Category Archives: Sports

Class 7 Telangana chess whiz is now World No. 1

Education, Records, All, Sports, World Opinion
N.V.S. Ramaraju with V. Praneeth. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Telangana’s Vuppala Prraneeth is now World No. 1 in chess in the under-11 category, his coach N.V.S. Ramaraju, who is also credited with training chess Grandmaster Dronavalli Harika, has revealed.

For someone known to be ‘very good’ in opening and middle-games, Prraneeth came under Mr. Ramaraju’s wing three years ago. “There is no doubt that he is a potential champion from the State in the days to come,” the proud coach, who runs Race Chess Academy in the city, tells The Hindu.

Prraneeth, whose parents hail from Nalgonda, has a creditable ELO2281 and was felicitated by the Sports Authority of Telangana State chairman A. Venkateshwar Reddy last week.

Mr. Reddy assured complete support to the chess wizard in his pursuit of excellence at higher levels and hoped he would become a Grandmaster soon, given his consistency in tough events.

For the record, Prraneeth bagged bronze in the 201 South Asian championship and set a record of sorts scoring ELO22 points in the 14th Parshwanath International championship in Delhi. “There is obviously a lot of scope for improvement and the best part is that he is very young, sincere and puts in hours of hard work,” points out Mr. Ramaraju.

This Class 7 student of David Memorial High School is now dreaming of bigger things, including World championship titles in his age group as he embarks on what he feels will be a demanding journey.

“I am aware that I have to widen my opening game repertoire and also improve upon my end-game. But with Ramaraju sir taking care of every aspect of my game, I am confident of achieving bigger things,” says Prraneeth.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Telangana / by V.V. Subrahmanyam / Hyderabad – June 11th, 2018

TTWREIS students excel at karate championship

Education, Inspiration / Positive News and Features, Records, All, Sports, World Opinion

Students of TTWREIS who bagged gold and silver medals at the International Karate Championship held in Dubai.

Five tribal students bring home four gold and six silver medals

Five tribal students of Telangana Tribal Welfare Residential Educational Society (TTWREIS) schools clinched four gold and six silver medals in various categories at the International Karate Championship held in Dubai on May 10 and May 11, in which contestants from 49 countries had participated.

Sridivya bagged a gold medal in Kata category and silver medal in Kumite category (Under 14 years), Pavanika won silver medals in Kata category and Kumite categories (Under 16), B. Ganesh got gold in Kata and silver in Kumite categories (Under 16), P. Harshith received the gold medal in Kata category and silver in Kumite category (Under 16) and B. Ramesh was awarded the gold medal in Kata and silver medal in Kumite categories (Under 16).

An elated Sridivya said, “Winning the medals is a huge morale booster as I am preparing for major international championships like the Tokyo Olympics. I am excited and humbled.” Another student Pavanika, an orphan at the Kothaguda school in Mahabubabad, said, “I never even dreamt I would cross the Indian borders and go to Dubai to participate in an International Karate Championship considering my background.”

Secretary R.S. Praveen Kumar, speaking during the felicitation function on Monday, said the institutions were encouraging and training thousands of girl students in martial arts to defend themselves in challenging times. He expressed happiness that tribal boys and girls have been breaking the barriers by excelling in IIT, NEET, mountaineering and now karate competitions.

He said these achievements were possible because of support from CM K. Chandrasekhar Rao, Tribal Welfare Minister A. Chandulal and the State govt. for providing quality English medium education and a world of new opportunities to the marginalised children.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by Special Correspondent / Hyderabad – May 14th, 2018

Telangana bird-loving duo bring out a field guide

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Green Initiatives / Environment, Nature, Records, All, Sports, Travel

Enthusiastic forest officer and researcher record rare species of Kagaznagar, which hosts 250 species

Apart from ardent birdwatchers, even those with a rudimentary knowledge of the winged wonders will swear that the fliers add a dash of colour to the surroundings to the place to live in.

Whether it’s a ‘detested’ common crow or endangered birds such as vultures, there is immense diversity among birds. contribute much in making the universe as attractive as it is.

In the wooded environs of Bejjur and Penchikalpet Forest Ranges, among others, in Kagaznagar Forest Division in Kumram Bheem Asifabad district, there are a number of avian species thriving.

In a bid to capture and document this, the Telangana Forest Department has come out with a 62-page field guide titled Birds of Kagaznagar Forest Division, which lists about 250 species, a few belonging to the rare category. About 60% of the images in the guide have come from Bejjur Forest Range.

Bejjur’s fame

Few know that the incidental discovery of the now famous habitat of the critically endangered Indian vulture or the Long Billed vulture (Gyps indicus) in Bejjur also set the Forest Range Officer (FRO) M. Ram Mohan and later wildlife biologist and field researcher M. Ravikanth on a mission to catalogue the avian varieties seen in the forest.

“I started shooting pictures of local birds in 2013 after the vulture discovery not as a dedicated activity, but as part of my travels inside the 260 sq. km of the forest under my jurisdiction,” said Mr. Ram Mohanto The Hindu, tracing the developments in Bejjur since the work began.

His association with the knowledgeable members of the Birdwatchers Society of Andhra Pradesh had the FRO gaining deeper insight into the world of birds and this eventually resulted in a painstakingly assembled collection of photos of about 130 different kinds of birds.

This includes the painted sand grouse and tree creeper of which no sighting records are available for over a decade-and-a-half.

Trove of images

Mr. Ravikanth was appointed as a field researcher in 2015 and has since been actively involved in vulture conservation as well as photography of birds and cataloguing the different species.

His collection of pictures of avian diversity equals that of the FRO.

Create awareness

Kagaznagar Forest Divisional Officer A. Narasimha Reddy supported the publication of the book published within six months of his taking charge.

“I even used the services of professional photographers and others in collecting photos from other ranges in my Division too, which made this field guide possible to fulfill the aim of creating awareness among people and the forest staff,” he revealed.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Telangana / by S. Harpal Singh / Adilabad – April 29th, 2018

Travelling the road to their passion

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Sports, Travel, World Opinion
PathLabs chairman and managing director G.V. Prasad with his son Rakshith starting their 17,000-km bike ride to London from Hyderabad on Thursday.

Father and son duo to ride through two continents and 16 countries in 55 days

A city-based father and son duo embarked on a 55-day-long road trip to London on Thursday.

PathCare Labs chairman and managing director G.V. Prasad along with his younger son, Rakshith, a medical student, commenced their expedition on two bikes, and would cover 17,000 km passing through two continents and 16 countries on the historical silk route.

Dr. Prasad gave voice to his passion to ride two-wheelers on national and international roads three years ago and has so far covered over 96,697 km. He is an active member of Harley Davidson Bikers’ Group and owns 10 super bikes.

“For me, riding is freedom of joy and living the dreams,” Dr. Prasad said.

Mr. Rakshith, who was inspired by his father, said bike-riding taught him discipline, tolerance, sharing, bonding and leadership.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by Staff Reporter / Hyderabad – April 19th, 2018

Saina outshines Sindhu, emerges the golden girl

Agriculture, Inspiration / Positive News and Features, Records, All, Sports, World Opinion
Women’s singles gold medallist Saina Nehwal of India poses with her medal and Borobi plush doll. | Photo Credit: REUTERS

Saina Nehwal won a second Commonwealth Games women’s singles title in style at the Carrara Sports arena here on Sunday.

The former World No. 1 displayed sheer determination and was aggressive all through as she put to shade the challenge from compatriot and current World No. 3 P.V. Sindhu at 21-18, 23-21 in 56 minutes to grab the gold medal, a feat she first achieved in New Delhi 2010.

However, K. Srikanth could not celebrate his ascent to World No. 1 ranking with a gold medal as he had to be content with the silver after going down to the legendary Lee Chong Wei 19-21, 21-14, 21-4.

Early lead
Saina took to an early lead and built upon it to outfox her rival. The first set saw Saina take a 9-4 lead, paralysing Sindhu at the net and coming up with deafening smashes. It was soon 20-14 and though Sindhu showed signs of revival, she couldn’t salvage the set.

In the second, Sindhu was her usual self and even threatened to take the match into the decider. Sindhu was ahead for most part, but Saina never allowed her to widen the gap before levelling at 20-all.

A tired Saina hung on bravely, overcoming Sindhu who saved one match-point before returning a smash wide. Saina instantly threw her hands up in the air in exultation.

“I will really put this along with my Olympic medal and my World No. 1 ranking. It’s a very emotional moment. I have been waiting for that one great victory after the disappointing loss in Rio 2016 where I had to retire because of my injury and had to go through surgery on my right knee,” said Saina.

On the other hand, Sindhu was happy that it was an all-India final, “The prospect itself was exciting and it is nice that it came true. The second was anyone’s set. I thought I could win it, but it was not to be. However, it is a good game overall and I am happy I tried my best.”

Srikanth began with a sequence of unforced errors and was down 0-5 before rallying his way ahead to eventually take the first set at 21-19. But the Indian was unable to keep up the momentum as he committed silly mistakes to go down without much fight.

Reflecting on the match, the Indian said: “When you are playing against such a great player, you have to be at your best, throughout the match. I started well by taking the first set but I made too many mistakes in my defence in the second and third. I gave him that early lead which I should have avoided.”

Satwik-Chirag bag silver
It was also a silvery finish for Satwik Rankireddy and Chirag Chandrasekhar Shetty in the men’s doubles, as they lost to England’s Marcus Ellis and Chris Langridge 21-13, 21-16.

Satwik, in partnership with Ashwini Ponnappa, had lost the mixed doubles bronze medal match on Saturday to Malaysia’s Chan Peng Soon and Guo Liu Ying 21-19, 21-19, and not as reported in these columns on Sunday.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Sport> Other Sports / by A. Vinod / Gold Coast – April 15th, 2018

7-year-old Hyderabad boy climbs Mt. Kilimanjaro

Amazing Feats, Education, Inspiration / Positive News and Features, Records, All, Sports, Travel, World Opinion

Hyderabad :

A 7-year-old boy from Hyderabad scaled the highest peak in Africa, Uhuru peak of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.

Samanyu Pothuraju, along with his coach, unfurled the Tricolor at a height of 5,895 meters above the sea level on April 2.

Speaking with ANI, the boy said, “The day was rainy and the road was full of stones. I got afraid, I had leg pains, but I took rest and completed it. I like snow a lot and that is the reason I went to Mt. Kilimanjaro. Pawan Kalyan is my favourite hero, my mom promised me that she will make me meet him if I try the world record, now am eagerly waiting to meet him. I will go to Australia peak in next month ending and want to make a record.”

Pothuraju was accompanied by his mother Lavanya, coach Thammineni Bharath, a fellow mountaineer Shangabandi Srujana, and another woman, all hailed from Hyderabad. A local doctor from Tanzania also accompanied them.

Pothuraju’s mother said “I am really very happy as my son tried to achieve a world record. After reaching there, I stopped in my halfway because of my health condition but my son didn’t quit unless until he reaches the destination. I was very much tensed and worried as there were different climate conditions. Our next target is Australia, 10 peaks in May ending and that will also be the record of my son.”

The trek began on March 29 when the team started from the base point. It took about five days for the team to reach the peak.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> City News> Hyderabad News / ANI / April 16th, 2018

Srikanth on top of the world

Records, All, Sports, World Opinion
Kidambi Srikanth. | Photo Credit: Sandeep Saxena

Srikanth thus became only the second Indian after Saina Nehwal, who had occupied the women’s top spot in 2015, to achieve the feat.

K. Srikanth always let his racquet do the talking. Even for all those who are regular to Gopi Academy where the champion shuttler puts in that extra effort to become a better player, he acknowledges the presence of visitors with a smile and gets back to business.

One needs to probe him to get replies since Srikanth is not one of who loves to engage in long conversations.

So, after the 25-year-old scaled the summit of the world men’s singles rankings on Thursday, he just looked at it as just another achievement, gently reminding that he had bigger goals to chase, including the Olympics gold.

“I always believed that if you are consistent in any sport, these things (rankings) automatically will fall in place. Honestly, I never chased them, but was fully aware that if you keep winning titles, you are bound to be there at the top,” said Srikanth.

“To be the No. 1 now after being ranked No. 338 about six years ago is a fabulous journey,” he said.

Inspiration
“Yes, being World No.1 is something which not everyone is able to achieve. That way it will remain one of the special moments of my career and can only be a huge inspiration for better deeds,” said Srikanth, who has had a dream run in the recent past.

He won four Super Series titles and guided India to the team gold in the on-going Commonwealth Games. “Well, my immediate goal is to win the singles gold at the CWG,” he added.

“The ranking is definitely a big load off my shoulders as many people have been asking me about this wherever I go. So, it’s a big relief,” he added.

“This is a big year for Indian badminton and I would be glad to be part of anything that will bring name and fame for us. In the process, winning gold in the Asian Games and the World championship are something which should make anyone proud,” said the 2016 Rio Olympics quarterfinalist.

“I dedicate this feat to my parents, coach Gopi (Chand) Sir, my physio Kiran and all the support staff at the academy and all those who always backed my abilities right through my career,” said Srikanth.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Sport> Other Sports / by V.V. Subrahmanyam / New Delhi – April 12th, 2018

Taekwondo champ sets Guinness World Records

Records, All, Sports, World Opinion
Vemuri V.S. Prasad holds the record for most full contact elbow strikes in one minute and most full contact knee strikes in three minutes.

Police officer Vemuri Prasad going from strength to strength

At 49, Vemuri V.S. Prasad is another Hyderabadi who has developed a fascination for Guiness World Records in taekwondo. This Senior Intelligence Officer in the Directorate of GST Intelligence (DGGI, Hyderabad) has set two new world records this year, which were ratified recently. He holds the record for most full contact elbow strikes in one minute (176) and most full contact knee strikes in three minutes (180).

Interestingly, Prasad, who is also an avid wildlife photographer, already has three World Records to his name, with the record for most full contact kicks in one hour by a team (20,494 in 2012), most full contact kicks in one hour by a team (37,161 in 2013) and largest taekwondo display with 979 participants (in 2014). He has never really dreamt it big in the sport – like chasing a medal in the Olympics.

“I have been into taekwondo for more than 25 years now. Thanks to grand master Jayanth Reddy, I am still able to pursue my passion at an age when many start thinking of post-retirement plans,” he says.

A black belt (dan-3), Prasad takes pride that his passion for the sport can be termed as an addiction.

Mr. Prasad is a silver medallist in the 2014 Senior National Open Club taekwondo championship (78-84 kg) in Delhi and has also won gold in successive years in the Karate Nationals between 1994-2000. What keeps him motivated to keep going? “It is just my passion for the sport. It gives me all the will power I look for in any aspect of life,” says the soft-spoken police officer.

Standing at an imposing 6’ 3”, he now aims to set a few more world records like most split kicks in one minute (current record is 30) and in spiderman knuckle push-ups (current record is 56 per minute).

“Yes, I am preparing for the international taekwondo champonship this year, but only to have a critical evaluation of where I stand among the best and not to prove a point or two,” he said, signing off the other ‘V.V.S.’ from the City.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Telangana / by V.V. Subrahmanyam / Hyderabad – April 05th, 2018

City taekwondo champ on a kick

Education, Inspiration / Positive News and Features, Records, All, Sports, World Opinion
B. Sai Deepak is gunning for six more world records this year.

Sai Deepak giving his all to qualify for 2020 Tokyo Olympics

Being a son of an auto-rickshaw driver was never an impediment for 22-year-old B. Sai Deepak, who was the youngest to set two Guinness World Records in taekwondo recently, to give his all to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Deepak’s desire to make it big in the world of sports began when he watched ace shooter Abhinav Bhindra stand on the podium with the gold medal in 2008 Beijing Olympics.

“Since then, I have always been chasing the dream of representing India in Olympics,” the engineering graduate, who is now pursuing MBA, told The Hindu.

Deepak set his first Guinness record in full contact with alternate elbows (142 in 60 seconds) in November 2017 and then another full contact with knee strikes (though he did 205 in three minutes, it was ratified at 175 itself) in December last.

A trainee under renowned taekwondo expert M. Jayanth Reddy from the city, who himself has set many world records, this fitness freak is now gunning for six more world records this year starting in March trying to beat Pakistan’s Irfan Mehmood’s single elbow strikes record of 128 in 60 seconds.

A silver medallist in the nationals, Deepak’s biggest achievement was a gold in the Indo-Nepal International Taekwondo Meet last May.

Ironically, this gifted taekwondo expert couldn’t make it to the U.S. Open Championship for want of financial assistance.

What is the route to Olympics? “It’s a demanding task. You have to win at least two medals in two Grade-II events featuring more than 60 countries and it’s never easy. But thanks to Jayanth Reddy sir, we are training with that specific goal of getting the qualifying mark,” says Deepak, a resident of Krishna Nagar.

“I am determined to achieve another first by making it to the Olympics by working hard despite all odds,” he signs off.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Telangana / by V.V. Subrahmanyam / Hyderabad – March 24th, 2018

Hyderabad golfer achieves unique feat

Records, All, Sports
Sri Myneni

Hits two ‘hole-in-ones’ in a single round

Hyderabad golfer Sri Myneni achieved the unique feat of sinking two ‘hole-in-ones’ in a single round at the Boulder Hills Golf Course here on Tuesday.

Myneni, a member of the Boulder Hills Golf Club, achieved this in the third and eighth holes of the Par-72 championship layout in Hyderabad during a casual round of golf with friends.

“I’m still in a bit of shock about it. It is an unbelievable feeling. I have never had a hole-in-one before in my life. Hopefully, this will be the start of many more in the future!” said a visibly excited Myneni in a chat with The Hindu.

The 50-year-old, who is the CEO and co-founder of Knoah Solutions, said, “After the first hole-in one, I just moved on. I was delighted when it happened again in the eight hole and I could not believe it. When we checked with the statistics, we realised that it doesn’t happen often. The implausible odds are 67 million to one! It did not sink into me for a while,” says Myneni, who is a big fan of Tiger Woods.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Telangana / by V.V. Subrahmanyam / Hyderabad – March 22nd, 2018