Joshna Chinappa today upstaged second seed Line Hansen in straight games to win the USD 15,000 Victorian Open squash competition for her 10th WSA title.
Third seed Joshna beat the Dane 11-5, 11-4, 11-9 in the final of the WSA event. It was only last week that Joshanalost to Line in Kooyong.
The Indian’s last triumph had come in the Richmond Open in April last year.
Known for mixing strokes and accuracy in the placements, the Joshna held the upper-hand right through, though she admitted, it was a “hard game” particularly after Line fought and brought the score to nine-all in the third game.
Coming as it did soon after her recent success in the National Championship, she was happy with her current form.
With the Australian Open to start in a few days and the venue being the same, the Joshna is looking forward to more success.
“I am so happy it will be at the same centre,” she said.
The title in the men’s section went to Australian Ryan Cuskelly who beat Greg Lobban of Scotland 12-10, 13-11, 11-9.
Meanwhile, India went down 0-2 to top ranked and title-favourite Egypt in the quarterfinals of the girls’ event of the WSF-world junior squash championship in Eindhoven.
Debutant Nikita Joshi, who played first, tried her best but Salma Hany Ibrahim was far superior. The Egyptian won 11-5 11-6 11-2 to give Egypt the lead.
Adya Advani was pitted against the top player Habiba Mohamed and it proved a tough task for the Indian. Habiba won easily 11-3 11-5 11-3 to give Egypt the win and a place in the semi-final.
India now will play for the 5th to 8th place matches
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Sport / by PTI / August 02nd, 2015
Two games up and again 6-2 in the fourth game, defending champion Harinder Pal Singh Sandhu seemed to have got into the groove for another tilt at the title, but the wily Ghosal came up with an outstanding fight back and pushed the match into the decisive fifth which he won comfortably for his 10th national title.
Saurav Ghosal regained the men’s title while Joshna Chinappa took the women’s crown in the 63rd Senior National Squash Championship here on Sunday.
Two games up and again 6-2 in the fourth game, defending champion Harinder Pal Singh Sandhu seemed to have got into the groove for another tilt at the title, but the wily Ghosal came up with an outstanding fight back and pushed the match into the decisive fifth which he won comfortably for his 10th national title.
The women’s final too was well contested though the score line would not suggest that. Chinappa showed experience mattered while dousing the challenge of national junior champion Harshit Kaur Jawanda in three games.
It was Chinappa’s 14th national title as she is well on way to reach that magical number of 16, which is the number of titles that Bhuveneswari Kumari had won for a record total.
When he ignored a national camp to join the Madras team on an exposure trip to Japan, Thailand and Hong Kong in 1967, Krishnamurthy Perumal never thought his gamble would pay off. A few months later, when he was a standby for the national camp and could not travel with the team heading for a Europe trip, he decided to skip the pre-Olympic camp, thinking he wouldn’t be selected.
“I was doing well in the domestic tournaments and also had an impressive camp in Jalandhar but I don’t know why I was not selected for the tour to Europe. But Mohinderlal Singh suddenly fell sick three days before the team’s departure to London, and I got a call from the selectors and made my international debut, in the pre-Olympics,” says Krishnamurthy , who represented India from 1967 to 1977. A student of Wesley Higher Secondary School in Royapettah, he played all sports before taking to hockey , inspired by his uncle K Raman (four years his senior). He excelled in school tournaments, broke into the Madras University team, and turned out for Madras Blues, before making the state side.
“It was more of a passion as there was no money for a hockey player those days. Yes, getting a job wasn’t that difficult but you wouldn’t become rich playing hockey all your life. But I never thought that way since it was a great honour for me to represent India at the international level,” says the 74-year-old.
Krishnamurthy says the culture in the city was in stark contrast ity was in stark contrast to what it is now and most households in Royapettah, where Wesley Higher Sec ondary School was situated, produced a player. “It was a different Madras.Every student at Wesley took part in sports and many made it to the Indian sides in various disciplines. We did not have a proper hockey stick and we used to cut a tree branch and make a stick out of it. I even practised with an umbrella handle. School tournaments were big those days and we took the competitions pretty seriously . They had a great fan following. It helped us hone our skills and prepare ourselves for sterner battles,” the former India skipper recollects.
Krishnamurthy’s exit, however, was unceremonious. He was captaining the national side and was preparing for the 1977 World Cup in Holland when he was dropped.
“It came as a shocker and even today, I don’t have any clue why I was dropped from the team before such a big event despite having a great season. I don’t want to blame anybody but I think the selectors had a grudge against me and they wanted to teach me a lesson. I would have loved to know the reason behind my omission but alas nobody even conveyed any message to me. I felt humiliated and decided to call it quits,” says Krishnamurthy, who later served the Tamil Nadu Hockey Association as an administrator.
(A weekly column on famous sportspersons whose first playing field was Chennai and its neighbourhood)
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Chennai / TNN / July 11th, 2015
Nearly 85 teams took part in the 14th edition of the All Women Duchess Club rally on Sunday, and as you can tell, it wasn’t just their cars that were decked up | P Ravikumar
Chennai :
A full-blown car carnival is probably the second best thing to waking up late on a Sunday morning. The 14th edition of the Indian Oil All Women Dutchess Club Car Rally saw the parking arena of Hotel Savera morph into a fair ground, complete with women in costumes, a stage for photo ops and a bee-line of cars — all customised to suit this year’s theme ‘Madras to Chennai’.
Nearly 85 teams took part in the 14th edition of the All Women Duchess Club rally on Sunday, and as you can tell, it wasn’t just their cars that were decked up | P Ravikumar
Participants of the nearly 85 teams started gearing up for the two-hour drive from Hotel Savera to Orchid Springs in Anna Nagar, as early as 8 am. Adding to the mood was a koothu performance at the venue, with a floating group of dancers, who joined in for a while, before proceeding to do the final touches on their car.
While most were all-women teams, one could spot a male member in a few, trying their best to match the thematic costumes of the ladies. While a few women came dressed in pattu saris, complete with matching bling and kolam stickers on the bonnet of their car, a few others took the unconventional route to suggest the journey from the old to new. “As you can see, we want to bring in the traditional element through the veshti which we have draped on one leg, and a modern touch, with jeans on the other,” said Hamsa Rani, one of the participants at the rally. “It’s not just the costume, we have been reading a lot about the city, especially in historian S Muthiah’s books,” she added.
Nearly 85 teams took part in the 14th edition of the All Women Duchess Club rally on Sunday, and as you can tell, it wasn’t just their cars that were decked up | P Ravikumar
Hamsa’s team was among the few others who wanted to shout out the theme as loud as possible through their costumes. One of the teams had the Kaapi to Capuccino print on their T-shirts, and another had women draped in silk half saris over jeans and T-shirt. Yet another took the ‘black and white’ era quite literally, and named their team so. Dressed in a zebra-striped shirt, a member of the team took us around a specially-customised Audi with black and white photos of the Central Station, Zoo, Spencer Plaza and other landmarks in the city, taken in the 1880s.
Them apart, there were a few who extrapolated the theme to the significance of unity in society. “Unity is the best way to adopt change. The city has adapted to several changes, it’s not just in the name. We want to emphasise on the importance of standing for each other,” said Amrita, who was participating for the first time in the rally along with her family.
According to Sujata Mundhra from the Duchess Club, the participation shot up this year probably because of two reasons. “We have added the new family category this time, and the calculation bit that participants find very tedious, has been scrapped. That might have roped in more participants” she said with a laugh.
Actor Ganesh Venkatraman flagged off the cars, and expressed his interest in being part of the rally in future. “I have a huge craze for cars, and though I haven’t been part of any rally as such, I would love to join this one, if they allow men next year, or probably in the family category,” he said with a smile. “I love the feeling of being here on a Sunday morning and seeing so many cheerful faces. These are enterprising women who have a spirit of adventure in them. And this rally is really not about competition, but also about trying something new, and creating awareness. I am sure people on Chennai roads are going to wonder seeing all those decorated cars,” he says.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Chennai / by Express News Service / July 06th, 2015
Siblings Akash Balaji and Harish Balaji of Sindhi Model Matriculation Higher Secondary School, Chetpet, recently won the first place in water polo and 100-metre breast stroke respectively at the State-level Aquatic Competition held in Chennai.
Both winners will take part in the national-level competition in mid July.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Chennai / by Express News Service / June 27th, 2015
Chief guest Justice D. Hariparanthaman (centre) of Madras High Court hands over the senior division trophy to Hindustan Eagles.— PHOTO: M. MOORTHY
The annual day of the Chennai Football Association (CFA) was held here on Saturday. The winners and runners-up of various competitions conducted by the CFA were felicitated with cash awards and trophies.
The chief guest Justice D. Hariparanthaman of Madras High Court gave away the prizes. In the 2014-15 season, 96 clubs participated in the various divisions of the CFA league, with more than 450 matches being held during this period at three venues. Hindustan Eagles won the senior division title and netted a prize money of Rs. two lakh, while runner-up Chennai FC was awarded Rs. one lakh.
In the first division, Chennai City FC clinched the title winning all its 11 matches and securing promotion to the senior division along with runner-up Madras Sporting Union.
D. Jebakumar of Chennai Customs was awarded the R. Muthuraman Rolling Trophy for ‘player of the year’. Eagles’ N.D. Opara received the T. Nagar FC rolling trophy for finishing as the top-scorer with 12 goals. He was also feted with the Tanveer Memorial top scorer award along with a cash prize of Rs. 5000. S.E. Bharanidharan was adjudged ‘referee of the year’.
CFA also conducted inter-school and inter-college tournaments with Don Bosco, HSS Perambur winning the CFA-E. Vadivel Memorial inter-school tournament and Madras Christian College the CFA-Chennai City FC inter-college tournament.
The chief guest also formally launched the website of the CFA www.cfa.net.in.
Winners: Senior division: Hindustan Eagles; I division: Chennai City FC; II division: Chennai United FC; III division: Pachaiyappas SC; IV division: Sangeetha FC.
Runner-up: Senior division: Chennai FC; I division: Madras Sporting Union; II division:Madona Matrix; III division: V.M. Football Club; IV division: Chennai Postal Audit
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Sport / by Sports Reporter / Chennai – June 28th, 2015
Vintage Treasures: the car collection at Gedee Car Museum Photo: S. Siva Saravanan / The Hindu
G.D. Naidu’s love for automobiles is well documented at the Gedee Car Museum in the city.
So, this is how it feels to sit in Hitler’s favourite car. The bug-shaped vehicle has four seats. It is a so small that I have to duck my head while stepping out of the car. Yet, it is cosy and warm and just right for a family to enjoy a drive. At the GeDee Car Museum, the Volkswagen Beetle occupies pride of place. It is said the Fuhrer loved this car and urged his people to buy it as an investment. Called “the car at the price of a motorcycle”, it cost around Rs.850, those days. At the newly opened museum set up by G.D. Naidu Charities, I am tempted to hop into all the cars (there are 55 of them) – Chevrolet, Rolls Royce, Mercedes Benz, Porsche from the collection of the renowned industrialist G.D. Naidu. Some of them are Hollywood stars! For instance, the Love Bug has featured in almost six movies! The collection also includes rugged-looking vans of Fordson and Thames which were used as ice cream vehicles and carrier vans.
Vintage Treasures: the car collection at Gedee Car Museum Photo: S. Siva Saravanan / The Hindu
Automobile history unfolds before you as you walk down the curving hallway. There are interesting bits of information and stories wherever you turn like how Tutankhamun used the wheel in ancient Egypt. There are also pictures of steam engines and electric cars that were in vogue in Victorian England. “We are planning to extend the space. There are also workshops for restoration inside this campus,” explains Prem Saravanakumar, the museum guide.
Vintage Treasures: the car collection at Gedee Car Museum Photo: S. Siva Saravanan / The Hindu
Each car has a story to tell and is linked to world history. For instance the Bubble Car of the 50s and 60s was designed for the common man to commute during World War II in Europe. It can seat only the driver and a passenger. There are no doors on the side and the windshield of the car doubles up as the exit. These micro cars were manufactured for cheap transport for the locals.
Vintage Treasures: the car collection at Gedee Car Museum Photo: S. Siva Saravanan / The Hindu
The Rolls Royces tell a love story. The bonnet ornament has a lady leaning forward with her arms outstretched behind her. The emblem is called the “Spirit of Ecstasy”. The billowing robes of the lady stream past her like wings. According to legend, the bonnet ornament commemorated a secret love affair of John Montague, a pioneer of the automobile movement and Eleanor, the model for the emblem.
Vintage Treasures: the car collection at Gedee Car Museum Photo: S. Siva Saravanan / The Hindu
There is also a tribute to the good old ambassador. Cartoon strips show how the car has become indispensable to the Indian way of life. Caricatures show the car being used to bear the bride and groom at their wedding, hang out laundry and so on. Of course, it is also the status symbol for politicians and gangsters. Don’t miss the luxurious black limousine. “You can even host birthday parties here,” says Saravanakumar in all earnestness. I realise he is not exaggerating when I peep inside.
Vintage Treasures: the car collection at Gedee Car Museum Photo: S. Siva Saravanan / The Hindu
Inside there is a fridge, shining glassware, a television set and a phone for the passenger to talk to the chauffeur! At the end of the hall, a young man on a bike surveys you from a black and white photograph. G.D. Naidu looks happy riding a Rudge Multi, a vintage bike made in 1912. Saravanakumar tells me why he looks so happy in the photo.
Vintage Treasures: the Rudge Multi used by G.D. Naidu Photo: S. Siva Saravanan / The Hindu
While working in his father’s farm, G.D saw a British officer zipping past him in what he thought as a ‘strange looking vehicle having two wheels creating a funny noise’. It was love at first sight. He tracked down the officer, helped him clean the vehicle and service it. He vowed to save up enough money to buy a similar bike for himself some day. He did not have to wait long as the officer was so taken with his passion that he sold it to him for Rs. 300. There are other black and white photographs of G.D. Naidu taking classes, holding workshops and shaking hands with other automobile tycoons. The museum is indeed a tribute to this man of humble beginnings, who emerged to become one of the biggest automobile entrepreneurs in the world.
(The museum is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The museum is closed on Mondays. The fee is Rs.50. For details, call 0422-2222548.)
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus / by Parshathy J. Nath / June 11th, 2015
Growing up in Delhi, Mohan Verghese Chunkath used to play ‘kitchen table scrabble’ with his siblings and parents. What started out as a pastime became a passion and today, despite a demanding career, the senior bureaucrat is a force to reckon with in the war of words. Chunkath recently won the Bayer National Scrabble Championship 2015 held in Mumbai from May 29 to 31.
“I have been playing scrabble since my childhood, but it was a family game and never played one on one, there were always three of four of us playing together,” says Chunkath, who began playing competitive scrabble in the 1990s.
“I had gone to the US on study leave, and began going to the local club to play. I got interested in competitive scrabble and went from rookie to expert level while I was there,” says Chunkath, director, Anna Institute of Management, and additional chief secretary and director general of training, Tamil Nadu.
He became the first person to represent India in the world scrabble championship held in Melbourne in 1999. “I also participated in the world championships in 2001 and 2007 but work pressure was building up,” says Chunkath. The demands of his growing career meant that he couldn’t devote as much time for competitive scrabble though he did play on the net or sometimes with friends. “I almost drifted out of competitive scrabble, but after my change of job in December 2014, I came back to the scrabble scene,” he says. In January 2015, he participated in iGate International Scrabble Tournament held in Bangalore.
For the voracious reader, scrabble is chess with words. “There is a lot of strategy involved, and a lot of nuances to the game — you track tiles that are played, work with probability, know what is in your bag, what your opponent is likely to have in his bag, how to maximize your offence and defence. It is an interesting hybrid between skill and luck,” says Chunkath.
The championship he recently won saw him pitted against the best. “Indian scrabble players have become very strong and the games were fought very keenly,” says Chunkath. “Younger players have an advantage as don’t get fatigued easily. We played a fairly gruelling number of games – on the first day we played eight games, nine on the second day and though I was supposed to play eight games on the third day, I was able to wrap up after playing just seven,” says the 59-year-old, who beat Sherwin Rodrigues, a player in his mid-20s.
According to him, the future of scrabble in India is very bright. “With the stellar spelling bee performances by Indians in the last decade, scrabble is just waiting to explode in India,” he says. “There is tremendous potential.”
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Chennai / by Priya M. Menon, TNN / June 04th, 2015
Coming from a humble peasant family, it was indeed a bold decision for him to take up training in the not-so-famous archery during his school days. The wise decision not only fetched him a gold medal in the national level meet but also bag a bronze medal in the international level tournament proving his mettle. Both he achieved in just a couple of years of practice.
A first year bio-tech student of Sri Math Andavar Arts and Science College, N Elango, 19, bagged bronze medal in the recently concluded first ever Student Olympic South Asian Games held at Thimpu in Bhutan.
Hailing from Sholanganallur village in Nachikurichi panchayat in Trichy, his father Nagarajan is a farmer. However, it was his uncle R Natarajan who noticed his talent and helped him with the basic training and equipment.
“My aspiration to join the police force from my childhood led to develop my interest towards guns and firing. But I was attracted towards archery while watching it in TV,” he said.
Elango, who aspires to become an IPS officer, feels that there is very less awareness about archery among the public. All this two years he had to practice alone as no one in his age group was really interested in the game. “This has never demoralized me. But I realized that I have a responsibility to take up this sport and make it popular by winning Olympic medal for the country,” Elango said.
“The state level archery meet held about six months ago gave me the required confidence to move ahead. I won silver medal in the tournament. Though the competition was intense at the national level meet held in February near Mumbai, I could manage to bag gold medal in the under 19 category. Bagging the first ever national gold gave me recognition in the college, which also sponsored my trip to the First Students Olympic South Asian Games,” he said.
All the three rounds were highly competitive, especially from those who were from Bhutan as it was their national game. But I managed to win the bronze medal, he added. Principal of the Sri Math Andavar Arts and Science College J Radhika credited the achievement to the hard work of Elango and said the college would help more students to take part in such tournaments.
M Rajadurai, national level archer and assistant professor at a city college, trained Elango. He credited Elango’s achievement to his two years of hard work. “There are only five students who get training for archery from me,” he added.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Trichy / by K. Sambath Kumar, TNN / July 09th, 2015
Members of Kovilpatti Sports Club posing with the trophy in Thoothukudi on Sunday | Express
Thoothukudi :
If you think Kovilpatti is only about matchsticks and crunchy ground nut candies, then you are not all that right. The quaint little town in Thoothukudi district plays a significant role in the evolution of the country’s national game, hockey. Sadly, the buzz is waning, because of dwindling matches and sponsors.
Hockey was introduced in Kovilpatti in the pre-Independence days, largely due to the efforts of a doctor, Durairaj, who was a player himself. It was because of his untiring efforts that the Kovilpatti Sports Club was formed in the year 1944 and State-level matches were conducted from 1946. Soon the game spread to all parts of the State and several talents started to emerge. In 1960, Durairaj purchased a piece of land and constructed a hockey stadium with contribution from Lakshmi Mills, where he worked as medical officer. Later, a trust named Kuppusamy Naidu Memorial Trust was formed and the State tournament was converted to national tournament under the banner Kuppusamy Naidu Memorial Tournament. A local team was formed in the year 1962 and was coached by legendary Dhyan Chand. Star players like Olympians Baskar and Peter have also played for the Kovilpatti team.
However, contemporary players feel that sport of 60 years has hit a low that it needs government intervention and private sponsors to conduct matches again.
Mathiah, who played several club matches in Mumbai and Bangalore, points out that the frequency of hockey tournaments has reduced drastically in the last five years. “Hockey players were assured of central government jobs earlier but now that the government has stopped recruiting sports persons, budding talents prefer to focus on other professions. Apart from this, private sponsors have declined and the rural clubs are in no position to generate resources to conduct tournaments,” he said. “The past glory of Kovilpatti could be restored only if Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu (SDAT) conducts hockey competitions here,” said Mathiah.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Tamil Nadu / by Yazhiniyan / June 01st, 2015
