiyan accounted for Harmeet Desai 12-10, 4-11, 15-13, 4-11, 11-7, 11-7. In the semifinal, Ghosh will take on Sathiyan. In the under-21 girls’ singles semifinal, it will be Suthirtha Mukherjee versus Manika Batra.

The winner of the men and women’s singles will get $4000 while the runner up will receive $2000. The losing semifinals will at least go with $500 each. As for the under-21 event, the singles winner will get $1500 while the runner-up $750. The losing semi-finalists will have to be satisfied with the prize purse of $375.

Gold for Indian teams at Guatemala
Indian Cadet Boys’Team and the Cadet Girls’ Team had a complete domination at the the Guatemala Junior and Cadet Open in Guatemala City winning the gold medals. The combination of Birdie Boro and Anirban Ghosh representing India ‘A’ won the Cadet Boys’ Team title, with the trio of Sreeja Akuka, Harsha Vardhini Calange Ravichandran and Sagarika Mukherjee joining forces to secure Cadet Girls’ Team gold. Success for both outfits with victory being hard earned by the boys but secured rather more comfortably by the girls.

Occupying the top seeded place in the draw, they accounted for the Ecuador pairing of Eunice Galvez and Natalie Paredes in the semi-finals 3-0 before recording a similar victory against the India ‘B’ Team comprising Aishwarya Pathak and Moumita Das, who ended up with the silver.

However, for India ‘A’ in the Cadet Boys’ Team event life was more testing, particularly in the final where they took on India ‘B’ Team partnership of Arjun Ghosh and Larlin Puia.

Arjun Ghosh beat both Birdie Boro (11-6, 11-7, 11-8) and Anirban Ghosh (13-11, 9-11, 11-6, 11-9) but that was all India ‘B’ could do. Larlin Puia suffered defeats at the hands of Anirban Ghosh (11-9, 11-5, 11-3) and Birdie Boro (11-6, 6-11, 12-10, 11-8) with the doubles being secured by Anirban Ghosh and Birdie Boro in three straight games (11-5, 11-9, 11-5).

A testing final but en route to the final, Anirban Ghosh and Birdie Boro had experienced few problems; in the latter stages ending the hopes of Argentina in an emphatic manner.

However, for India ‘B’ it was a different story. They experienced few problems in the quarter-finals beating the Peruvian pairing of Juan Liyau and Alexander Rotstan by three matches to nil before finding Cuba most testing opponents in the semi-finals.

The player to cause the problems for the Indians was Livan Martinez. He overcame both Arjun Ghosh (11-8, 9-11, 16-14, 6-11, 11-4) and Lalrin Puia (11-5, 13-15, 6-11, 12-10, 11-4). But Carlos Hernandez could not match the efforts of Livan Martinez.

He was beaten by Lalrin Puia (11-4, 11-3, 11-5) and by Arjun Ghosh (11-9, 11-7, 11-5), with the crucial doubles also going the way of the Indians. Arjun Ghosh and Lalrin Puia recorded a straight games win over Carlos Hernandez and Livan Martinez (11-9, 12-10, 12-10) to secure an all Indian final.

TTFI Press release




Thursday, August 15, 2013

Bihar State Open 3rd league selection chess championship from August 17 at Darbhanga

Patna, August 8, 2013: The 3rd leg of Bihar State Open Selection League Chess Championship will be held from August 17 to 20 at Gautam Hotel, Mirjapur Chowk, Darbhanga.  

Giving this information  Arvind Kumar Sinha, secretary, All Bihar Chess Association said that the winners and the runners-up of the  championship would be selected to play the upper level State Senior Chess Championship 2013 which would be played among  selected top 10 players- all play all. 

Four such players have already been selected from first and second selection league events held at Kishanganj and Muzaffarpur respectively.  


Smita Choudhary, a women state chess player and the convener of the Darbhanga District Chess Association said that there would also be special prizes for women and boys and girls talents. 

Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Jitendra Singh felicitates World Cup bronze winner Indian junior women hockey team

Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Jitendra Singh gives the appreciation letter to the members of the World Cup bronze winner Indian junior women hockey team when the squad met the Minister in his office in New Delhi on August 7, 2013. 

 Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Jitendra Singh appreciated the efforts of the World Cup bronze winner Indian junior women hockey team's captain Sushila Chanu when the squad met the Minister in his office in New Delhi on August 7, 2013.

Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Jitendra Singh along with entire World Cup bronze winner Indian junior women hockey team celebrated the joyous occasion by cutting a cake when the squad met the Minister in his office in New Delhi on August 7, 2013. 


Hockey India felicitates junior women hockey team


New Delhi, August 7, 2013: Hockey India felicitated the junior women hockey team at in New Delhi for winning the bronze medal in the FIH Junior Women’s Hockey World Cup in Germany.

In the felicitation ceremony, Hockey India awarded cheques of Rs 1 lakh to each player of the team and their chief coach Neil Hawgood. A cheque of Rs 50,000 was awarded to each member of the teams support staff.

The vice-captain of the team and forward Rani was awarded an additional cheque of Rs 1 lakh for winning Best Player of the Tournament Award in the tournament.

On congratulating the team, Hockey India, secretary general Dr Narinder Batra said: “It’s indeed a proud moment for us that our junior women team has won the bronze medal in the FIH Junior Women’s World Cup.”

Hockey India president Mariamma Koshy, vice-president Pratap Satpathy, associate vice-president Rajeev Mehta, joint secretary Manoj Bhore, joint secretary Dr Gurdeep Singh and Firoz Ansari, member, executive board presented cheques to the players and support staff.

Also, group captain R K Raksha, secretary, Services Sports Control Board, Dr. P C Kashyap, executive director (operations), Sports Authority of India, Rajesh Kurup, general manager, corporate reputation and branding, Cairn India presented the cheques to players and support staff.



Photo caption: Captain of Junior Women Team Sushila Chanu receiving cheque from Hockey India President Ms.Mariamma Koshy in New Delhi on August 7, 2013