Daily Archives: October 31, 2017

A prolific batsman’s innings cut short

Leaders, Records, All, Sports
Former India cricketer V.V.S. Laxman with M.V. Sridhar. | Photo Credit: V_V_SUBRAHMANYAM

Contemporaries remember Sridhar’s 366-run Ranji innings

The cricketing fraternity was in for a shock on Monday with the demise of former Hyderabad Ranji captain M.V. Sridhar. He was a role model for any budding cricketer playing in the HCA leagues as he evolved into one of the best batsmen in Ranji Trophy having started playing in the B-Division League.

A prolific run-getter in his playing days and a wonderful communicator because of his fluency in English and Hindi.

One of the high-points of Sridhar’s illustrious Ranji career was his 366 against Andhra when Hyderabad scored then record-breaking score of 944 for six declared at Gymkhana in January, 1994. The same innings also saw Vivek Jaisimha and Noel David score double centuries!.

And, one of the most visibly shaken cricketers was Noel David, who was Sridhar’s partner when history was scripted at Gymkhana.

“I can never forget that match and I am eternally grateful to Doc (as Sridhar is affectionately called in the cricketing circles). The few times I went for the strokes, he shouted at me – teherke khelna, lamba bari khelna (stay there and play a long innings). It was just because of him I could score a double century,” said Noel struggling to control his emotions in a chat with The Hindu. “I miss him more than anyone else,” he said.

Interestingly, former HCA Secretary D.S. Chalapathi, who was a witness to that historic batting display, recalls that Sridhar was actually a selfless cricketer who never cared for records. “If he wanted to bat on, he could have easily been cautious and scored 400 and more on that day. But, he decided to score quick runs and declared the innings to try for an improbable win,” he said.

Ironically, for someone who always believed in playing a long innings out there in the middle, destiny deemed otherwise and cut short what has been a truly brilliant cricketing career – as a first-class player and also dotted with his impeccable behaviour in handling some of the most demanding jobs at the highest level in the BCCI as General Manager (Operations) and with the Indian team too as manager.

By all means, HCA will miss a gentleman cricketer, a sober voice for sure.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by V.V.Subrahmanyam / Hyderabad – October 31st, 2017

Stanford, Harvard universities vie for Hyderabad student Amita Gondi

Education, Records, All, Sports, World Opinion

Amita is squash, swimming champion who aced competitive exams.

Amita Gondi

Hyderabad:

While other students struggle to secure seats at reputed universities, Amita Gondi from Hyderabad is spoilt for choice. This grade XII student of Oakridge International School has received offer letters from Harvard as well as Stanford.

Amita plays squash and racquetball at the international level and is a national-level swimmer. She has many awards to her name and is currently ranked first in India, in squash, in the girls under-17 category. She has finished in the top three at major tournaments including the 2016 US Junior Squash Open, the 2015 Canada Junior Open and the 2016 Canada Junior Open.

Amita received a letter from Harvard University in July 2017, inviting her to visit their campus and finalise the admissions process. She then received an offer from Stanford University, which she accepted earlier this month. Luke Hammond, the assistant coach of the Harvard University Men’s and Women’s Squash Teams, had written to Amita in July, asking her to visit the campus for an official visit and interview, upon which her acceptance would be dependent.

Subsequent to her visit, she received a letter from Stanford which read, “It is a tribute to your outstanding achievements as a student-athlete that our Department of Athletics has requested an early review of your application for admission to Stanford for Fall 2018. I am delighted to share this good news with you ahead of our regular notification period. We offer congratulations on your distinguished accomplishments and welcome you to Stanford.”

Ranked first in India in the girls under-17 category

SAT Score: 1530 (Math: 800, English: 730)

source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> Nation> Current Affairs / by Anusha Puppala, Deccan Chronicle / October 30th, 2017