Category Archives: Sports

Welfare college girls on top of Europe’s highest mountain

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, Records, All, Sports, World Opinion

Malavath Poorna was the youngest girl to climb Mt. Everest in 2014

Malavath Poorna has done it again! The daring student of the Telangana Social Welfare Residential Educational Institutions Society (TSWREIS), currently studying in the newly established residential degree college at Ibrahimpatan, has now climbed the highest mountain in Europe Mt. Elbrus (Russia).

Along with 16-year-old Sri Vidya of social welfare residential school at Alair, she successfully scaled the mountain on Thursday. The duo began trekking on July 24 and reached the peak (5642 metres) at 7.30 a.m Moscow time on Thursday. “I have so far conquered three highest mountain peaks in the three continents of the world — Mt. Everest in Asia, Mt. Kilimanjaro, Africa, and Mt. Elbrus in Europe. My aim is to conquer the top peaks in all seven continents,” said Ms. Poorna.

She became the youngest girl to climb the world’s tallest peak of Mt.Everest in 2014 and recently actor Rahul Bose made a critically acclaimed feature film on her exploits. Both her parents are agricultural labourers and although Ms. Poorna hails from a tribal hamlet in Nizamabad district, she is currently pursuing undergraduate course at the newly launched residential degree college.

Her partner Vidya hails from Nalgonda district and her parents too work as daily wage labourers to eke out a living. “It is difficult to describe how tough the climb was, but I resolved to achieve the impossible against odds,” she said. The duo’s biggest thrill upon reaching the top was to hoist the portrait of Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao!

“The Chief Minister sanctioned 53 welfare residential degree colleges which no other State has done before. He has been supporting us in exploring new horizons. If not for these colleges, most of my mates would have been married off by now,” the girls pointed out. In fact, Ms. Poorna had hoisted the Telangana flag on Mt. Everest when she reached the peak then.

The joy of their mentor and TSWREIS secretary R.S. Praveen Kumar on the achievement of the young mountaineers was even more. “Our children may be poor, but they are never poor in energy, enthusiasm and determination,” he gushed and thanked the CM and Minister for SC Development G. Jagadish Reddy for supporting the welfare residential educational institutions which the other States too were trying to emulate.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by Special Correspondent / Hyderabad – July 27th, 2017

Promotion for Mithali Raj

Sports

Indian woman cricketer Mithali Raj.

Recognition of her outstanding contribution as a player

Indian women’s cricket captain Mithali Raj has been officially given out-of-turn promotion from Chief Office Superintendent to Officer on Special Duty (Sports) by her employers Indian Railways, according to sources in the Indian Railways.

The 34-year-old star cricketer is working in the SCR and is expected to return home on Thursday after meeting the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Railway Minister and others in Delhi on Thursday.

“This is in recognition of her outstanding contribution as a player as she also became the leading run-getter in ODIs in the recent World Cup and also for leading from the front to the final at Lord’s last Sunday,” the coach informed The Hindu.

In a separate message, Mithali’s father, Dorai Raj, thanked the SCR coach for all his support. “When wellwishers like you are around her, things will fall in place. She trusts and believes you,” he said in a message.

For his part, Murthy felt that the gifted cricketer truly deserves this promotion. “She has always been a wonderful cricketer and a perfect human being, very polite and respectful to anyone who interacted with her,” said Murthy who has been her guiding force so much that

Mithali made it a point right through the recent World Cup to share her experiences, feelings on what was happening out there on the tour with him.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Telangana / by V V Subrahmanyam / Hyderabad – July 27th, 2017

ICC Women’s World Cup 2017: Mithali Raj Shatters Record, Becomes Highest Run-Getter In Women’s ODIs

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

She became the leading run scorer in women’s ODI cricket
. / © AFP[/

Mithali Raj achieved the feat against Australia in the ICC Women’s World Cup 2017 match at Bristol.

India captain Mithali Raj created history on Wednesday when she became the leading run-scorer in women’s One Day International (ODI) cricket. She achieved the feat against Australia in the ICC Women’s World Cup 2017 match at Bristol. The India skipper’s remarkable performance has caught the attention of the entire nation and on Wednesday she added this feather to her cap. Before the start of the match against the Aussie women, Mithali was 33 runs short of England cricketer Charlotte Edwards’ 5992 runs in 191 matches.

Not only did Mithali go past the Englishwoman’s world record but she also became the first ever woman cricketer to touch the 6,000 ODI runs mark.

Earlier, she achieved the feat of scoring seven consecutive fifties in ODIs after she played a terrific knock against England in the World Cup last Saturday. Apart from this, Mithali has also notched the maximum number of ODI half-centuries (49) by any woman cricketer.

The 34-year-old, who made her debut at the age of 16, has often been called the Sachin Tendulkar of Indian women’s cricket. However, being compared to male cricketers is not something the Indian skipper is overly fond of.

Mithali had shut down a reporter for asking her a question during a press conference ahead of the ICC Women’s World Cup 2017. The Indian skipper was asked to name her favourite male cricketer. “Do you ask the same question to a male cricketer?,” she had replied.

She also grabbed headlines when fans spotted her indulging in a rather interesting activity before she came out to bat against England. Mithali was seen reading a book before going out in the middle. Fans couldn’t stop talking about it on social media.

source: http://www.sports.ndtv.com / NDTV Sports / Home> ICC Women’s World Cup> News> Cricket / by Abhishek Mahajan / July 12th, 2017

Kairavi waltzes her way to World Roller Games

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, Records, All, Sports

Roller skater Kairavi Falguni Thakkar in action. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangements

First girl in Telangana to compete at the global level

Kairavi Falguni Thakkar has made it to the World Roller Games to be held at Nanjing in China from August 25 to September 10. The first year BA student of St. Francis College, Begumpet, would be the first girl from Telangana to compete at such a global level and in the junior (under 19 years) solo dance event.

Currently in the Indian camp at the National College indoor stadium at Tiruchi in Tamil Nadu, she braved ups and downs before choosing to climb rather than sink in despair. “My lecturer-mother Falguni Thakkar is my backbone from whom I’ve inherited the ultimate attitude — never give up,” she told The Hindu.

The 18-year-old is quick to point out the other pillars of support — siblings Anup Kumar Yama (an Arjuna awardee) and Amar Nag Yama. “I idolise my coaches, who have inspired me to scale new heights,” says Kairavi.

Stepping into a rink for the first time when just eight years old, she has evolved into an artistic roller skater. Ask her why not tennis or badminton and Kairavi turns eloquent spokesperson for her passion.

“A skater should ideally have the strength of a tennis player, the balance of a tight rope walker, the endurance of a marathon runner, the precision of a badminton player, the agility of a gymnast, the cool nerve of a golfer, the grace and poise of a dancer,” she reckons.

“It involves dance, jumps and spins as in ice skating, but on roller skates,” she stresses. Yet in the not too distant past, the gritty lass was skating on thin ice. With a dash of daring, she jetted off to Portugal in March for training with Filipe Sereno, just before her 12th board exams!

Kairavi’s cupboard is crammed with medals from district, State and national-level competitions in freestyle, figure and solo dance skating. Going by her confidence level, her first international medal could well come from China.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Telangana / by A. Jospeh Anthony / Hyderabad – June 18th, 2017

Srikanth beats Sakai to win Indonesia Open Super Series Premier title

Records, All, Sports, World Opinion

___________________________________________________________________
Highlights :

1. Srikanth looked in the zone as he easily downed world no 47 Sakai in straight games 21-11, 21-19

2. The Indonesian Open is Srikanth’s second Super Series Premier title after he won the 2014 China Open Super Series Premier

3. Srikanth had finished runner-up at Singapore Open after losing to compatriot B Sai Praneeth in the summit clash last month
____________________________________________________________________

Jakarta :

Indian shuttler Kidambi Srikanth clinched his third Super Series title, lifting the Indonesia Open men’s singles trophy with a straight-game victory over Japanese qualifier Kazumasa Sakai in the final on Sunday.

World No.22 Srikanth, who had reached the finals at Singapore Open in April, outclassed Sakai, ranked 47th, 21-11 21-19 in just 37 minutes to take home a cheque of $75,000.

“He was playing well, especially in the second game and I think for me coming back from 6-11 down and make it 13-13 was the turning point,” said Srikanth, who had clinched the 2014 China Super Series Premier and 2015 India Super Series.

“My coach will have a special place in my heart as after he came, I reached the finals at Singapore and to win this tournament, which is considered the biggest tournament. I want to thank all the fans who have been rooting for me all this week,” he added.

Srikanth played a patient game and didn’t allow his opponent to engage in any fast-paced rally. He dictated the pace with his precise angled returns and unleashed his smashes at perfect intervals to down his rival.

Playing in tricky conditions, Srikanth took time to gauge the conditions as his initial returns went wide and out.
But his rival also suffered because of similar unforced errors and the Indian led 6-4 early on. He consolidated his lead to reach 11-8 at the break.

After the interval, Srikanth continued to dominate the proceedings. His net dribbles were better than Sakai and with Sakai struggling with precision, the Indian zoomed to a 19-11 lead and sealed it with two lucky net chord points.

After the change of sides, Sakai was more aggressive in his approach and produced an improved net game to dominate the rallies.

Soon, the Japanese was leading 7-3 as he entered the break with an 11-6 lead with the help of a backhand return near the net

After the interval, Srikanth’s aggressive game gave him the desired results. He turned the tables and caught up with the Japanese at 13-13 with an on-rushing smash at the net.

The duo moved neck and neck after that till 19-19 before Srikanth produced two fantastic smashes to seal the deal.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> Sports> Badminton / PTI / June 18th, 2017

Sai Praneeth: A badminton champion’s rise from Hyderabad to Thailand Open

Records, All, Sports, World Opinion

B. Sai Praneeth scored a come-from-behind victory over Jonatan Christie in a close encounter. (FILE PHOTO) | Photo Credit: G.P. Sampath Kumar

Sai Praneeth B on Sunday won the Men’s Singles in the Thailand Open Grand Prix Gold badminton tournament, becoming the second Indian to have ever won the coveted trophy. Coached at the Gopichand Badminton Academy under former-badminton-champion-turned-coach, Pullela Gopichand, Sai Praneeth beat Indonasia’s Jonatan Christie 17-21, 21-18, 21-19 to win the title.
________________________________________

PMO India ✔ @PMOIndia

Congratulations to B Sai Praneeth for wining the Thailand Open badminton tournament. India is elated on the accomplishment: PM @narendramodi
6:24 PM – 4 Jun 2017

1,959 1,959 Retweets 9,730 9,730 like

Twitter Ads info and privacy
______________________________________

Currently ranked 24th in the world, the Hyderabad-born 24-year-old is no stranger to records. He kick-started his career by winning the U-10 title. By the time he was 21, he had the U-13, U-16, U-19 titles, a bronze in the world juniors, and a senior national title under his belt.

After a lull, the right-handed shuttler began his senior international career in style this year when he defeated India’s Srikanth Kidambi to win the Singapore Open on April 16, 2017.

It was a historic moment for India as the duo were the first Indian pair to enter the finals of a ranking event in badminton. Srikanth, incidentally, trains at the same academy as Sai Praneeth and had won the Thailand Open in 2013.

Sai Praneeth’s all-time-high ranking of 22 fell two points early this month when he suffered consecutive losses at the India Open and the Malaysia Open. Sunday’s victory could help him level that loss.

____________________________________________________________________
Himanta Biswa Sarma ✔ @himantabiswa
I called & congratulated @saiprneeth92 on bagging Gold at #ThailandGPG. Announced Re 3 lakh prize money. Rise of Indian badminton continues!
7:34 PM – 4 Jun 2017
141 141 Retweets 667 667 likes
Twitter Ads info and privacy
____________________________________________________________________

He is looking forward to leaving his mark in the upcoming Indonesian Open and Australian Open in the coming months before his maiden World Championship appearance in August.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Sport> Other Sports / by Navmi Krishna / Chennai – June 05th, 2017

City boy conquers ‘Ultraman Florida’

Inspiration / Positive News and Features, Nri's / PIO's, Sports, World Opinion


Sweet victory: Manmadh Rebba at the finish line of Ultraman Florida

Solace for Telugus in the US

Even as Telugus are worried over safety issues in the United States, a young architect from the State has brought some cheer finishing the Ultraman Florida — an athletic endeavour that covers 321.6 miles (517.5 kilometers) including swimming, biking and marathon in three-days in the USA.

Manmadh Rebba, an alumnus of Jawaharlal Nehru Architecture and Fine Arts University (JNAFAU) is one of the few who completed the race considered one of the toughest in the world where the participants complete a 6.2 mile (10 Km) open water swim, a 263 mile (423 Km) bike ride, and a 52.4 mile (84 Km) ultra-marathon run.

Testing limits

“It tests the athlete’s mental and physical limits. The three day schedule is strenuous,” says Manmadh, who is one of the five participants from India and the only one from South India. The first day consists of a 6.2 mile swim and 92 mile bike, while second day consists of a 171 mile bike, and the last day is a 52.4 mile run. The event saw participation from 44 athletes from 21 countries.

Manmadh’s third day double marathon timing of 10 hours 2 minutes holds the fastest double marathon and he finished the race with a three-day aggregate time of 31 hours 43 minutes. It wasn’t easy as he had to face several personal challenges even before the race started. His cottage was burgled a day before the race.

Tutoring kids

“Luckily, my bike was in the car when I went to the race briefing and that saved my race. I got only two hours of sleep but was determined to finish the race,” says Manmadh, who is also one of the designers of the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad.

Manmadh has several achievements to his credit and one of which is the prestigious Presidential award in the US in 2016. He was honoured with this award for tutoring homeless kids since 2011. “I enjoyed every minute of my time spent with all the amazing and extremely potential kids. Receiving this award with the appreciation letter from the President Barack Obama during his last year in office is definitely very special to me,” says the Architect, who is now working in the San Diego Airport.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Telangana / by R Ravikanth Reddy / Hyderabad – February 27th, 2017

Crowdfunding helps budding badminton player

Inspiration / Positive News and Features, Sports

Full of talent: Vamsi Krishna’s target will be to bag a spot in the top eight under-15 singles category this year.


Netizens donate ₹2 lakh for 14-year-old Vamsi Krishna’s training, equipment

He took up the role of a coach even before he was a professional player. A year into serious training, he burst into the national scene and won several awards. All of just 14 years, Vamsi Krishna, along with his partner, defeated the defending champions — Vishnu Pullela, son of the established badminton coach Pullela Gopichand, was part of the defending team.

Yet, the budding badminton star from the city faced a handicap in the form of poverty. Govardhan Reddy, the coach of Mr. Krishna, made an appeal on crowd-funding website ‘Milaap’ for financial assistance a few days ago.

Seeing the plight of Mr. Krishna, whose father is a bus driver, netizens showed their generous side by helping him get better coaching and equipment, donating ₹2 lakh in eight days — ₹40,000 more than the set target of ₹1.6 lakh.

“I saw him two years ago at a badminton academy when he was substituting for his father, who is also a badminton coach, on the court. I recognised his potential and immediately spoke to his father. I convinced him to let Mr. Krishna stay at my academy and get trained,” said Mr. Reddy, who runs three badminton coaching centres in the city.

“I have been training and taking care of him since his father cannot afford to spend much. We decided to get his expenses crowd-funded as we wanted to make sure that he gets the best training.”

The 14-year-old’s target would be to bag a spot in the top eight under-15 singles category by the end of the year. “I am surprised with the response online and we have already started acquiring the best equipment from Mr. Krishna,” he said.

Donations poured in from across the globe, especially from Hyderabad and Bengaluru, according to Anoj Viswanathan, co-founder, Milaap.org. “The success of Mr. Krishna’s campaign reflects the people’s endeavour and wish to support young athletes who are struggling to fulfil their dreams due to lack of funds,” he said.

Skaters from Telangana reap medals

Records, All, Sports, World Opinion

Bright future: Asian Games bronze medallist Anup Kumar Yama with the skaters from Telangana who won six gold, 10 silver, and four bronze medals at the Senior National Roller-Skating Championship in Noida.

They earn eligibility for final screening for world championship to be held in China

Skaters from Telangana have done it again, reaping a rich haul of six gold, 10 silver, and four bronze medals in the just-concluded Senior National Roller-Skating Championship in Noida.

Above all, the gold medallists — Veda Dundigalla, Vaibhav Bhamidipati (gold in pair and solo dance events), Vanshika Konanki, Kanti Sree and Juhith Chalamacharla — have earned the eligibility for final screening scheduled in May for the world championship to be held in China this August. For silver and bronze medallists like Kairavi Falguni Thakkar, Manish Sivakumar, Eluri Krishna Sai Rahul, Nihal Kopparthi, Gokul Sivakumar and others, it’s a sign of better things to come.

With the two-time bronze medallist in 2010 Asian Games and arguably the India’s best skater now, Anup Kumar Yama, donning the coach’s role, the young talent can bank on his experience and gain the desired confidence to dream big.

Rigorous training

Following the Sport Authority of Telangana starting the first, full-length rink at Gymkhana Ground at Secunderabad, Yama had the liberty to train these skaters not just at his own Yama Skating Academy at Marredpally (which is one-third of the stipulated size of the rink) but also at the new venue to ensure that the results are there for all to see.

Yama, the Arjuna awardee, points out that what separates his training methods from the others is that it’s mandatory for parents to accompany their children for daily practice sessions as they are also given a feel of what it means to mould raw talent into champion performers. “Right now, about 100 skaters are being trained by me. And I am glad at the kind of support the SATS is extending and I am sure we will produce world championship medallists soon,” says Yama.

Interestingly, fitness specialist Senthil monitors not just the physical aspects of the skaters but also the diet that they follow to keep them competition-fit at the highest level.

“Yes, it will not be a bad idea if the rink is covered with a roofing so that the facility can be put to optimum use in all seasons,” Yama feels.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu ‘/ Home> News> States> Telangana / by V.V. Subrahmanyam / Hyderabad – February 19th, 2017

Senior sports journalist passes away

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Sports

Jannu Sreenivasulu, popularly known as Çhitti Srinivas in the sports fraternity, news editor (Sports) of Sakshi TV, passed away in the early hours of Sunday.

He was 55 and is survived by wife, two sons and a daughter. Srinivas began his sports journalism career in Udayam in the late 80s and then joined Andhra Jyoti when its edition was launched in Hyderabad. He moved over to Vaartha before joining Sakshi Telugu daily as sports editor and then switched over to the TV channel of the same group. He was also briefly with CVR News Channel (with which he stayed only for a couple of months) before coming back to Sakshi group.

He covered many international events, including the 1996 World Cup cricket championship in India and the Afro-Asian Games, extensively besides almost all the important national and international events in the city in his career spanning close to 35 years.

International N. Mukesh Kumar, SAI athletics coach Nagapuri Ramesh, Imran Mirza, father of Sania Mirza, Sports Authority of Telangana State Chairman A. Venkateshwar Reddy, Chairman of SAAP P.R. Mohan, Former BCCI president N. Shivlal Yadav, secretary of BAI K.Ch. Punnaiah Choudhary, president of Olympic Association of Telangana Prof K. Ranga Rao, expressed condolencesTelangana Sports Journalists Association also expressed shock at the demise of Srinivas.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by V.V.Subrahmanyam / Hyderabad – December 18th, 2016