HSB/ New Delhi

With less than 150 days to go for the commencement of Tokyo Olympics the Indian Men’s and Women’s Hockey Teams expressed the need to improve every day without being too complacent about their recent results.

The Men’s Team who got off to a dream start in their maiden FIH Pro League campaign with 5-1 and 3-3 (3-1) win against the Netherlands, 2-1 win and 2-3 loss against the World Champions Belgium, and most recently 3-4 loss and 2-2 (3-1) win against Defending Champions Australia, the hunt to be a better unit will continue pointed out drag-flicker and Vice-Captain Harmanpreet Singh.
“Good results against world’s top 3 teams is no doubt a big morale boost for the entire team but there are a lot of areas that still concerns us and when the team met after the double-header against Australia, it was decided that we will go back to basics when we meet for a four-week long National Camp in SAI Bengaluru,” stated Harmanpreet , who was adjudged ‘Player of the Match’ against Australia.

The defender-dragflicker feels the team needs to work on being consistent in all four quarters and focus on tackling outside the circle and also improve the conversion rate in goal scoring. “We have paid a price in these matches for slowing down or dropping the tempo in between quarters. This is an area of concern in the lead up to the Olympic Games. Also Coach believes we can do better in terms of circle penetration, tackling outside the circle and not conceded too many PCs,” said Harmanpreet Singh. “A long camp will definitely help focus on these critical points,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Women’s team Vice-Captain Savita said the team’s recent tour to New Zealand was a big learning curve in their preparations for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. The team registered 4-0, 3-0 win and 1-2, 0-1 loss against hosts New Zealand while they beat Great Britain 1-0 in their five-match tour.

“We all have reminders set on our phones that show the countdown to our first match in Tokyo. As we are getting closer, there is a lot of excitement as well as anxiousness to tick off all the boxes to ensure we are best prepared and our recent Tour in New Zealand was quite a learning experience,” expressed the ace goalkeeper.

“While our on-going camp has been about improving our fitness, speed, goal-shooting, tapping the ball and tackling, we have also tried to play with different combinations that are effective in the attacking midfield and forward-line. There is a great sense of competition within the team to prove ourselves and this is helping in building competitiveness and improving as a unit,” she said.

“Having Janneke Schopman (Analytical Coach) as part of the support staff is also helping a lot because she brings different insights into our game and how we need to cope during tense matches. We feel the Asian Champions Trophy will be a good yardstick to measure where we stand ahead of the Olympic Games,” Savita concluded.

HSB/ Bhubaneswar

Swimmer Sadhvi Dhuri landed a double gold while Mihir Ambre won his second title in the Khelo India University Games (KIUG) here on Tuesday to steer Savitribai Phule Pune University to the top of the charts with 7 gold and 14 medals.

Panjab University, Chandigarh, picked up a gold late in the afternoon through their opening day’s star Siddhanth Sejwal, to be in the second spot with 6 gold and 18 medals. Jain University, Bengaluru and Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar are next, also with six gold each but fewer silver and bronze. Punjabi University, Patiala, jumped to the fifth place with three gold from their archers.

On a rain-hit day in which the archery schedule was completed thanks to the herculean efforts of officials and volunteers at the Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences, Punjabi University suffered a big blow, with top-ranked Sangampreet Singh Bisla losing to University of Rajasthan’s Mukul Sharma in the boys’ Compound final.

Sangampreet Bisla held a two-point lead after each of the first two sets but Mukul Sharma clawed his way back in the third set with three 10s to close the gap. He repeated that feat under pressure in the fifth set to overcome the one-point advantage that his rival had opened up in the fourth. Mukul Sharma landed an X in the shoot-off while Sangampreet Bisla managed an 8 to score the upset win.

“I told myself not to be over-awed by the presence of a renowned archer and yet when I stepped up, I was quite nervous. But once I overcame the initial hesitation and calmed my nerves, I was able to shoot better,” Mukul Sharma said.

Just as Mukul Sharma beat World Youth Championship medalist Sangampreet Bisla, the unheralded Kritika Sharma did the star turn for University of Rajasthan in the women’s final by defeating favourite Raginee Markoo (Rani Dugrawati Vishwavidyalaya), also a World Youth Championship medalist.

The 19-year-old Sadhvi Dhuri was the toast of the swimming competitions on Tuesday, winning the 200m Freestyle comfortably in 2:14.99 and the 100m Butterfly after a close battle with Damini Gowda (Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences). In one of the most exciting races, Sadhvi Dhuri won by a 0.60-second margin. The two wins increased her tally of gold here to three.

Siddhant Sejwal picked up Panjab University’s lone gold of the day by winning the 200m Freestyle gold in 2:01.28 to add to the 50m Backstroke and 4x100m Freestyle Relay crowns that he won earlier. He has three events lined up on Wednesday and is hoping to edge out Mihir Ambre (Savitribai Phule Pune University) and the others as the most successful swimmer here.

The results (all finals):

Archery

Men’s Compound: Mukul Sharma (University of Rajasthan) beat Sangampreet Bisla (Punjabi University, Patiala) 144 (X)-144 (8). Bronze medal play-off: Sukhminder Singh (Punjabi University, Patiala) beat Prajwal Kaluse (Savitribai Phule Pune University) 141-137.

Men’s Compound Team: Punjabi University beat University of Rajasthan 229-227. Bronze medal play-off: Delhi University beat Savitribai Phule Pune University 227-223.

Women’s Compound: Kritika Sharma (University of Rajasthan) beat Raginee Markoo (Rani Durgawati Vishwavidyalaya) 141-137. Bronze medal play-off: Babita Kumari (Ranchi University) beat Preetinder Kaur (Punjabi University) 139-130.

Women’s Compound Team: Punjabi University beat University of Rajasthan 226-215. Bronze medal play-off: Guru Nanak Dev University beat Sant Gadge Baba Amravati University 217-216.

Mixed team Compound: Punjabi University beat University of Rajasthan 151-149. Bronze medal play-off: Rani Durgawati Vishwavidyalaya beat Guru Nanak Dev University 151-149.

Basketball

Men’s bronze medal play-off: Jamia Millia Islamia beat Jain University, Bengaluru.

Women’s final: University of Madras 81 (Monica 29, Sruthy 18, J Ishwarya 13) beat Hindustan Institute of Technology and Science, Chennai 75 (S Rajeshwari 22, B Neeta 20, P Priyanka 19). Bronze medal play-off: Guru Nanak Dev University beat Kurukshetra University.

Swimming

Men

200m Freestyle: 1. Siddhant Sejwal (Panjab University) 2:01.28; 2. Harshal Sarang (Veer Narmad South Gujarat University) 2:03.25; 3. M Vasuram (University of Kerala) 2:04.97.

100m Butterfly: 1. Mihir Ambre (Savitribai Phule Pune University) 56.76 seconds; 2. Sameer Sejwal (Delhi University) 57.76; 3. Bhargav Sailor (Veer Narmad South Gujarat University) 59.12.

400m Individual Medley: 1. Siva Sridhar (Jain University) 4:47.13; 2. T Sethumanickavel (Manonmianiam Sundaranar University) 4:52.63; 3. Prasad Kandul (Savitribai Phule Pune University) 4:58.73.

4x100m Medley Relay: 1. Delhi University (Samit Sejwal, Ansh Arora, Vinayak Parihar and Sameer Sejwal) 4:06.53; 2. Panjab University 4:10.45; 3. Savitribai Phule University 4:12.15.

Women

200m Freestyle: 1. Sadhvi Dhuri (Savitribai Phule Pune University) 2:14.99; 2. Rutuja Talegaonknar (RTM Nagpur University) 2:16.95; 3. SV Nikitha (Jain University) 2:17.39.

800m Freestyle: 1. SV Nikitha (Jain University) 9:52.67; 2. Dhruti Muralidhar (Jain University) 10:04.52; 3. Rutuja Talengaokar (RTM Nagpur University) 10:13.54.

100m Butterfly: 1. Sadhvi Dhuri (Savitribai Phule Pune University) 1:07.36; 2, Damini Gowda (Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences) 1:07.96; 3. Aarya Rajguru (Savitribai Phule Pune University) 1:08.56.

200m Butterfly: 1. Kalyani Saxena (Veer Narmad South Gujarat University) 2:31.21; 2. SV Nikitha (Jain University) 2:34.23; 3. Damini Gowda (Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences) 2:35.48.

4x100m Medley Relay: 1. University of Mumbai (Sanskriti Srinivasan, Jyoti Patil, Rutuja Udeshi and Aarti Patil) 4:54.91; 2. Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences 4:59.37; 3. Jadavpur University 5:02.19.

HSB/ Bhubaneswar

Former hockey player Deepak Thakur believes the Khelo India initiatives will propel sports to the next level, even transform the country into a global powerhouse in the not too distant future.

Deepak, who is at the Khelo India University Games 2020 as a talent scout, said, “It is a great initiative by the Ministry of Sports and the Sports Authority of India. It is very important to create a sporting culture for people of all age groups.

“It should have begun a long time ago but I’m happy it is happening now. I have been here for the past few days as a talent scout, and the atmosphere and the facilities are very similar to what we get at the Asian Games or the Commonwealth Games.

This will spur a number of youngsters to set greater targets. If this continues, India will become a huge sporting nation soon.”

Talking about the standards at the Khelo India University Games 2020, and how sport has evolved over the years, the 39-year-old said, “I got to watch most of the disciplines here, and the standards that the athletes are displaying are really high. It has improved a lot over the years and it makes you feel jealous because when I was playing, we did not have these opportunities. Times have changed for the good.”

“We were in a meeting with the Sports Ministry on Sunday and I can say that the Union Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju is very positive. The vision that he has for sports in our country will take Indian sport to the higher level. When you know that your Government is supporting you, as an athlete, you obviously want to push yourself and give more. The reason that cricket has developed so much is because they have improved the grassroots structure,” added the former India player.

Deepak also added that any youngster who is deserving at the Games will get help from the Government. “I’m also a coach at the Khelo India Hockey Academy in Chandigarh. Some of the youngsters who are selected over here will go for screening in the national camps, and whoever is deserving will make it to the next level and hopefully represent India some day. In a recent meeting with the Sports Ministry, we have also discussed about the prospect of getting in touch with former Olympians, and avail their services to help develop the grassroots program,” he revealed.

Asked if the Khelo India University Games 2020 would help find more Olympians from the country, Deepak said,

“It is not about finding Olympians in our country anymore, that era is over. It is about finding medallists. I’m very sure the hockey team will win a medal at the next Olympics. I’m confident about this because so much development has happened over the years.”

HSB/ New Delhi

Top-seed Dev V Javia registered yet another clinical win as he defeated Nitin Singh 6-2, 6-1, to set up a final showdown with Chirag Duhan. 3rd-seed Duhan also cruised to the final after winning 6-1, 6-0 against Mohit Bondree.at the Roland-Garros Junior Wild Card Series by OPPO, held at the Delhi Lawn Tennis Association (DLTA) here today.

In the Girls’ Semi-Finals, the unseeded players put on spirited performances to knock out the two top seeds. Vaishnavi Adkar played out of her skin to make a memorable comeback and defeat 2nd-seed Akanksha Nitture 3-6, 6-3, 7-5, while Sanjana Sirimalla defeated top seed Reshma Maruri in straight sets 6-4, 7-5.

The second day of the tournament witnessed some nail-biting games as the players fought hard to reach the finals and grab the coveted spots at the Junior Roland-Garros Qualifiers in Paris.

The finals will take place tomorrow and the two winners will then travel to Paris to play against their counterparts from Mexico, Brazil, and China, in a bid to qualify for the main draw of the Junior Roland-Garros Championships.

The tournament’s brand ambassador,4-time Grand Slam Champion Mary Pierce was on the side-lines watching the day’s events unfold.was left impressed by the plucky display of the 16 Junior players battling it out at the tournament

“I am delighted to be back in India, watching the junior stars of Indian tennis in action”, said Pierce.

“I know from personal experience the crucial role Junior tennis plays in improving the game of budding players and laying a solid foundation for their careers. I am quite impressed by the standard of the game I have seen so far. This reaffirms my belief that India has real potential to be a tennis power-house in the future.”

The Roland-Garros Junior Wild Card Series by OPPO, is jointly organized by the All India Tennis Association (AITA) and the French Tennis Federation (FFT) organizers of Roland-Garros, the world’s premier clay-court tournament. It is a testament to the collaborative efforts by both organizations to promote the game, particularly clay-court tennis, at the grassroots level in India.

Speaking on the occasion, Lucas Dubourg, the head of international development of the FFT says, “Exposure of playing on clay is vital for the well-rounded development of budding players. Hence, we are proud to bring this competition to India for its 6th edition and give these talented players a chance to hone their skills. This tournament has also played an important role in growing the popularity of the Roland-Garros Championships across India over the past few years.”

Echoing this sentiment, AITA President Praveen Mahajan says, “This is arguably the most important tournament on the Junior tennis calendar in India. Our association with Roland Garros has been instrumental in producing many talented Junior players who have gone to do the country proud at the international level. We are confident that this edition will also unearth some promising talent for the future.”