Indian sports News- October 1st
October 1, 2019
Bytes: Athletics World Championship, Annu Rani javelin throw, Sultan Johor Cup team announced, Bumrah to UK, ABD in BBL, Pro Kabaddi League, National Championship, Age Group Championship, PakvsSL, Formula One, Under-23 Nationals
YoGems makes sure that you won’t miss a thing in the field of sports, so here is a quick recap to all the happenings from the last 24 hours:
Athletics:
World Championships- India’s premier javelin thrower Annu Rani broke her own national record yet again by registering a career-best 62.43m in the qualification round at the Khalifa Stadium in Doha on Monday and booked her berth in the final. Her mark came in the second of three attempts and bettered her own India best mark (62.34) set in Patiala. In the Group A of women’s javelin throw, Rani’s effort was the third best while it was the fifth best throw overall. On a night where no athlete in Group A managed to clear the automatic qualification mark of 63.50m and only two did so in Group B, the Indian’s effort was the fifth-best overall. With top 12 athletes qualifying for final, Rani comfortably made the cut for the finale to be held on Tuesday. The 27-year-old’s first and third attempts read 57.05m and 60.50m. With her performance, Rani became the first Indian woman to reach the javelin throw final at the IAAF Athletics World Championships. Earlier in March this year, Rani had rewritten her own national record to clinch the gold and qualify for both the Asian and World Championships on the third and penultimate day of the Federation Cup National Senior Athletics Championships in Patiala.
Norway’s Karsten Warholm retained his 400m hurdles World Championship crown with a barnstorming victory in Doha Monday as Russia’s Mariya Lasitskene completed a superb high jump hat-trick. After an opening three days of competition marked by swathes of empty seats, Warholm delighted the biggest crowd of the championships so far with a battling victory at the Khalifa Stadium. Warholm took gold in 47.42seconds, with his rival Rai Benjamin of the United States claiming silver in 47.66sec. Qatar’s Abderrahman Samba took bronze in 48.03. Warholm’s win came just moments after high jump Lasitskene won a third consecutive world championship title to set alongside her wins in 2015 and 2017. The 26-year-old, who is one of only 30 Russian athletes allowed to compete in Doha under the authorised neutral athlete banner, took gold ahead of Ukraine’s Yaroslava Mahuchikh.
The 800m at this year’s championships took place without South Africa’s two-time Olympic champion Semenya, prevented from competing in Doha after losing her legal battle against regulations which would have forced her to take medication to lower naturally elevated testosterone levels. The 3,000m steeplechase meanwhile saw redemption for Kenya’s Beatrice Chepkoech, who won gold two years after a blunder cost her a medal in London. The 28-year-old world record holder pulled clear from the field early on and led by around 40 metres at the bell before coasting home in 8min 57.84sec.
Qatar confidently promised there would be “no empty seats” when it first bid for the World Athletics Championships – three days into the 2019 championships that promise rings as hollow as the Doha stadium. One of the greatest athletes of all time, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, won a record fourth 100 metres title in front of a sparse crowd on Sunday with officials and friends and family of the athletes making up a large proportion of the spectators.
Hockey:
Sultan Johor Cup- Defender Mandeep Mor was on Monday named as captain of the 18-member Indian junior men’s hockey team for the ninth Sultan of Johor Cup to be held in Johor Bahru, Malaysia from October 12 to 19. While Mandeep will lead the side, Sanjay has been named as the vice-captain by Hockey India’s selection committee. India will face off against Malaysia, New Zealand, Japan, Australia and Great Britain in the round-robin league stage. Defenders Dinachandra Singh Moirangthem and Sharda Nand Tiwari are the new additions. Experienced Dilpreet Singh will spearhead the six-men forward line, which also has Gursahibjit Singh and Shilanand Lakra. The two goalkeepers of the side are Prashant Kumar Chauhan and Pawan. The Indian junior men’s hockey team will be hoping to improve its performance in the Sultan of Johor Cup after finishing a disappointing sixth at the Eight-Nation Tournament in Madrid in June.
Tennis:
National Championship- Fourth seed Kunal Anand and Dakshineshwar Suresh entered the men’s singles second round but former champion Mohit Mayur Prakash bowed out of the National Hard Courts Tennis Championship due to a knee injury in New Delhi on Monday. Delhi’s fourth seed Kunal faced some stiff resistance from UP’s Lakshya Gupta, who impressed with his ground strokes but eventually emerged a 6-2, 6-4 winner on the opening day of the 25th edition of the tournament. With a stronger built and experience behind him, Kunal played the key points better, even as the young Lakshya gave his all in the contest. Dakshinehswar, the tall Chennai player, had an easy day in office as he thrashed state-mate Mohammad Fahad 6-2, 6-1 in his opening round. A lot of people gathered to watch Mayur, who became a champion way back in 2013, in action but he retired mid way into the contest against third seed Eshaque Iqbal from West Bengal.
Swimming:
Asian Age Group Championship- India’s N Wilson Singh and Satish Kumar Prahapati on Monday produced impressive performances to win the gold medal in the 10m platform synchronised diving event at the ongoing 10th Asian Age Group Championships in Bengaluru. India, thus, extended their total tally to 60 medals (17 gold, 23 silver and 20 bronze) in the prestigious championships, which is the largest aquatic event in Asia. The duo of Wilson and Satish scored 290.19 score to beat Uzbekistan’s Zaynetdinov Marsel and Khasanov Botir, who scored 280.53 points. The bronze medal went to Mojtaba Valipour and Masood Vakili of Iran with a score of 266.16. India’s Ramananda Sharma continued his fine form as he bagged a silver medal in the 3m springboard for open category, while Siddharth Pradeshi added another bronze to his kitty in the same event here. Ramananda scored 287.75 points behind Philippines’ Deorelar Francisco (295.70 points), while Pradeshi scored 282.15 points. In men’s water polo, unbeaten Japan won the gold after securing a convincing win. 21-6 win over Sri Lanka in their last round-robin league match to finish with 12 points. Hosts India had a disappointing campaign as they finished last in the six-team competition.
Cricket:
IndvsSA- Weather could play spoilsport during the first Test between India and South Africa starting in Vizag on Wednesday with rains predicted on all five days. It has been raining in the city regularly for the last one week and there is an 80% chance of showers on the opening day of the series opener, reported PTI. There is 50% and 40% chance of rain on day two and three and play could also be affected on the final two days. The warm-up game between South Africa Board President’s XI in Vizianagram, around 50 kms from, too was affected by rain. No play was possible on day one of the three-day game and start of day two was delayed due to a wet outfield. India are aiming for an encore against South Africa, having beaten them 3-0 at home four years ago. The hosts go into the three-match home series against South Africa looking to build on their early success in the ICC World Test Championship, while the visitors open their campaign in the two-year long competition.
Indian Premier League- The players’ auction for the next Indian Premier League will be held at Kolkata for the first time, on December 19. The West Bengal capital is home to the Kolkata Knight Riders, co-owned by actor Shah Rukh Khan. The auctions have mostly been held in Bengaluru so far. The trading window that is currently open will close on November 14, and all the franchises were informed about it on Monday, according to a report in ESPNcricinfo. While the franchises were allotted Rs 82 crore each for the IPL 2019, Rs 85 crore have been allocated for the 2020 season. The franchises were originally allotted Rs 85 crore to build their teams for 2020. Every franchise will also have an additional purse of Rs three crore in addition to the balance in their kitties from the last auction. Delhi Capitals have the biggest balance – Rs 8.2 crore, followed by Rajasthan Royals at Rs 7.15 crore and Kolkata Knight Riders at Rs 6.05 crore. This year’s auction is the last one before the franchises disband next year and prepare to assemble fresh squads from 2021 at a mega auction. The glitzy event usually runs between April and May every year.
Bumrah to UK- Injured India speedster Jasprit Bumrah will be off to the United Kingdom to seek opinion on his lower back stress fracture from multiple specialists. Bumrah has been ruled out for a minimum period of two months starting from the South Africa Test series till the end of Bangladesh series, his first major injury break in his three and half year international career. Umesh Yadav has replaced him in the Indian Test squad for the series against South Africa. “The BCCI is sending Bumrah to London for further treatment on his stress fracture. The NCA head physiotherapist Ashish Kaushik will be accompanying him. The BCCI has fixed appointments with three different specialists to get multiple opinion,” a senior Board functionary told PTI on conditions of anonymity. “Bumrah is expected to leave on October 6th or 7th and would be there in the UK for about a week. As per the opinion of the three doctors, the next course of action will be decided upon. We have taken appointments from the best in the business when it comes to stress fractures,” the official said. Recently, senior speedster Ashish Nehra told PTI that in case of stress fracture, it is difficult to set a time-frame for comebacks as it “can vary” from player to player.
PakvsSL- Pakistan rode on a brilliant century from Babar Azam and fast bowler Usman Shinwari’s five wickets to beat Sri Lanka by 67 runs in the second day-night international on Monday as Karachi staged its first ODI in a decade. Azam, currently one of the best batsmen in limited overs cricket, smashed a solid 105-ball 115 to lift Pakistan to 305-7 after the home team won the toss and batted. Shinwari then knocked off the top-order in figures of 5-51 as the visitors – depleted by the withdrawal of 10 top players who refused to tour over security fears – were bowled out for 238 in 46.5 overs. The win gives Pakistan a 1-0 lead in the three-match series with the first ODI rained off in Karachi on Friday. The third and final match is also set for the same venue on Wednesday. International cricket remained suspended in Pakistan for six years before Zimbabwe became the first team to play here in 2015. Pakistan also hosted a World XI (three Twenty20s), Sri Lanka (one T20 international) and the West Indies (three T20) in the last three years.
Big Bash League- South African great AB de Villiers will make his debut in Australia’s Twenty20 Big Bash League during the 2019-20 season after signing with Brisbane Heat, the team announced Tuesday. The 35-year-old prolific batsman will join the Heat for the second half of the eight-team competition that runs from December to February. Coach Darren Lehmann said he was “over the moon” to have the opportunity to work with de Villiers for the first time. “World class players don’t just come along every day and to have a player of AB’s stature and skill in the BBL is a fantastic outcome for everyone, not just the Heat,” he said. “He’s a 360-degree player, great skills, outstanding temperament and an insightful leader.” De Villiers played 114 Tests, 228 one-dayers and 78 Twenty20s in a 14-year career for the Proteas before retiring from international cricket in 2018.
Motorsports:
Formula One- Lewis Hamilton paid tribute on Monday to the respect and team-work that enabled Mercedes to secure him victory in an unexpected one-two for the Silver Arrows in the Russian Grand Prix. In stark contrast to the radio feuds, claims of a broken drivers’ agreement and reliability problems that undid rivals Ferrari’s bid for a fourth consecutive victory in Sunday’s race, the champions rediscovered their unity and sense of purpose to take full advantage. Referring to his relationship with team-mate Valtteri Bottas, the defending five-time champion said: “We work together so it’s all about respect, having respect and, I think that respect has been there since day one. Hamilton was responding to reporters’ questions after Sunday’s race at the Sochi Autodrom where a radio feud, over a perceived broken agreement, between Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel upset their bid for a victory to end Mercedes six-year dominance of the Russian race.
Kabaddi:
Pro Kabaddi League- Bengal Warriors closed the gap with table toppers Dabang Delhi with a comfortable 42-33 win over the leaders in a Pro Kabaddi match in Panchkula on Monday. The Warriors now have 78 points, just four less than Delhi. Maninder Singh completed his 10th Super 10 of the season before suffering a shoulder injury. He opened the account for Warriors by taking out Vishal Mane in the first raid of the game but Ravinder Pahal’s quick dash ensured he found himself on the bench in his next raid. Despite leading 3-1 in the early exchanges of the match, Delhi lost control of the game when Sukesh Hegde got two touch points for Warriors. Rinku Narwal’s two tackles and consecutive successful raids from Mohammad Nabibaksh and Maninder Singh meant they inflicted the first all-out of the game.
U Mumba edged out Tamil Thalaivas 36-32 in a game filled with defensive errors on Monday. Both U Mumba and Tamil Thalaivas started the game on a cautious note. Athul MS got two points in a single raid but V Ajith Kumar pulled up a similar effort to level the scoreline at 5-all. M Abishek successfully tackled Abhishek Singh and Dong Geon Lee in succession but Fazel Atrachali’s quick thinking in reviewing Rahul Chaudhari’s raid, who went into the lobby without a touch in a Super Tackle position, brought U Mumba back into the contest. Athul MS again completed a two-point raid to put U Mumba ahead marginally but the raiders and defenders of Tamil Thalaivas kept their calm to level the score at 9-all again. U Mumba now need just four points from three matches to seal a berth in the playoffs. With their win, the Gujarat Fortunegiants and Patna Pirates were eliminated from the race for the playoffs.
Wrestling:
U23 Nationals- Six years ago during the Muzaffarnagar riots, Shahpur village was one of the worst-affected areas. Close to six dozen people were killed and several others were displaced in the district. Nirdosh Baliyan was at home in Goyla village when he heard of the news that riots have broken out in the area. He rushed to the Shahpur government college where he ran a wrestling akhada. “I could not believe that even the college was not spared. The wrestling mat was gone… everything was gone,” Nirdosh Baliyan rued. The Shahpur Inter College had a small wrestling training hall with one mat where more than 60 wrestlers trained under Nirdosh Baliyan. Wrestlers from all over Uttar Pradesh trained there but when the riots broke, they left for home and most of them never returned. Amongst the wrestlers was Gourav Baliyan from the neighbouring village of Shoron. Gourav Baliyan, too, left the akhada where he had been training for two years and his wrestling career came to a grinding halt. For now, Gourav Baliyan is focused on the U23 World Championships which will be his third international tournament. But he knows it won’t be easy.
