Indian sports News- October 22nd
October 22, 2019
Bytes: India white wash SA, MCA, Vijay Hazare Trophy, Bengaluru FC plays draw against Northeast United, Karni Shooting Range, Lifetime membership to Abhijit Banerjee, Military World Games, Ironman India, Kerala athlete dies, Rafael Nadal in Davis Cup Finals
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:
Cricket:
IndvsSA- Shahbaz Nadeem took the final two wickets in straight balls as India thrashed South Africa by an innings and 202 runs in the third Test on Tuesday to complete a 3-0 sweep of the series. The day’s play lasted just 12 balls and the triumph emphatically rammed home India’s feat in beating Australia’s record of 10 straight home series wins and consolidated their place at the top of the World Test Championship. For South Africa, who lost two of the three matches by more than an innings, it was one of their worst series in decades. Nadeem got substitute Theunis de Bruyn caught behind for 30 and then Lungi Ngidi for nought to dismiss the tourists for 133 while following on in the fourth day in Ranchi. India made 497/9 declared in their first innings. They made South Africa follow on after bowling them out for 162 in their first attempt. The series saw Indian batsmen Mayank Agarwal (215), Virat Kohli (254 not out) and Rohit Sharma (212) all hit double tons against South Africa.
MCA- The Mumbai Ranji team will ask its state cricket association to hold talks with the Board of Control for Cricket in India the “unfair” rules that cut short their Vijay Hazare campaign despite dominating the quarter-final against Chhattisgarh. Chhattisgarh were declared winners on the basis of more number of victories than Mumbai during the league phase after the match could not be completed due to rain in Bengaluru. Chhattisgarh had won five out of their eight games in Group A while Mumbai had managed four victories. A member of the Mumbai support staff expressed displeasure over the current rules. “Yes definitely we will make a demand. This was unfair,” an official was quoted as saying by PTI. “How should the performance in the league stage matter in the knock-out stages? Every day is a new day. Else, a good team goes out in this fashion. This should not continue,” he added.
After Mumbai bowlers restricted Chhattisgarh to 190/6 in 45.4 overs, they were set a revised target of 195 from 35 overs. Mumbai were going all guns blazing at 95/0 in 11.3 overs with young Yashasvi Jaiswal batting on 60 and Aditya Tare on 31. However, the skies opened up and the match was abandoned, ending Mumbai’s topsy-turvy campaign.
Vijay Hazare- Rain ended Mumbai’s Vijay Hazare Trophy campaign at Bengaluru on Monday as Chhattisgarh made it to the semi-finals on the basis of more wins against their quarter-final opponents in the league phase. Tamil Nadu also reached the semi-finals on the basis of more wins than Punjab in the league stage after their quarter-final game was cut short by rain. Tamil Nadu had won nine out of nine matches in Group C, while Chhattisgarh emerged victorious in five out of eight games in Group A. Mumbai won four. While Tamil Nadu will take on Gujarat in the semi-finals on Wednesday, hosts Karnataka will face Chhattisgarh. In pursuit of a revised target of 195 from 39 overs, Mumbai were cruising at 95 for no loss in 11.3 overs with young star Yashasvi Jaiswal batting on 60 (38 balls, 5 fours, 5 sixes) and Aditya Tare on 31. Brief scores: Chhattisgarh 190/6 in 45.4 overs (Harpreet Singh Bhatia 83, Amandeep Khare 59 not out, Dhawal Kulkarni 2 for 9) vs Mumbai 95/0 in 11.3 overs (Yashasvi Jaiswal 60*, Aditya Tare 31*). Tamil Nadu 174/6 in 39 overs (Baba Aparajith 56, Washington Sundar 35*, Gurkeerat Singh 2/25) versus Punjab 52/2 in 12.2 overs.
Football:
ISL- Defending champions Bengaluru FC were held to a goalless draw by a spirited NorthEast United FC in their first game of the 2019-20 Indian Super League at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru on Monday. There were debuts handed out to several new signings, including Asamoah Gyan, Raphael Augusto and Ashique Kuruniyan, but the teams couldn’t be separated at the end of 90 minutes in what was a riveting contest. Bengaluru got off the blocks quickly and pressed NorthEast high up the field. Ashique announced his arrival with a trademark solo run from the left-back position in the 15th minute. The former FC Pune City player beat three players on his way into the box but shot wide of the mark. NorthEast United were pinned to their own half in the early stages but were the first to have a shot on target. Collecting a layoff from Asamoah Gyan, Uruguayan Martin Chaves dribbled past Juanan and forced a diving save from Gurpreet Singh Sandhu in the 21st minute. On Tuesday, Jamshedpur FC open their campaign at home against Odisha FC.
Lifetime membership- When it comes to legacy, rivalry and history in Indian football, few clubs, if any, come close to the Bengal pair of Mohun Bagan and East Bengal. The two clubs, once again proved their class, by offering Nobel laureate Abhijeet Banerjee a life-time membership. Abhijeet, who recently won the Nobel Prize for Economic Sciences, has shot into the limelight for his work in developmental economics alongside two other economists. Born and brought up in Kolkata, Abhijeet, like every other Bengali, chose one of the age-old teams of Bengal, in his case, the team being East Bengal. The officials of East Bengal are quoted as confirming their intentions of honouring the Nobel Prize winner by offering him a lifetime membership on their 100th year anniversary. However, the date of the ceremony has not yet been fixed. Due to the busy schedule, the officials of East Bengal shall decide the dates of the ceremony as per the availability of the Nobel prize winner. As of now, they have officially mailed Abhijeet confirming their decision to offer him a lifetime membership of the club.
Kho-Kho:
Junior Nationals- Gujarat boys sailed into the quarterfinals after putting up attacking game; boys from Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Delhi also reached the last eight on day three at the ongoing 39th Junior Kho Kho National Championships being played at SMC School, here in Surat. Gujarat, driving high with confidence and backed with local support defeated Haryana by 4 points in a close match. All-rounder Manish dazzled for the host, he secured 2 points in each innings to widen the winning margin and posed a strong defence showcasing long-running technique to tire his counterparts. The host team also put up a strong chase with ample boundary line dives to finally pocket the match 21-17. The most thrilling match in the pre-quarter was played between the boys’ team of Tamil Nadu and Delhi. The nail-biting thriller ended in Delhi’s favour as the team from the Capital won the match by a single point. The winning team managed to put 10 Tamil Nadu players off the mat in the first innings itself while Tamil Nadu could only pull off 4 points in return. The Tamil Nadu boys though made a strong comeback in the second-innings by securing 7 consecutive points to take a one-point lead in the third round. Delhi, however, displayed a resilient fightback to gather much needed 2 points in the last round and won the match with seven and a half minutes to spare.
Athletics:
Military World Games- Anandan Gunasekaran has emerged victorious in the Disabled Men’s 100m IT1 event. The Indian national bagged the nation’s first gold at the Military World Games 2019, held in the capital of Hubei Province in Wuhan, China. The seventh Military World Games is being held in China for the very first time and it is also the largest military sports event to be held in China, with over 10,000 athletes from over 140 countries participating in 27 different sports. The games are organized by the Military Sports Commission of China, Ministry of National Defense of the People’s Republic of China and the military commands Army in accordance with CISM regulations and the rules of the International Sports Federations. Anandan Gunasekaran is no stranger when it comes to winning track events. He bagged a silver medal in 400 meters and a bronze medal in 200 meters in the T44/T62/64 classification at the Asian Para Games in Jakarta, held in 2018. He won the silver medal in the 400m at the 2017 World Para Athletics Grand Prix and 400m gold and 200m silver at the IPC Athletics Asia-Oceania Championships, which was held in 2016. Anandan started off his career by being an able-bodied athlete competing in sprint events. He started his defense career with the Army in 2005. In 2008, while serving in the LOC in J&K, he sustained an injury in a mine blast resulting in below-knee amputation. He was inspired to take up para-sports after reading about Oscar Pistorius. In 2012, Anandan started competing in 100m and 200m sprint events with a wooden leg. His promising performances in 2016 and early 2017 saw him shortlisted and eventually selected for support under the GoSports Foundation Para Champions Programme 2017-18. His incredible journey continues as he sets his focus on the 2020 Paralympics.
Ironman- Bishworjit Singh Saikhom of the Indian Army created history as he finished first in India’s first-ever IRONMAN 70.3 triathlon held here in Goa on Sunday. The 29-year-old based in Pune working as Havildar with the Bombay Sappers completed the gruelling distance of 1.9km swim, 90km cycle and 21 km run with an impressive time of 4 hours 42 minutes 44 seconds much ahead of India’s Nihal Baig, an alumni of IIT Bombay, who clocked 4 hours 47 minutes 47 seconds to finish second. The inaugural edition of the event was a memorable outing for the Indians as the third triathlete to cross the finish-line was Mahesh Lourembam, a native of Manipur, who pushed seasoned triathlete Pablo Erat of Switzerland who was billed as the top contender of the event to the fourth place. Lourembam finished the race with a time of 4 hours 52 minutes while Erat reached the finish line at 4 hours 56 minutes on the clock.
Kerala athlete dies- In the news that shocked the sporting fraternity across the country a few days back, a 17-year-old student was critically injured after being struck by a hammer on his head. The incident occurred on the opening day of the 63rd Kerala State Junior Athletics Championship at the municipal stadium in Pala around noon. However, in a recent development, that the young boy has succumbed to death due to the injuries. The victim, Afeel Johnson, student of Pala St.Thomas Higher Secondary School was a marker in the javelin throw event (boys, U-18). He had measured a throw and was about to return to the safe zone when he was hit by a hammer. Son of a farmer, Afeel was rushed to the ICU of Kottayam medical college in the aftermath of the mishap. With life conditions absolutely critical, the Kerala teen had to be kept in ventilation while the doctors couldn’t rule him out of danger. Eventually, on Monday, after 17 days in the hospital, the young athlete succumbed to his death. The javelin throw event began at 10.30 am while the girls’ hammer throw event was scheduled an hour later. There were 21 javelin throwers and the event was delayed. The general consensus is that organisational fault lead to the accident. The incident happened around 12.25 pm. The athletic meet was being held at the Pala synthetic track. Afeel was moving to pick up a javelin thrown by a competitor. At the same time, the hammer throw for girls’ under-18 was also underway. The hammer which weighs 3 kilograms was thrown from 35 metres away and it fell on Afeel’s forehead, close to his left eye. Even though he saw the incoming hammer, he was not able to dodge it.
Shooting:
Karni Range- There was a brawl at the Karni Singh Shooting Range (KSSR) in Tughlaqabad in New Delhi on Sunday as two shooters were involved in a chaotic fistfight close to the firing points where other shooters were still training, according to a report in The Tribune. Yoginder Pal Singh, a former member of the Indian double trap team, and Babar Khan, who was present with his son, were arguing about the number of rounds that can be shot at a go. Both were present at Karni Range under the Come and Play Scheme, where just one range was available. The other ranges were being used by the shooters for the National Camp ahead of the Asian Shooting Championships. The lack of availability of range, thus, caused the brawl.
Tennis:
Davis Cup- World No 2 Rafael Nadal has been named in the Spain squad for the Davis Cup finals in Madrid next month. Nadal was included in a list of five Spanish players, with Roberto Bautista, Pablo Carreno, Feliciano Lopez and Marcel Granollers also picked by coach Sergi Bruguera. A wrist injury forced Nadal to withdraw from the Shanghai Masters three weeks ago and it remains to be seen whether the 19-time grand slam champion is fit enough to play. The Davis Cup starts on November 18 at the Caja Magica and Spain have been drawn alongside Russia and Croatia in Group B. Controversial changes to the format of the 119-year-old tournament mean 18 teams will contest the finals over the course of a week. Each tie will consist of two singles and one doubles match, with the winners of the six groups and two best-ranked runners-up progressing to the quarter-finals.
