Page 5 - Indian Sports

Gymnast Dipa Karmakar to participate in senior nationals after 8 years gap

Star gymnast Dipa Karmakar will compete at the Senior Artistic Gymnastics National Championships after a gap of eight years in Bhubaneswar next week. The prestigious event will be held here from January 2 to 4. Besides Dipa, the championship will feature the likes of Tokyo Olympian Pranati Nayak, Yogeshwar Singh, Rakesh Patra, Tapan Mohanty, Saif Tamboli, Gaurav Kumar among others. "Dipa will compete at the Senior nationals. The last time she had participated at the domestic event was in 2015. This will be here last nationals," her coach Bisweswar Nandi told PTI. The 30-year-old from Agartala, the first female gymnast from India to compete in the Olympics, was ignored for the Asian Games despite topping the trials as she didn't meet SAI's selection criteria of players needing to score equivalent to the eighth ranked gymnast in the last Asian Games. It was since then she couldn't participate in any event following her 21-month suspension due to a doping violation. Nandi, however,

Chirag Sen, Anmol emerge champions in National Badminton Championships

Chirag Sen clinched the men's singles title while Anmol Kharb won the women's singles crown at the National Badminton Championships here on Sunday. The 25-year-old Chirag, who had beaten second seed Kiran George in the semifinal on Saturday, was engaged in a tough contest against fourth seeded Tharun M. While Chirag took the opening game 21-14, he lost the second 13-21 before bouncing back to win the decider 21-9. In women's singles, Anmol, who came off a win over second seed Ashmita Chaliha in the semifinal, was up against Tanvi Sharma in the final. The two had a tough fight in the opening two games as the honours were shared until then. However, in the deciding game, Tanvi struggled with an injury and was compelled to retire, handing the reigning National U-17 girls' champion Anmol a 15-21 21-17 16-8 win. In women's doubles, the third seeded pair of Priya Devi Konjengbam-Shruti Mishra beat fifth seeds Ritika Thaker and Simran Singhi 11-21 21-14 21-18 to clinch the crown. The r

Dronacharya nominee Lalit aims for 3 wrestling medals at 2024 Olympics

Lalit Kumar, who has trained Olympic, World Championships and Asian Games medalists like Ravi Dahiya, Deepak Punia and Aman Sehrawat has been nominated for the prestigious Dronacharya Award for 2023

Davis Cup: Ramkumar to lead Indian challenge against Pakistan on grass

Ramkumar Ramanathan was on Sunday named in a five-member squad for the grass court challenge against Pakistan -- a clear sign that an Indian Davis Cup side is preparing to play on Pakistan soil for the first time in 60 years even as AITA awaits ITF tribunal's decision on its appeal against travel to neighbouring nation on security concerns. India last travelled to Pakistan way back in 1964 when they beat the hosts 4-0. India have never lost to Pakistan in the Davis Cup competition in eight ties against each other. Ramkumar, whose serve and volley game style suits the grass surface, will lead the squad that includes N Sriram Balaji, Yuki Bhambri, Niki Poonacha and Saketh Myneni as All India Tennis Association (AITA) on Sunday named the team for the February 3-4 World Group I play-off tie. The team has only Ramkumar and 2019 national champion as singles players while the three others now play only doubles on the ATP Tour. It will not be a surprise if captain Rohit Rajpal asks Bhambri

MOC approves racewalker Priyanka Goswami's proposal to train in Australia

Sports Ministry's Mission Olympic Cell (MOC) has approved racewalker Priyanka Goswami's proposal to train in Australia under coach Brent Vallance. Priyanka, who has qualified for the Paris Olympics, will be training in a high-altitude training centre near Canberra, Australia and will also compete in a few local competitions to prepare for next year's continental showpiece. The financial assistance will cover Priyanka's airfare, boarding/lodging costs, expenditure for sports science support, coaching fee and out-of-pocket allowance among other expenditures. Besides Priyanka, the MOC also approved proposals of Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) development group Greco Roman wrestlers Ashu (67kg), Suraj (55kg) and Ronit Sharma (48kg) for an international training camp in Almaty, Kazakhstan. The government will cover the costs of the three wrestlers, their coach, physiotherapist and sparring partners' airfare and boarding/lodging costs along with out-of-pocket allowance for the three

PM Modi to interact with Asian Para Games contingent in felicitation event

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will interact with India's Asian Para Games contingent on Wednesday at Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium here. The PMO said the programme, during which Modi will also address the athletes, is an attempt on his part to congratulate them for their outstanding achievement at the Asian Para Games and to motivate them for future competitions. India won a total of 111 medals including 29 gold in the Asian para Games 2022. The medals tally at the Asian Para Games 2022 witnessed a 54 per cent increase over the previous best performance (in 2018); and the 29 gold medals won are almost twice as won in 2018. The programme will be attended by the athletes, their coaches, officials from the Paralympic Committee of India & Indian Olympic Association, representatives from National Sports Federations, and officials from the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, the statement said.

Asain Para Games 2023: India create history, win 111 medals in Hangzhou

Indian para athletes created history on Saturday as they ended their Hangzhou Asian Para Games campaign with an unprecedented 111 medals, the biggest haul for the country in any major international multi-sport event. With 29 gold, 31 silver and 51 bronze in their kitty, the Indian para athletes won four medals more than the record tally of 107 won by the able-bodied athletes in the Hangzhou Asian Games held from September 23 to October 8. India ended at fifth place in the medals tally, a remarkable achievement in itself, below China (521 medals: 214 gold, 167 silver, 140 bronze), Iran (131: 44, 46, 41), Japan (150: 42, 49, 59) and Korea (103: 30, 33, 40). The first Para Asian Games was held in 2010 in Guangzhou, China, where India had finished 15th with 14 medals, including one gold. Four year later, India had finished ninth. The only earlier instance of India crossing the 100-medal mark in a major international multi-sport event (Olympics, Asian Games and Commonwealth Games) was t

India bag 17 medals, including 3 gold on Day 2 of Asian Para Games

Prachi Yadav became the first Indian to win a para canoe gold in the Asian Para Games as she led the country's medal rush for the second consecutive day here on Tuesday. India won 17 medals on Tuesday, including three gold, taking the total tally to 34 in the first two days of competition. India had won 17 medals, including six gold, on Monday. India ended Day 2 placed fifth in the standings, one spot down from Monday, with nine gold, 12 silver and 13 bronze, behind China (165: 66 gold, 53 silver, 46 bronze), Iran (47), Japan (45) and Uzbekistan (38). Prachi, who had won a silver in canoe VL2 category on Monday, bagged her second medal of the Games as she picked up a gold in KL2 event. Deepthi Jeevanji (women's T20 400m) and Neeraj Yadav (men's F54/55/56 discus throw) were the other gold medal winners on Tuesday. Sharath Shankarappa Makanahalli won the men's T13 5000m event and his gold was initially counted and included in India's medal tally. But the number of India's gold meda

India bag 18 medals, including 4 gold on Day 2 of Hangzhou Asian Para Games

Prachi Yadav became the first Indian to win a para canoe gold in the Asian Para Games as she led the country's medal rush for the second consecutive day here on Tuesday. India won 18 medals on Tuesday, including four gold, taking the total tally to 35 in the first two days of competition. India had won 17 medals, including six gold, on Monday. India remained on fourth spot in the standings with 10 gold, 12 silver and 13 bronze, behind China (155) , Iran (44) and Uzbekistan (38). Prachi, who had won a silver in canoe VL2 category on Monday, bagged her second medal of the Games as she picked up a gold in KL2 event. Deepthi Jeevanji (women's T20 400m), Sharath Shankarappa Makanahalli (men's T13 5000m) and Neeraj Yadav (men's F54/55/56 discus throw) were the other gold medal winners on Tuesday. The 28-year-old Prachi, who is paralysed below the waist, clocked 54.962 to cover the 500m distance and win gold in the KL2 event, meant for athletes who propel themselves with their arms and .

Kush Maini joins young driver development programme of Alpine F1 team

India's Kush Maini on Tuesday joined the young driver development programme of Alpine Formula 1 team. Before Kush, Jehan Daruvala was another Indian who was on the driver programme of a Formula 1 team -- Red Bull Racing in his case -- but he could not graduate to the highest level after three mixed Formula 2 seasons under their wings. Kush, 23, is competing in his rookie Formula 2 season. The Bengaluru-based driver secured his first Formula 2 podium with a third-place finish in the Sprint Race in Australia and his best Qualifying result of second at Silverstone. He currently sits just outside of the top 10 in the championship standings having secured 11 point scoring finishes across the season. Kush's brother Arjun was a development driver with the Haas Formula 1 team but he too could not reach the pinnacle of four-wheel racing. Kush will join the growing Alpine Academy line-up which currently features drivers such as Alpine F1 Team Reserve Driver Jack Doohan and 2022 FIA Formula

Talent from small towns getting opportunities to come forward: PM Modi

Citing sports and startups, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said talent from the country's small towns is getting a chance to emerge in today's India. In his video message played out at the closing ceremony of sports event Amethi Sansad Khel Pratiyogita 2023 here, Modi credited this to the government's "transparent" approach. The Sansad Khel Pratiyogita is a great medium to discover such talents and hone their skills for the nation, he said. "In today's changing India talent from the small towns is getting opportunities to openly come forward," he said. "If India has made such a name in startups, the startups from small towns have played a big role." he added. He mentioned initiatives like the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) and Khelo India Games and said hundreds of athletes are being trained and coached in the country and abroad under TOPS and being given assistance worth crores of rupees. The PM also informed that more than 3,000 players are being given assistance of

You can play golf: Equipment, advice you need to pick up sport

Quality equipment is not expensive and access to private or public courses isn't that difficult

Australian batters failed to get on top of Indian spinners: Smith

Bowled out for 199 in their high-profile World Cup opener, Steve Smith admitted that the Australian batters failed to get on top of the Indian spinners on a tacky Chepauk surface. Opting to bat first in a surprise move, Australia were sitting pretty at 110 for two before left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja (3/38) triggered a collapse with his triple blows in the middle overs. The total proved to be too less as India romped home with six wickets and nine overs to spare for a fine start to the tournament. "All their spinners bowled really nicely. Obviously, they had the wicket to suit as well," Smith said in the mixed zone. "It was challenging against the spin since they are all very quality spinners. They really worked well together, and we struggled to get on top of them." Besides Jadeja, wrist spinner Kuldeep picked up two wickets while there was one wicket for Ravichandran Ashwin. In reply, India rode on Virat Kohli's 85 and KL Rahul's unbeaten 97-run knock to complete the task in

Asian Games 2023: Indian men and women's chess teams clinch silver medals

The Indian men's and women's chess teams won silver medals at the Asian Games here on Saturday. GM Harika Dronavalli, IM Vaishali Rameshbabu, IM Vantika Agrawal, and WGM Savitha Shri Baskar all won their games in a dominating fashion to beat South Korea 4-0 in the final round to finish with 15 match points. The top-seeded Chinese team won its last round match against the UAE with a 4-0 margin to take the gold with 17/18 match points. The Indian men finished their campaign with a 3.5-0.5 win against the Philippines. Top seeds Arjun Erigaisi, D Gukesh, Vidit Gujrathi, and Harikrishna Pentala all won their matches against their Filipino counterparts while R Praggnanandhaa drew his game to finish second behind gold winners Iran.

Asian Games 2023: Deepak beaten by idol Yazdani, wrestlers bring six medals

Hasan Yazdani expectedly proved too good for Deepak Punia, who settled for a silver after losing by technical superiority to the Iranian legend in the men's 86kg category as India's wrestling campaign concluded at the Asian Games here on Saturday with six medals but without a gold. It was the second time that Deepak found himself up against his childhood idol Yazdani, the two-time Olympic medallist and eight-time World Championship medallist. In the 2019 World Championships in Nur Sultan, Deepak had reached the final on debut but did not wrestle against the Iranian due to a foot injury and conceded the bout, settling for a silver. The 24-year-old Deepak, known as 'Ketli Pehalwan', was perhaps overwhelmed as he could not find a single scoring move against Yazdani, who had more or less settled the final by taking a commanding 8-0 lead in the first period. Yazdani finished the bout early in the second period to defend his title. Meanwhile, Yash Tunir (74kg), Vicky (97kg) and Sumit Ma

Asian Games 2023: Dhanraj Pillay calls Harmanpreet Indian hockey's MS Dhoni

The calm leadership of Harmanpreet Singh was the defining point behind the Indian men's hockey team's gold-winning effort at the Asian Games, a trait that reminded mercurial forward Dhanraj Pillay of 'Captain Cool' MS Dhoni. Dhanraj, who led India to the 1998 Bangkok Asian Games triumph, said Harmanpreet, who netted 13 goals to emerge as India's leading goal-scorer in Hangzhou, never buckled under pressure. "To a large extent, the credit (for the victory) goes to Harmanpreet's captaincy. He is the Mahendra Singh Dhoni of Indian hockey," Dhanraj told PTI Bhasha. "He keeps guiding the team from behind, does not allow emotions to overpower him and remains calm under pressure." India dominated defending champion Japan 5-1 on Friday to reclaim the gold, and the result also gave the side a direct qualification to the Paris Olympics. "This victory will be written in history. It is a historical gold. The boys played together and scored so many goals. "I am happy that we completely domina

Asiad 2023: Milk vendor's daughter, shot-putter win precious recurve medal

Ankita Bhakat, daughter of a milk vendor, and Bhajan Kaur, who took to archery after trying her hand in shot put, were right on target when India won their first medal, a bronze, in women's recurve event after 13 years at the Asian Games on Friday. Ankita and Bhajan, the youngest of the trio at 18, teamed up with Simranjeet Kaur to overcome some crunch moments to bring the bronze, the country's first in Olympic recurve section since Guangzhou Games 2010, where they had won three medals. "This medal will rank at the top. I've won many medals at the World Cup but to win at the Asian Games is different and definitely this will rank higher," the senior most member of the team Ankita, who suffered a heartbreak in Jakarta Games 2018, told PTI. The daughter of a milk vendor in Bidhan Park area near Baranagar, Kolkata, Ankita struggled for six years and could not afford to buy a recurve bow. "I shot with an Indian bow and won the Nationals too, but my family could not afford a recurve bow.

Asian Games 2023: Bajrang makes medal-less exit; Aman wins wrestling bronze

Bajrang Punia, who entered the Asian Games after escaping the selection trials, suffered embarrassing defeats to make a medal-less exit from Hangzhou even as three other Indian wrestlers, including the talented Aman Sehrawat, won bronze medals here on Friday. An under-prepared Bajrang, who spent a major part of this year protesting against WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, began with two easy wins but appeared clueless against the formidable Iranian Rahman Amouzadkhalili and Japan's Kaiki Yamaguchi. Vishal Kaliraman had won the Asian Games trials but the IOA ad-hoc panel, led by Bhupender Singh Bajwa, had handed Bajrang a direct entry, a decision which invited criticism from the wrestling fraternity. Sending defending champion Bajrang, someone who was terribly short of competition time this year, in the tough men's 65kg competition proved to be a mistake by the Bajwa-led panel. Even Vinesh Phogat, a leading face of the wrestlers' protest, was spared from the trials but, as luck

Asian Games 2023: India men, women teams remain in second spot in Chess

Indian men and women's teams put up a strong show, posting convincing wins in the eighth round of the chess team competition at the Asian Games here on Friday. The men outplayed South Korea 3.5-0.5 while the women thrashed Hong Kong 4-0. After eight rounds, both the teams are in second spot with a round to play. In the India-South Korea match, D Gukesh went past Junhyeok Lee on the top board, while Praggnanandhaa got the better of Se Hyun Kwan. Arjun Erigaisi's win over In-Jung Gu came after a stiff fight with the Korean having gained an advantage before slipping up. The experienced P Harikrishna salvaged a draw against Ahn Hongjin on the fourth board from what seemed a lost position. The top-seeded men's team meets the Philippines on Saturday in the final round while Iran comes up against South Korea. In the women's match, India did not have any trouble with the quartet of D Harika, R Vaishali, Vantika Agarwal and B Savitha Shri winning easily. With none of the Hong Kong playe

Asian Games 2023: Satwik-Chirag enter final, keep maiden Gold hopes alive

An error-prone HS Prannoy signed off with an Asian Games bronze, India's first medal in men's singles in 41 years, but Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty kept alive the country's hopes of a first-ever badminton gold after cruising into the men's doubles final here on Friday. Satwik and Chirag, ranked world no. 3, dished out a badminton master-class to outclass Malaysia's Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik, Tokyo bronze medallists and former world champions, 21-17, 21-12 in 46 minutes of dominance. The Indian pair thus became the first Indian men's doubles pair to assure of a silver at the Asian Games. The duo was also part of India's silver-medal winning men's team last week. Satwik and Chirag, the reigning Commonwealth Games gold medallists, will face Korea's Choi Sol Gyu and Kim Won Ho in the final on Saturday. The Indians have a 2-0 record against the Koreans. While the doubles pair was simply sensational, Prannoy, who was playing with a back niggle, succumbed in a pool of error