Category Archives: Sports

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

Kidambi Srikanth wins French Open Super Series

Records, All, Sports, World Opinion

Dominant: K. Srikanth, who is on a winning spree, exults after taking the French Open with ease on Sunday.

Having already completed a hat-trick of Super Series titles, Srikanth won his fourth title of the season.

India’s Kidambi Srikanth’s dream season continued as he brushed aside the challenge of Japan’s Kenta Nishimoto in straight games to win the French Open Super Series men’s singles title, in Paris on Sunday.

Having already completed a hat-trick of Super Series titles, Srikanth won his fourth title of the season.

Srikanth, seeded eight in the tournament, took just 34 minutes to get the better of his Japanese opponent 21-14 21-13 in the summit clash.

The win ensured Srikanth, who played his fifth Super Series final this season, bag his second consecutive title in two weeks after winning the Denmark Open in Odense last week.

Srikanth, thus, became only fourth men’s singles player to win four or more Super Series titles in a calendar year.

Going by Srikanth’s current form, it was expected to be a one-sided summit clash and it turned out to be one, except for the first few points of the opening game which was a neck-and-neck fight between the two shuttlers.

It was Nishimoto, who started brightly to race to a 9-5 lead before Srikanth fought back to draw level at 9-9.

From there on it was no looking back as the Indian used his court coverage and superior technique to take a 14-10 lead.

Nishimoto did manage to take some points to reduce the margin to 15-14 before Srikanth used his experience at the highest level to pocket six straight points and win the first game.

Srikanth continued his good form in the second game and won five straight points to take a commanding 10-2 lead.

Nishimoto tried his best to force a comeback and managed to reduce the margin to 13-8 but the Indian showed his class and superiority in crunch situations to keep his lead intact and win the game 21-13 and claim his second consecutive title in as many weeks.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Sport> Other Sports / PTI / Paris – October 29th, 2017

TS woman carrom player wins both singles, doubles titles

Sports

U. Sarita Devi receiving prize for winning singles and doubles titles at 22nd All India Postal Carrom Tournament at Victory Playground in the city on Friday.By Arrangement

U. Sarita Devi of Telangana bagged a ‘double’ winning the women’s singles and doubles titles in the 22nd All India Postal Carrom Tournament at Victory Playground here on Friday.

In the final, she defeated A. Ponnarasi (T.N.) 18-14, 18-10. Later, she combined well with A. Ramasri to down Ponnarasi and Asha Padmanabhan of Tamil Nadu (23-5, 20-8) in the doubles final.

Brig. B. Chandrasekhar, Chief PMG (Telangana Circle), and P.V.S. Reddy, PMG, Headquarters Region, Col. Elisha, PMG Hyderabad Region, Y. Upender, Director of Postal Services, Hyderabad Region, and V.V.S.N. Reddy, Director of Postal Services (Hqrs), Telangana Circle, gave away the prizes.

The results

Men: Singles: Final: Bharatidasan (T.N.) beat G.D. Kishore Kumar (T.N.) 20-19, 25-11.

Third place: K. Tamil Selvam (T.N.) beat V. Sivananda Reddy (Telangana) 25-8, 22-25, 25-4.

Doubles: Final: Bharathidasan and G.D. Kishore Kumar (T.N.) beat M. Suman and Silambarasan (T.N.) 22-20, 16-3.

Third place: Tamil Selvan and Dharani Kumar (T.N.) beat J.L. Syamsundar and V. Rajesh (Karnataka) 25-5, 25-0.

Women: Singles: Final: U. Savitha Devi (Telangana) beat A. Ponnarasi (T.N.) 18-14, 18-10.

Third place: Maitreyee Sarkar (West Bengal) beat T. Bhanu (Telangana) 25-9, 17-19, 25-9.

Doubles: Final: U. Savitha Devi and A. Ramasri (Telangana) beat Ponnarasi & Asha Padmanabhan (T.N.) 23-5, 20-8.

Third place: R.M. Bhoir and Bhagyasri Rani (Maha) beat Monica Paul and Mythreyi Sarkar (West Bengal) 25-6, 13-25, 25-12.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Telangana / by V.V. Subrahmanyam / Hyderabad – October 28th, 2017

Five Hyderabad players in Board President’s XI team

Sports

Hyderabad :

Happy days are here again for Hyderabad cricket. After a lull of many years, things are really looking up for the cricketers of the state. On Monday, promising paceman Mohd Siraj found a berth in the Indian T20I team for the series against Sri Lanka next month and five other players too were rewarded by the National Senior Selection Committee as they found a place in the Board President’s XI which will take on the visitors in a two-day warm-up game in Kolkata on November 11 & 12.

Southpaws B Sandeep and Tanmay Agarwal, leggie Akash Bhandari and medium pacers CV Milind and Ravi Kiran have been included in the Naman Ojha led 13-member squad.

After their stupendous show last year when they reached the quarterfinals of the Ranji Trophy, the Hyderabad senior team started the season with a bang by notching up back-to-back titles in the form of the Moin-ud Dowlah Gold Cup at home and then claiming the Buchi Babu Trophy in Chennai.

Though rain played spoilsport as their games against Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh were washed out without a ball being bowled, Monday’s development will bring a lot of cheer in the camp as the team takes on Karnataka in their four-day Group A match in Shimoga from Tuesday.

“It is a great news for Hyderabad cricket. The hard work put in by the players has borne fruit. After a very long time six players have been selected by the Indian selectors. This is a red-letter day for Hyderabad cricket. I am glad about it and wish the players all the very best. We look forward to produce many more players who will don Indian colours,” Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) secretary T Shesh Narayan, who has been camping in Mumbai for the last few days and played a key role in bringing to the notice of the selectors the players’ performances, told TOI over the telephone.

“I am delighted with the call-up. It is a great feeling to be considered for playing against a visiting international team. I just look forward to the game and will take it as it comes. I have no particular goals as such. I just want to do well for the team and gain from the experience,” said Sandeep, who had got 612 runs with a highest of 203 not out last year in the Ranji Trophy. The southpaw had scored on century on debut against Jharkhand in 2010.

“It’s just a learning step for me. The dream is always to play for the country but there is no time frame for it. I just want to keep scoring runs and wait for my opportunity,” said another southpaw Tanmay.

Both the players were happy that five of them have been selected for the Board President XI’s and also for the inclusion of teammate Siraj in the Indian squad. “It has been a long time since so many players from Hyderabad have made it to the big league. I am delighted about Siraj and also about us playing in the Board President XI’s game. I am sure that this will inspire our team to continue to do well this season too,” said Tanmay.

“I am thrilled that almost half of the team will be from Hyderabad. It is nice to have familiar faces in the dressing room. We hope to make an impact in the game,” said Sandeep.

The team: Naman Ojha (Capt/WK), Sanju Samson, Jiwanjot Singh, B Sandeep, Tanmay Agarwal, Abhishek Gupta, Rohan Prem, Akash Bhandari, Jalaj Saxena, CV Milind, Avesh Khan, Sandeep Warrier, Ravi Kiran.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> Sports News> Cricket News / Soloman s Kumar / TNN / October 23rd, 2017

Denmark Open: Kidambi Srikanth wins third Super Series title

Records, All, Sports, World Opinion

Srikanth beat a man 12 years his senior | Photo Credit: Reuters

Beats Korean veteran Lee Hyun II 21-10 21-5 in a match that lasted just 25 minutes

Kidambi Srikanth clinched his third Super Series Premier title with a dominating straight-game victory over Korean veteran Lee Hyun II in a lopsided final of the USD 750,000 Denmark Open here on Sunday.

Playing an opponent 12 years his senior, Srikanth asserted his dominance with a 21-10 21-5 win over 37-year-old Lee in a match that lasted just 25 minutes here.

World No. 8 Srikanth didn’t give any chances to the more experienced Lee, who looked a pale shadow of the man, who had beaten World No. 2 Son Wan Ho in the semi-finals yesterday.

The duo were tied 4-4, before Srikanth changed gears and used his deception and powerful smashes to lead 9-5.

A return going to the net gave a point to Lee but Srikanth produced a brilliant cross court net dribble to bamboozle his opponent and moved into the break with a healthy 11-6 lead when the Korean went wide.

Lee had no answers to Srikanth’s razor-sharp smashes and cross court returns as the Indian led 14-8. Lee also made judgement errors at the baseline and also miscued his strokes as Srikanth extended his advantage to 17-8 with another smash.

The Korean hit two long shots and then sent one at the net to hand over a 20-8 lead to Srikanth.

The Indian made two unforced errors to allow Lee get into doubles figures. But Lee again erred with the length of his return as Srikanth pocketed the first game.

In the second game, Srikanth stepped on the gas and zoomed to a 11-1 lead even as Lee struggled with his strokes, hitting wide and long and often finding the net.

Post mid-game break, Lee produced a steep cross court return, much to the cheer of the sizable crowd who had turned out to watch the finals. The Korean lacked anticipation as Srikanth smashed his way to the title.

Ratchanok Inthanon takes title

Earlier, 2013 World Champion Ratchanok Inthanon produced another gritty display to stave off the challenge from World No. 5 and defending champion Akane Yamaguchi of Japan 14-21 21-15 21-19 to win her first title of the season.

“I didn’t think about winning or losing. I just wanted to give my best for our beloved King, who passed away last year. It has been difficult for us and I am happy I could find the mental strength and power to win today,” a teary-eyed Inthanon said.

Thailand’s King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the world’s longest- reigning monarch, had passed away last year after 70 years as head of state.

Among other matches, Hong Kong’s eighth seeded mixed doubles pair of Tang Chun Man and Tse Ying Suet, who had clinched the 2012 Japan Open Super Series, notched up their maiden major title.

They defeated top-seeded Chinese combo of Zheng Siwei and Chen Qingchen 24-22 19-21 23-21 in a thrilling contest that lasted a little less than an hour.

Korea’s women’s doubles pair of Lee So Hee and Shin Seung Chan, who had won the 2014 World championship bronze medal at Denmark, dished out another sensational performance to outwit Japanese sixth seeds Shiho Tanaka and Koharu Yonemoto 21-13 21-16 to clinch the title.

Chinese pair of Liu Cheng and Zhang Nan, seeded fifth, defeated second seeded Indonesian combo of Marcus Fernaldi Gideon and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo 21-16 22-24 21-19 in the men’s doubles final clash.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Sport> Other Sport / by PTI / Odense – October 22nd, 2017

Hyderabad’s ‘Bruce Lee’ bags 13th individual Guinness World record

Records, All, Sports, World Opinion

Hyderabad :

In a rare achievement, a 54-year-old Taekwondo Grandmaster clinched his 13th individual Guinness World Record for the most number of kicks with one leg while wearing 5 kg weight on each leg.

Taekwondo master M Jayanth Reddy executed 1155 kicks in one hour non-stop beating his previous record of 1000 kicks. Reddy started his tryst with the martial arts back in 2010 and has been unstoppable ever since. With 13 Individual records and 1 group record along with 8th Dan (degree) black belt, Jayanth is touted as Hyderabad’s very own Bruce Lee.

The Taekwondo ace broke this record on August 15 in JVR Park, which was validated by independent judges. The record was confirmed on Monday , post validation and submission of a corroborating video.

Reddy said,”This is just the beginning of a long journey towards putting India on the world map as Taekwondo and martial arts leaders.”When asked about his training regime he added, “I train for minimum four hours every day through the week. There is no room for complacency when it comes to fitness and martial arts.

“Reddy is eying to break two more individual world records by the end of the year along with training his students for doing the same.

Two of his students R Gajendra Kumar and Abdul Khalil are having six records each under their belts.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News / TNN / September 21st, 2017

Hyderabad’s ‘fast and the furious’ wins big at national championship

Records, All, Sports

Since bursting onto the national racing scene in 2014, Hyderabadi racer Anindith Reddy has been winning titles and making everyone sit up and take notice.

His latest feat — clinching the F1600 class title at the recently concluded Indian National Racing Championship 2017 held at the Madras Motor Race track in Chennai — only cements his position further. such was his dominance on the points table, that Anindith won the coveted championship a day before the finale without even completing the race.

“There was only one race on Saturday and I was leading it when the driver behind me made a misjudgment and bumped into my rear wing. My wing was completely destroyed following which I couldn’t finish the race. I had another collision in the second race on Sunday with the same driver. I don’t exactly know what went wrong with his car. Of course the race didn’t go well for me, but I had the points to make it to the top of the podium,” says Anindith, crediting his consistent performance over the months for his edge over competitors.

“The championship started sometime in January at the BIC ground in Noida, Delhi. Before last weekend’s three races, I had consistently done well in the other 13 races and had maintained a good points record,” he adds.

The mechanical engineering graduate has some very interesting methods to keep himself race ready: “Racing is one sport for which we cannot practise on a tarmac every day. Also, there are limited number of tracks for racing in the country.

So, I spend some time at the gym every day. I try to stimulate the situations of circuit trainings in my head and create the conditions I experience behind the wheel during the races through physical activity such as cardio exercises,” Anindith informs.

Son of Chevella MP Konda Vishweshwar Reddy and grandson of healthcare honcho Prathap C Reddy, Anindith’s love for fast cars and racing developed from a very young age.

“My father, who’s also an adventure enthusiast, gifted me a go-kart on my seventh birthday. I’ve been hooked to cars ever since,” he says.

However, while racing is an expensive sport, his lineage accounts for nothing on the race track, avers Anindith. “in comparison to a lot of other countries, racing in India is actually cheaper. on the race track, it doesn’t really matter whether you are rich or not. Wealth is not a criteria to be a racer,” he says, signing off.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> City News> Hyderabad News / by Debarun Borthakur / TNN / September 21st, 2017

PV Sindhu beats Nozomi Okuhara to win Korea Open Super Series

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

Highlights

Sindhu won her third Super Series title beating Nozomi Okuhara 22-20, 11-21, 21-18

This win helped Sindhu level the head-to-head stats against the Japanese 4-4

She claimed the title in a one hour and 24 minutes battle and become the first Indian shuttler to win in Korea
_____________________________________________________________________

New Delhi :

India’s PV Sindhu won her third Super Series title beating Nozomi Okuhara 22-20, 11-21, 21-18 in the women’s singles final of the Korea Open in a thrilling encounter in Seoul on Sunday. Sindhu, who had lost to Okuhara in an epic World Badminton Championships final three weeks back, got the better of the eighth seed in an encounter that lasted one hour and 24 minutes.

After Okuhara dominated the proceedings early on, Sindhu managed to save two game points and won the first game before being trounced by a ten-point margin in the second. Sindhu, seeded fifth in the tournament, got her act together in the third and the final game to take the title, her second Super Series win this year after India Open.
Speaking to TOI Sports soon after his ward PV Sindhu won the finals, India’s chief national badminton coach Pullela Gopichand said: What a super match! Both players showed great spirit and determination. It was almost a repeat of the World championship final, though the result reversed, in our favour. Both players are great champions.”
This win helped Sindhu level the head-to-head stats against the Japanese 4-4 and in the process also broke Okuhara’s 14-match winning streak.

In a close game one, both shuttlers shared the lead often with Sindhu looking more aggressive than Okuhara. Sindhu got on top of the long rallies but Okuhara put up a strong resistance picking up the Sindhu’s smashes with ease. What was interesting to note was Sindhu experimented with the cross court backhand whip and while couple of her attempts went wide, Okuhara found it tough to track the movement.

Sindhu earned four points with that shot. Okuhara, looked strong in the rallies, but Sindhu’s reach made it tough for the Japanese to place her shots beyond the Indian. Even though Okuhara enjoyed two game points, four consecutive points from Sindhu meant the Indian took the first game 22-20.

After losing the first game, Okuhara stepped on the gas and looked in her elements in the long rallies. Okuhara got her touch back with the smashes that earned her five points, two of which came late in the game that assured Sindhu was left with too much to do. Her net play looked strong while Sindhu failed to connect with the cross court backhand whip well. Okuhara claimed the second game with thumping 10-point margin to take the final to the third and the deciding game.

Okuhara got things running in the final game, before Sindhu took over. While the Indian looked a bit tired in the second game, she was rejuvenated in the third and seemed to take the initiative with the attacks and that paid dividend. Sindhu managed to maintain a healthy lead for most part of the game. Okuhara, who looked sublime in the Game 2, started to lose the plot and three straight long shots meant Sindhu took a six-point advantage in the deciding game.

Okuhara though made a final dash but with her unforced errors count going up, the Japanese was left to play catch up. Sindhu only had to maintain her composure. Okuhara though was not going down without a fight but Sindhu managed to stave off the spirited Japanese by winning the longest- 56-shot – rally of the match that took Sindhu to 19-16. Sindhu had three match point opportunities and converted the second one to claim the title and become the first Indian shuttler to win in Korea.

The two 22-year-olds, who were involved in the second longest match of women’s singles at the Worlds final, entertained the crowd once again at another major final.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> Sports News> Badminton News / TimesofIndia.com / September 17th, 2017

Telangana govt to give Rs 1 crore, house plot to Mithali Raj

Sports

Women’s World Cup: Telangana govt to give Rs 1 crore, house plot to Mithali Raj – Times of India

Hyderabad :

The Telangana government announced a cash prize of Rs 1 crore and a house plot to captain of Indian women’s cricket team Mithali Raj.

Congratulating Raj, who met him on Friday, Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao praised the team led by her for their scintillating performance in the just-concluded women’s World Cup, a release from the CM’s office said.

“You have played wonderfully at the World Cup. We thought you would sure to win in the final too. Unfortunately, we lost by a slender margin. But yet your team performed well and the whole nation watched your performance,” the release quoted him as saying.

“I also watched the match. You have played very well in this tournament. You have set a record by scoring the highest number of runs. You have exhibited a wonderful talent. You are the pride of Telangana and Hyderabad city,” he said.

According to the release, the 34-year-old cricketer will get a cash prize of Rs 1 crore and 600 sq yards of house plot.

Rao also felicitated Raj’s coach RSR Murthy and announced a cash prize of Rs 25 lakh to him, it said.
Raj’s parents and senior officials were present on the occasion.

The Indian women’s cricket team, led by Mithali Raj, was the runner-up in the World Cup. Raj became the highest run -getter during the tournament.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> Sports> Cricket> ICC Women’s World Cup 2017 / PTI / July 28th, 2017