M Dharma, Ranjit Singh and Kapil Kumar tied at the top

  AHMEDABAD, FEB 24

The Gujarat Open Golf Championship 2022 presented by Gujarat Tourism seems to be heading for a fascinating finish as round three saw a three-way tie for the lead between Bengaluru’s M Dharma, Chandigarh’s Ranjit Singh and Kapil Kumar of Delhi, all placed at 10-under 206, at the Kalhaar Blues & Greens Golf Club in Ahmedabad.

Karandeep Kochhar, another Chandigarh golfer and Delhi’s Arjun Prasad were two strokes adrift of the joint leaders in tied fourth place at the Rs. 40 lakh event.

M Dharma (72-69-65) struck the day’s best score of seven-under 65 to gain 12 spots on the leaderboard. Dharma’s putter was on fire early on as he sank some long putts to pick up an eagle and five birdies on the first 10 holes.

Dharma, a two-time winner on the PGTI, then endured a tough stretch when he double-bogeyed the 13^th after finding the hazard and missed a short birdie putt on the 14^th. However, he regained his touch with birdies on the 15^th and 17^th.

“I’ve been extremely consistent from the back half of the previous season. Even though I suffered a ligament strain in my left thumb late last year, I continued to play well. Now that I have almost recovered from my injury, I’m looking to carry forward the momentum this year. As for the final round, I’ll just look to repeat what I did today,” said Dharma.   

The seasoned Ranjit Singh (70-68-68), looking for his first title, moved up three places with his second successive 68 on Thursday. Ranjit had a quiet front-nine with a birdie and a bogey but made a move on the back-nine with five birdies and a bogey. He capped his round with an outstanding approach on the 18^th that landed within a couple of feet of the flag.

Ranjit said, “My game picked up from the second half of the season last year after I changed my irons. I’ve shot good scores in all events since then. Today again my iron-play was terrific. The key in the final round would be to play well on the toughest stretch of the course which lies between the 12^th and the 15^th.”

Kapil Kumar (68-67-71), who was overnight second and two off the lead, kept himself in the hunt for his maiden title with a 71 riding on his good driving and putting form. Kapil’s three birdies included some quality chip-putts. He also dropped two bogeys.

Kapil said, “I was struggling for form last year. But I changed my putter before this event and that has led to my better performance on the greens. With my putting clicking, the focus will be on making maximum regulations in the final round in order to create scoring opportunities.”

Karandeep Kochhar (64-75-69), who returned a 75 in round two, came back into contention with a 69 on day three.

Arjun Prasad (73-65-70) carded a 70 on Thursday to continue in tied fourth place at eight-under 208.

Round two leader Tapy Ghai of Delhi shot a 76 to drop to tied sixth place at seven-under 209.  

Among the Gujarat-based golfers, Anshul Patel (73-70-72) was the highest-placed as he occupied tied 18th at one-under 215. The other two local golfers Varun Parikh (one-over 217) and Shravan Desai (eight-over 224) were placed tied 23rd and tied 37th, respectively.

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Sandhya Yadav and Anand Kumar all-round champs in PU Malkhamb

 CHANDIGARH, FEB 17

MCM DAV-36, Chandigarh and  GGD SD College -32, Chandigarh, lifted the women's  and men's team trophies, respectively, in the Panjab University Inter-College  Malkhamb Championship here today.
Sandhya Yadav of MCM DAV-36, Chandigarh and Anand Kumar f Postgraduate Girls College, Sector 11 were adjudged the all-round champions in the women's and men's categories, respectively.
Results
Women: Rope Mallakhamb: 1 Sandhya Yadav (MCM DAV-36, Chandigarh), 2 Hem Lata (MCM DAV-36, Chandigarh), 3 Bhawna Dadwal (PGGC-11, Chandigarh).
Pole Mallakhamb:  1  Bhawna Dadwal (PGGC-11, Chandigarh), 2 Sandhya Team Championship: 1  MCM DAV-36, Chandigarh, 2  PGGCG-42, Chandigarh, 3  PGGC-11, Chandigarh).
Pyramid: 1 MCM DAV-36, Chandigarh 22.50 pts, 2  PGGCG-42, Chandigarh  21.50 pts, 3 PGGC-11, Chandigarh) 16.50 pts.
Men:Yadav (MCM DAV-36, Chandigarh), 3  Lekha (PGGCG-42, Chandigarh).
All Round Championship: 1 Sandhya Yadav (MCM DAV-36, Chandigarh) , 2 Bhawna Dadwal (PGGC-11, Chandigarh), 3  Lekha (PGGCG-42, Chandigarh).
Pole Mallakhamb: 1 (Aman  (DAV-10, Chandigarh), 2  Saurabh Baghel (GGD SD-32, Chandigarh), 3  Anand Kumar (PGGC-11, Chandigarh).
Rope Mallakhamb:  1 Anand Kumar (PGGC-11, Chandigarh), 2  Sahil Chaudhary (GGD SD-32, Chandigarh), 3  Aditys Mishra (DAV-10, Chandigarh).
 All Round Championship: 1   Anand Kumar (PGGC-11, Chandigarh), 2  Sahil Chaudhary (GGD SD-32, Chandigarh), 3  Aman  (DAV-10, Chandigarh) and  Aditys Mishra (DAV-10, Chandigarh).
 Team Championship: 1   GGD SD-32, Chandigarh, 2  DAV-10, Chandigarh, 3  P.U Campus, Chandigarh.
Pyramid: 1   DAV-10, Chandigarh 20.25 pts, 2  GGD SD-32, Chandigarh 18.25 pts, 3  P.U Campus, Chandigarh  17.25 pts.
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SAI appoints 398 coaches, assistant coaches in preparation of Olympics 2024, 2028

 NEW DELHI, FEB 16

Sports Authority of India, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India has extended offers of employment to 398 coaches at various levels in 21 sports disciplines. Many among the total number of 398 are ex-international athletes and Arjuna awardees who have competed or won medals in elite competitions such as the World Championships and Olympics. Of the total number of 398, 101 coaches are joining on deputation from PSUs and other government bodies.

The recruitment comes in the wake of the effort of the Ministry of Youth Affairs of Sports to provide 360 degree support to athletes as they prepare for important national and international competitions, including Olympic 2024, 2028. “I am happy that a number of ex-athletes who have competed at the highest international level of competition and won medals have applied for these posts and have been selected,” said Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports, Mr Anurag Singh Thakur, adding, “Their (the ex-international athletes) inclusion in the system will mean that besides training athletes in the sport itself, they will be able to train them for mental toughness which is the key to success when competing at the world stage.”

The new batch of coaches and assistant coaches has a host of eminent names, including Padma Shri awardee and Arjuna Awardee Bajrang Lal Thakar who is a gold medallist at the Asian Games and joins as a Rowing coach, Shilpi Sheoran who has won the gold in the Commonwealth Games in 2011 and joins as an assistant coach in wrestling, Olympian Jincy Phillip who joins as an athletics coach, Pranamika Borah multiple medallist in leading international championships who joins as a boxing coach. 

Speaking about what he looks forward to in the new assignment, Arjuna Awardee Bajrang Lal Thakar said, "I am grateful to the Sports Authority of India for giving me a chance to give back to sports as a coach especially at a time when water sports in India has a great chance of making an impact at international competitions. I am training the team for the Asian Games and I am confident that by fielding athletes in maximum number of disciplines we will be able to add to the country's medal tally in the upcoming Asian Games." Thakar added that water sports in India has got an added push with SAI's National Centers of Excellence in Jagatpura and Alleppey which are world class infrastructure for water sports training.

There are four Arjuna Awardees, one Dhyanchand Awardee and one Dhronacharya Awardee among those who have been selected for the positions. Besides ex-international athletes, those who have completed their Diploma in Sports Coaching from NSNIS Patiala or a recognized Indian or foreign University have also been inducted. Several SAI coaches who were previously on contract, but whose contracts had ended, have been recruited back in service, as per their eligibility.

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Haryana Steelers rally to beat U Mumba 37-26 in Pro Kabaddi League

 

 BENGALURU, FEB 14

Haryana Steelers returned to winning ways, defeating U Mumba 37-26 in Pro Kabaddi League Season 8 on Sunday. It was skipper Vikash Kandola and rising star Ashish Narwal, once again, who starred for Haryana Steelers, as the duo earned a total of 27 points between themselves, to help their team pick up a crucial win amid the race to the playoffs.

Vikash Kandola opened the scoring for Haryana Steelers with the first raid giving his team a 1-0 lead. Moments later, Vikash earned his second raid point to give his team a 2-1 lead. In the 7th minute, Vijay Kumar earned a tackle point as Haryana Steelers extended their lead to 6-5. In the 12th minute, Vikash Kandola earned a Super Raid and Haryana Steelers inflicted an All Out on U Mumba to extend their lead to 14-6. Haryana Steelers played safe in the remainder of the first half and went into halftime with an 18-13 lead.

U Mumba inflicted an All Out on Haryana Steelers in the first minute of the 2nd half and closed down the gap to 16-18. But Surender Nadda earned a tackle point a couple of minutes later to once again extend Haryana Steelers' lead by 4 points. Vikash Kandola, in the 25th minute, earned a tackle point to extend Haryana Steelers' lead to 23-18. In the 29th minute, Ashish Narwal earned his second tackle to attain his second Super 10 of the season.

With just over 9 minutes to go in the match, U Mumba closed down the gap to 22-24. But Vikash Kandola managed to get two consecutive successful raids to further extend the lead by 4 points, and in doing so, attained his 8th Super 10 of the season. In the 36th minute, Vikash Kandola earned a two-point raid, solidifying Haryana Steelers' lead by 29-23. With a minute left in the match, Haryana Steelers inflicted another All-Out on U Mumba to extend their lead to 34-25. In the final minute, Ashish Narwal earned a raid point and Haryana Steelers won the match 37-26.

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Vedant Garg and Kamya Kumari win titles in Chandigarh Chess

 

Vedant Garg and Kamya Kumari win titles in Chandigarh Chess

CHANDIGARH, FEB 13

Vedant Garg became champion in the men's section with five points at the conclusion of 31st Chandigarh Chess Championship  at  New Public School, Sector 18 B,here. The second position was bagged by Kanwar Sandeep Singh, who scored four points. The third position was clinched by Haritik Gupta with four points and the fourth position went to Swastik Singhal also with four points.

 In women’s category Kamya Kumari emerged champion with three points and runner-up position was bagged by Samisha Taneja, who scored two points. The third and fourth positions were bagged by Rashpal Kaur and Priyanka also with two points each respectively.

 The Championship was being organised by Chandigarh Chess Association to select a team of four men and four women to represent Chandigarh in the forthcoming MPL Senior National Chess Championship-2022 at Kanpur from 25 Feb to 03 Mar 2022 and MPL National Women Chess Championship-2022 at Bhubaneswar from 25 Feb to 02 Mar 2022.

   Chandigarh Chess Association president  Vipan Negi distributed the prizes.  

       Final Ranking at the end of 5th and final round.

  Men: 5 points:  1 Vedant Garg. 4 pts: 2 Kanwar Sandeep Singh,  3  Hritik Gupta,  4     Swastik Singhal. 3.5 pts: 5 Goel Pratyaksh,   6 Nagpal Tejas,  7   Saurabh Sharma,   8   Anubhav Tuknayat. 3 pts: 9 Ishaan Singh Mendiratta,  10    Arnav Kushwaha ,  11  Sahil Choudhary,  12    Akhil Goyal,  13    Ayaan Garg,  14    Krish Gupta. 2.5 pts: 15  Aaditya Singla,  16    Vasu Kalia,  17   Atharav Singh Naruka.  2 pts: 18 Gurmanjit Singh,   19   Harshit Medhi, 20   Chandan Kumar,  21   Ansh Arora, 22   Achyut Nanda,  23   Surya Jain, 24   Derek Sachdeva.   1.5 pts: 25 Abhiraj Jain,   26    Manoj Kumar , 27    Hriday Malik. 1 pt: 28 Manmohan Sharma, 29    Aayush Sharma,  30    Ambuj Sharma,  31    Ashish Kumar.      

 Final Ranking  in women’s category

 3 points: 1. Kamya Kumari.   2 pts: 2. Samisha Taneja, 3.  Rashpal Kaur,   4    Priyanka,  5    Samaira Taneja. 1 pt: Simran Arya,  7    Shereen Makroo,  8   Anvi Gupta,  9    Harshita Sharma.

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Haryana Steelers go down 27-45 against Puneri Paltan in PKL

 

BENGALURU, FEB 11

Haryana Steelers' three-match winning streak came to an end as they lost 27-45 to Puneri Paltan in Pro Kabaddi League Season 8 on Friday. It was a solid fight from Haryana Steelers in the final 10 minutes of the second half, with Vinay, Ashish Narwal, and Vikash Kandola earning 19 raid points between themselves. But in the end, the gap proved to be too wide and Haryana Steelers were unable to pick up the win.

Haryana Steelers opened their scoring in the first minute of the match as Jaideep earned a tackle point. In the 6th minute, Puneri Paltan inflicted an All Out on Haryana Steelers to extend their lead to 10-2. Vinay earned a raid point to close the gap down to 4-12 in the 10th minute. Vikash Kandola, Jaideep, and Vinay showcased their fighting spirit to help their side, but Haryana Steelers were unable to get much-need points. In the 19th minute, Puneri Paltan inflicted their second All Out on Haryana Steelers and the first half ended with Haryana Steelers training 26-7.

The second half started with Rohit Gulia earning a bonus point for Haryana Steelers to close down the gap to 26-8. In the 25th minute Puneri Paltan inflicted their third All Out on Haryana Steelers and Puneri Paltan extended their lead to 33-8. In the 28th minute, Ashish Narwal was caught during a raid and Haryana Steelers went down 9-35. In the 32nd minute, Vijay Kumar earned two raid points to close down the gap to 12-39.

Haryana Steelers managed to get a couple of tackle points in the final 10 minutes, slowly managing to find their footing in the match. In the 35th minute, Ashish Narwal picked up a raid point to bridge the gap to 17-41. In the 37th minute, Vikash Kandola earned two raid points as Haryana Steelers inflicted an All Out to bring the gap down to 22-41. Vinay earned three raid points in the final minute of the match but it was not enough for Haryana Steelers to make a comeback, and they went down 27-45.

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India beat England to win ICC U-19 men's Cricket World Cup

 

 ANTIGUA, FEB 5

India beat England by four wickets to win their fifth ICC Under 19 Men’s Cricket World Cup in the West Indies.

The two unbeaten sides met at the Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Ground in Antigua and Barbuda as England went in search of only their second title, but it was India who extended their record of most tournament wins.

Raj Bawa took five for 31 as England lost wickets early in their innings before 95 from James Rew restored hope in the push for a first trophy since 1998.

It was not to be as both Shaik Rasheed and Nishant Sindhu made fifties before Dinesh Bana crashed back-to-back sixes to seal the win.

India dominate England to add another trophy to their cabinet

England won the toss and chose to bat with their second-highest run-scorer Jacob Bethell alongside George Thomas who had made a courageous 52 in their semi-final win over Afghanistan.

It was a shaky start for Bethell who survived an appeal for caught behind in the second over but fell three balls later as he was dismissed leg before wicket by Ravi Kumar for two. 

Captain Tom Prest came in at number three but could not add to his 292 runs as he went for a four-ball duck, England’s first of the tournament.

Thomas was not deterred by the loss of two of his side’s key wickets as he played attractive strokes and earned a brief reprieve having been dropped on 26.

But he too got out before he could have any real impact, caught by Yash Dhull off the bowling of Raj Bawa for 27.

James Rew then put his hand up to be England’s potential saviour, staying put as wickets fell around him, none of the Young Lions middle order able to add more than ten to the total as they slipped to 91 for seven.

It was left to James Sales to work with Rew to put on England’s highest stand of their innings, adding 93 runs to the total before Rew cruelly missed out on his century.

He was caught by Kaushal Tambe for 95 from 116 balls having hit 12 sixes and almost singlehandedly given England a fighting chance.

Sales was left stranded on 34 not out as the tail wagged – England were all out for 189 from 44.5 overs as Bawa claimed five for 31, with Kumar almost equally as impressive with four for 34.

India’s chase of their modest target got off to the worst possible start as Angkrish Raghuvanshi was caught behind for a second-ball duck, with the right-hander unable to move past Prest to the third-highest run-scorer in the competition.

The Men in Blue were able to score at a sedate rate, with Harnoor Singh adding 21 from 46 balls before he too was caught behind.

Shaik Rasheed and Dhull looked to repeat their 204-run partnership they put on against Australia in the semi-final, as Rasheed brought up his fifty from 83 balls.

However, Sales and Rew combined again this time to dismiss the right-hander with the very next delivery.

England detected a chink in the Indian armour, and in Sales’ next over Dhull was caught by George Bell who wheeled away in celebration knowing two new batters were at the crease.

However, Nishant Sandhu and Bawa, who has the highest individual score of the tournament with 162 not out, moved India to 164 before Bawa became the fifth wicket to fall.

It was going to take something special to defeat India even now as the required runs ticked down to 14 from 23 balls.

And something special did arrive, Rehan Ahmed sticking out a hand to stop a near-certain maximum and dismiss Tambe to leave India on 176 for six.

But with Sandhu at the crease, England’s task always seemed difficult, he crashed four runs to relieve the pressure England had been building before taking a single to bring up his first half-century in international cricket.

Dinesh Bana was in the mood to get the trophy in his hands as early as possible smashing a six off his toes to bring the scores level.

Another six followed in the next ball as Bana's teammates raced onto the pitch before the ball had even crossed the rope, knowing victory and the trophy was theirs.

ICC Under 19 Men’s Cricket World Cup 2022 placings

1 - India, 2  England, 3  Australia, 4 Afghanistan, 5  Pakistan, 6  Sri Lanka, 7  South Africa, 8 Bangladesh, 9 United Arab Emirates, 10 Ireland, 11 West Indies, 12  Zimbabwe, 13  Uganda, 14  Scotland, 15  Canada and 16  PNG.

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Haryana Steelers win 35-28 against Jaipur Pink Panthers

  

BENGALURU, FEB 5

Haryana Steelers continued their winning run as they beat Jaipur Pink Panthers 35-28 in the Pro Kabaddi League Season 8 in Bengaluru on Saturday. The match went right down to the wire as both teams were engaged in a hard-fought battle till the final whistle. But skipper Vikash Kandola led from the front once again as he earned 10 raid points in the match to help the team's cause, and Haryana Steelers managed to pick up a thrilling win.
Haryana Steelers got off to a bright start with captain Vikash Kandola opening the scoring with a touch point, and then completing another successful raid two minutes later to make it 3-3 in the 4th minute.

 With his third successful raid, Vikash Kandola gave Haryana Steelers a 4-3 lead, a minute later. In the 10th minute, Haryana Steelers inflicted an All Out on Jaipur Pink Panthers to extend their lead to 11-7. With 5 minutes left on the clock, Ashish Narwal earned a successful raid to get two touch points. Mohit earned a successful tackle in the final minute of the first half as Haryana Steelers reached half time with a 18-14 lead.

Haryana Steelers got off to a slow start in the 2nd half, but Vikash Kandola managed to get a successful raid in the 23rd minute to increase their lead to 20-16. Jaipur Pink Panthers managed to close down the gap in the next minute with a successful Super Tackle on Vikash Kandola, and by the 25th minute, the score was levelled at 20-20. 

Mohit earned a successful tackle point in the 29th minute as Haryana Steelers managed to regain their lead. Vikash Kandola was unsuccessful in a raid attempt in the 31st minute and the scores became levelled against at 23-23 in the 31st minute. 
Haryana Steelers' Mohit earned a successful tackle in the 35th minute as scoreline remained tied at 26-26 with five minutes left on the clock. With two minutes left, Vikash Kandola earned a bonus point on a raid and Haryana Steelers took the lead again to make it 29-27. 

In the next minute, Ravi earned a successful Super Tackle as Haryana Steelers made it 31-28. In the final minute, Vikash Kandola earned another successful raid point to get his 7th Super 10 of the season, and Haryana Steelers won the match 35-28.

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Aryan Arora and Harnoor Kaur Sidhu lift singles titles

  

CHANDIGARH, FEB 5

Fourth seed  Aryan Arora of Punjab won the boys under-18 singles title in the LT Foods Limited CLTA-AITA Super Series Tennis Tournament for Boy’s & Girl’s under-18 at the Sector 10 Tennis Stadium here today.

. Aryan upset top seed Michael Jason David of Karnataka in straight sets 6-3, 6-0. Aryan played in top form and took the first set 6-3. In the second set Aryan maintained his momentum and used his experience to beat top seed Michael Jason David 6-0 without conceding a single game.   

In the girls under-18 singles finals top seed Harnoor Kaur Sidhu beat second seed 

Harsh Fogaat / Aditya Rathi and Suhani Sabharwal  / Sia Mahajan won boys and girls doubles titles respectively.   

CLTA vice president Dr. Jasjit Singh distributed the prizes to the winners and runners-up of both events.

Results (all finals)

Boys under-18 singles:  Aryan Arora (PB) [4] bt. Michael Jason David (KR) [1] 6-3, 6-0.  

Girls under-18 singles: Harnoor Kaur Sidhu (PB) [1] bt. Riya Kaushik (CH) [2] 6-1, 6-0.

Boys under-18 doubles: Harsh Fogaat (DL) / Aditya Rathi (DL) [2] bt. Michael Jason David (KR) [1] / Aryan Arora (PB) 4-6, 6-1, 10-1.          

Girls under-18 doubles: Suhani Sabharwal (MH) / Sia Mahajan (CH) bt.  Tamanna Panwar (HR) / Anusha Verma (HR) 6-1, 6-0.

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