Category Archives: Sports

Umpiring standards have to improve: Saba Karim

Sports, World Opinion, , , , ,

Patna, BIHAR / Mumbai, MAHARASHTRA :

Saba Karim. | Photo Credit: Vivek Bendre
Saba Karim. | Photo Credit: Vivek Bendre

Says the BCCI’s aim is to have more umpires in the ICC Elite panel

It’s been almost three months since Saba Karim, the former India wicket-keeper-batsman, took over as the BCCI’s general manager – cricket operations.

One of the biggest challenges he has is to ensure umpiring standards, especially in domestic cricket, improve. At a time when the BCCI is being forced to re-conduct umpiring examinations due to goof-ups of the operations department last year, Karim opens up in a chat with The Hindu.

Excerpts:

Despite the umpires academy in place for over a decade now, the quality of Indian umpires continues to be questionable. Is it time to have a re-look?

We are doing that. We do have our regular training workshops. In the end, we need hard-working professionals to come into this field. We are trying to put in some stringent and transparent measures so that the best candidates come out of it. That is why we may redesign our Level 1 and Level 2 examinations so that we get the possible candidates. That’s in the pipeline. Very soon you will hear from us.

Starting with the just-concluded season, 23 of the 40 domestic umpires are supposed to retire in three seasons. How do you plan to maintain — if not raise — the standards in domestic cricket?

It’s not about maintaining. It’s about evolving. We have to raise our standards. That is one point that we will discuss with our umpires during the workshop. Umpiring standards have to go up.

That is how we can have more footprints at the international level. The BCCI’s aim is to have more umpires in the ICC Elite panel. Right now we have five (four international, one Elite) and we do have some very good young umpires coming through.

The reports from the exchange programmes with ECB and CSA have been wonderful. Last year, some of our umpires did fairly well in IPL. Going forward, that is what we want to do, to have more and more umpires at the international level.

We need to have a solid education pathway for them, need to update them all the time, there has to be upgradation and faculty development all the time and then the exams that we conduct have to be transparent.

Will involving more former players as umpires help?

We are open to that, but they have to go through the entire process. It is quite similar to coaching. Just because you have played the game does not mean you will be a good coach. Same stands for umpiring. We are extremely open to First-Class or international cricketers getting into this role. It is tough work, so they’ll have to consider it.

Are former cricketers not attracted towards umpiring because it is not as lucrative as it should be, especially at the domestic level?

We will try and make it lucrative for them. Try and make it possible for First-Class cricketers to get into this profession. It is a highly demanding and a respectable profession, but you are right. We’ll have to work something out.

Cricketers’ match-fees have been revised but that for the other staff — umpires, scorers and video analysts — is still pending.

It is a decision that is taken by the top management. They are aware of the fact that something should be done about it and I am sure they will look into it.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Sport> Cricket / by Amol Karhadkar / Mumbai – March 21st, 2018

Ayesha Mohammad, Sandeep Deorukhkar Emerge District Carrom Champs

Leaders, Sports, , , , , , , ,

Mumbai, MAHARASHTRA :

State champion Ayesha Mohammad during the Mumbai District carrom final in Lower Parel recently
State champion Ayesha Mohammad during the Mumbai District carrom final in Lower Parel recently

The respective top seeds among men and women Sandeep Deorukhkar and Ayesha Mohammad won the men’s and women’s singles titles in the Bank Of Maharashtra-sponsored Bajarang Krida Mandal-organised Mumbai District Ranking carrom tournament at the Maharashtra Labour Welfare Board Hall in Lower Parel recently.

In the men’s singles final ONGC’s Sandeep beat Vikas Dhria of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation 25-11, 25-13.

Jain Irrigation’s Ayesha beat Shilpa Palnitkar of LIC of India 25-12, 13-25, 25-4 in the women’s final.

source: http://www.mid-day.com / Mid-Day.com / Home> Sports News> Other Sports News / by A Correspondent / December 19th, 2015

Yesteryear sportspersons wallow in nostalgia

Amazing Feats, Leaders, Sports, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Hyderabad, TELANGANA :

Sportspersons from the city being honoured at an event on Saturday.
Sportspersons from the city being honoured at an event on Saturday.

Football legends and athletes felicitated by Ethic Sports Foundation

It was an evening when some of the football legends from the city went down memory lane while reflecting on the state of the sport.

On Saturday, Ethic Sports Foundation felicitated some of the finest sportspersons from the city, under the banner of ‘City of Heroes’, which also saw a sprinkling of outstanding women athletes like 2004 Athens Olympian J.J. Shobha, Arjuna Awardee and volleyballer Mulini Reddy and quite a few kabaddi players.

The objective of the event was to honour these stars of yesteryears and also remember the contribution of legendary football coach S.A. Rahim, who scripted India’s golden era in football.

Some of the speakers included sports historian and commentator Novy Kapadia, former sports scribe N. Ganesan, Olympians T. Balaram, M.S.S. Hameed, D.M.K. Afzal, S.S. Hakeem, son of late S.A. Rahim, renowned badminton coach and Dronacharya S.M. Arif, former SAI boxing coach Emani Chiranjeevi, hockey Olympians N. Mukesh Kumar and Edwards Alloysius, former India football captain Victor Amalraj, Mohd Habib, Shabbir Ali, rowing coach and Dronacharya Ismail Baig, Arjuna Awardee Mir Khasim Ali.

Jayesh Ranjan, Principal Secretary to Telangana Government, was the chief guest.

To inspire youth

Kailash Nath Yadav, MD of Ethic Sports Foundation, said they hosted the event to inspire youth by showcasing the diverse nature of sports in Hyderabad along with highlighting the efforts of the greats like S.A. Rahim.

 source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by Special Correspondent / Hyderabad – September 15th, 2018

A unique wedding – Groom of Bhopal moves on rolling-skates with Baraatis

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Sports, World Opinion, , , , , , , , , ,

Bhopal, MADHYA PRADESH :

“Baaraat” of Sajid Khan, a national level skater and coach, skating its way to marriage venue in Bhopal on Sunday night.
“Baaraat” of Sajid Khan, a national level skater and coach, skating its way to marriage venue in Bhopal on Sunday night.

Bhopal:

 Bhopal, the capital of central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, witnessed a unique wedding wherein “Baaraat” (the wedding procession of the bridegroom) on Sunday night skated its way to wedding venue on roller skates.

The “Baaraat”was that of Sajid Khan, a national level skater and roller skating coach in local Delhi Public School, who adopted this unique move to attract people’s attention towards skating and promote the game in the state and ensure recognition to it in international events.

The bridegroom and the “Baratis” all put on their skating shoes to roll on in the marriage procession from Gauhar Mahal to Bagh-o-Bahar, the wedding venue, as vehicular traffic on the VIP road nearly came to a screeching halt. Budding skaters, the disciples of groom Sajid, also danced to the beating of drums as the procession moved on with passersby halting down to have a clear glimpse of this unique “Baaraat”.

Sajid, who is also president of Speed Roller skating Association, Bhopal, skated to have a rendezvous with his bride Shaista Yasmeen, who also happens to be a skater and a roller skating coach. Several national and international junior skaters such as Huzaifa Zafar, Akshay Sharma, Syeda Masooma Fatima, Ahsas Shrivastava, Gautam Sharma, Shayali Kumbhare, Aamir, Nilesh, Sami Khan, Hrithik Khare and others also joined the “Baaraat” with their skates on.

Sajid revealed that it was their students who planned the one-of-its kind wedding and he was happy to accept the unique idea. The wedding shall be remembered for long, not for its grandeur, but for the mode of transport the groom and the members of the “Baaraat”chose to reach the marriage hall.

“It is a historic moment in my life as the people who witnessed the wedding procession shall be attracted towards the roller-skating sports. “We are advertising the skating game through the procession. I spend my whole time in skating and as such I and my students decided to take out wedding procession on skates which is something unique”, Sajid told media persons as he rolled on skates to meet his soul-mate and bring her home.

Meanwhile, Nikah was solemnized at the historical Taj-ul-Masajid, one of the biggest Masjid in Asia, between the Asr and Maghrib prayer timings on Sunday evening. Elite of the town along with large numbers of sportspersons attended the Nikah.

It may be pointed out here that a couple has also tied nuptial knot while rappelling at Kerwa Hills in the city in the past.

source: http://www.ummid.com / Ummid.com / Home> Life & Style / by Parvez Bari (pervezbari@eth.net) / September 19th, 2011

Rookie Khaleel is included in squad

Sports, World Opinion, , , ,

RAJASTHAN :

Calcutta/Mumbai:

Rajasthan left-arm pacer Khaleel Ahmed is the only new face in the 16-member squad for the Asia Cup, which was picked in Mumbai on Saturday.

The 20-year-old has played only two first-class matches, but has more experience in List A and T20 cricket, having played 29 games across the two shorter formats. He was part of the India A limited-overs squad that toured England in June-July, and also played for India A in the recently concluded 50-over quadrangular series against South Africa A.

Rohit Sharma will lead the side while Shikhar Dhawan is the vice-captain.

Khaleel, who has taken 15 wickets in his last nine limited-overs matches for India A, had been on the selectors’ radar for a while.

Chief selector MSK Prasad said they had identified most of the squad for next year’s World Cup in England, apart from two or three slots, of which one was in the pace-bowling department.

“Two to three slots we are yet to finalise, so for those slots we are trying and we’ll look at these 24 matches (in the lead-up to the World Cup). You’ll come to know the slots more specifically as we go ahead … Among those, one of those seamers’ slot is open. We are looking at a left-arm option in Khaleel,” Prasad said at a media conference.

Khaleel also played in the IPL for Delhi DareDevils in 2016 and Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2017. While Delhi had bought him for just Rs 10 lakh at the auction, the Hyderabad franchise spent Rs 3.2 crore to get him in their ranks.

SquadMPOs05sept2018

source: http://www.telegraphindia.com / The Telegraph,Calcutta,India / Home> Sports / by The Telegraph Bureau & Agencies / September 02nd, 2018

Asian Games: India Clinch Silver in Men’s 4x400m Relay

Sports, Videos, World Opinion, , , , , , , , ,

KERALA :

Jakarta, INDONESIA :

The Indian team, which comprised Kunhu Muhammed, Dharunn Ayyasamy, Mohd. Anas and Arokia Rajiv, clocked 3:01.85 minutes. (Photo: PTI)
The Indian team, which comprised Kunhu Muhammed, Dharunn Ayyasamy, Mohd. Anas and Arokia Rajiv, clocked 3:01.85 minutes. (Photo: PTI)
Snapshot
  • India won silver in the men’s 4x400m relay event of athletics at the 18th Asian Games.
  • The Indian team, which comprised Kunhu Muhammed, Dharunn Ayyasamy, Mohd. Anas and Arokia Rajiv, clocked 3:01.85 minutes.
  • Qatar won gold in an Asian record time of 3:00.56.
  • Japan took the bronze with a timing of 3:01.94.

___________________________________________________________

India’s 4x400m men’s relay team bagged silver in the final event of athletics at the Asian Games in Jakarta on Thursday.

The Indian quartet of Kunhu Muhammed, Dharunn Ayyasamy, Mohd. Anas and Arokia Rajiv clocked 3:01.85 to finish behind Qatar who won gold in an Asian record time of 3:00.56.

Japan took the bronze after clocking 3:01.94.

Kunhu Muhammed ran the first lap, followed by Dharun Ayyasamy but by the time the baton reached Anas, Qatar was pulling away. The Indian team was placed fourth at that time but Anas pulled off a great run to pass two runners and Arokia Rajiv managed to maintain the second position

India had finished fourth in this event in the 2014 Asian Games.

(With inputs from PTI)

source: http://www.thequint.com / The Quint / Home> Asian Games / August 31st, 2018

Asian Games 2018: Twitter celebrates as Hima Das, Muhammed Anas, Dutee Chand win three silvers for India

Amazing Feats, Sports, World Opinion, , , , , , ,

Nilamel, KERALA :

Asian Games 2018 – Indonesia

Hima Das and Muhammed Anas won a silver medal each in women’s and men’s 400m on Day eight of Asian Games 2018, continuing India’s strong show at the tournament in athletics.

Hima Das, Muhammed Anas and Dutee Chand added three silvers to India’s medal tally.
Hima Das, Muhammed Anas and Dutee Chand added three silvers to India’s medal tally.

Hima Das and Muhammed Anas won a silver medal each in women’s and men’s 400m on Day eight of Asian Games 2018, continuing India’s strong show at the tournament.

Hima beat her own national record in two days as she clocked 50.59 seconds to win the silver, behind Bahrain’s Salwa Naser who won the gold in a new Games record time 50.09 seconds. She had qualified for the final with a national record time 51.00 seconds on Saturday, bettering the 14-year-old mark set by Manjeet Kaur (51.05) in Chennai in 2004.

Asian champion Anas also settled with a silver in the men’s 400m final as he timed 45.69 seconds, behind Asian season leader and 2017 World Championships bronze medallist Hassan Abdalelah of Qatar, who clocked in 44.89 seconds. Anas, who holds the national record of 45.24, had clocked 45.30 in the preliminary heats.

Dutee Chand clinched a silver in women’s 100m dash to win the country’s first medal in 20 years in this event. Running in lane number 7, Dutte clocked 11.32 seconds, a tad below her national record of 11.29 seconds.

source: http://www.indianexpress.com / The Indian Express / Home> Sports> Asian Games 2018 / by Sports Desk / August 27th, 2018

Kashmir’s wheelchair sportstars win hearts

Amazing Feats, Sports, World Opinion, , ,

Srinagar, JAMMU  & KASHMIR :

Three-day workshop on basketball helps them hone skills, aim for big events.

Wheelchair basketball players in Kashmir. (Photo:H.U. Naqash)
Wheelchair basketball players in Kashmir. (Photo:H.U. Naqash)

Srinagar:

An Urdu couplet goes Uth bandh kamar kiya darta hai; phir dekh Khuda kiya karta hai (Get up and grid your loins; then see what God does). Probably, inspired by the message hidden in the verse Jammu and Kashmir’s many young boys and girls, who have been left disabled due to various reasons, decided to show their calibre by doing something discordant and raucous. They opted for sports for their endeavour.

About two dozen such men and four women players participated in a three-day workshop on wheelchair basketball held in the state’s summer capital Srinagar recently and most of them astonished everybody with their performance.

These young men and women were happily leading their lives until spinal injuries pushed them in wheelchairs and with that were shattered their dreams for life. But as a Persian adage goes Himat-e-mardan, madad-e-Khuda (When men dare, God sends help), they took a pledge to do something great in their lives and get their calibre acknowledged by others. They chose wheelchair bound basketball for it.

Insha Bashir, 24, is in the forefront of the activity both as a player and a coach for budding players. She said, “When I met with an accident I went into a state of deep depression. I felt life is no longer worth living. My parents were also suffering with me”. However, she also said that after getting into games she feels “new and better”.

Insha is a national player today, representing Jammu and Kashmir. She takes pride in it and says, “I represent my state and I feel very good.”

Wheelchair basketball is played by people with varying physical disabilities that disqualify them from playing an able-bodied sport. Wheelchair basketball is included in the Paralympic Games and was first contested at the Summer Paralympic in Rome in 1960. The first national wheelchair basketball tournament in the world was held in Illinois, US, in 1949 with six teams. As the game soon become popular mainly, with those who had been disabled during the Second World War, the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF) was formed as the governing body for the sport, thereby promoting it in various continents including Africa, Europe, Americas and Asia and Oceania.

In India, the sport got its godmother in Madhavi Latha, a paralympic swimming champion, who initiated a movement “Yes We Too Can” for the sportsmen with disability in 2014. Soon the Wheelchair Basketball Federation of India (WBFI) came into existence to promote the sport.

The sport is becoming popular fast also in Jammu and Kashmir which has, during the three-decade old turmoil, witnessed a rapid increase in the number of disabled people. Many people were rendered disabled in traffic accidents.

Varun Ahlawat, who has been a wheelchair basketball coach for 10 years, said that the purpose of holding the workshop was to teach the Valley’s disabled young boys and girls how to play wheelchair basketball in a better way so that it becomes easy to get them included in the national team. “We are promoting girls in Kashmir. There are four such girls this time. We’re optimistic about one of them being selected for the international contests,” the Delhi-based coach said.

Insha said that basketball has become a part of her life and has helped her in putting up a fight. She has a message of hope for J&K’s disabled youth who wish to make a mark in sports. She said, “You should never give up. It takes time to come to terms…  I assure you, you will triumph over what you are carrying with you.”

Insha became disabled after she fell from the third floor of the family’s under construction house in central district of Budgam in 2009. She like, most other participants of workshop, learnt that disability is no barrier to achieving incredible things at a voluntary medicare society called Shafqat Rehabilitation Centre (VMS-SRC) which has been operating from Srinagar’s Bemina area since 2010.

source: http://www.asianage.com / The Asian Age / Home> India> All India / by Yusuf Jameel / August 25th, 2018

Ahmad Banday scores another ton in England

Sports, World Opinion, , , ,

JAMMU & KASHMIR :

BandayMPOs22aug2018

Talented young cricketer of J&K Ahmad Banday has scored another ton in England while playing in the T25 Wednesday Cricket League in Manchester England.

Having recently scored 173 run knock for Bury Cricket Club in Greater Manchester Cricket League, Banday on Wednesday turned up for Super Sixers in the T25 Wednesday League against Manchester Gladiators. Banday scored 146 run knock that included six sixes to lead his side to a dominating win. Batting first he helped Super Sixers post a total of 235 runs in allotted overs for the loss of six wickets. In reply Manchester Gladiators got all out for 150 run total.

To test his batting skills in tough conditions, Banday who was last year top run getter for J&K in Ranji trophy went to England this season. He joined Bury Cricket Club and Greater Manchester Cricket League. Initially struggling in batting, Banday finally found his touch and adjusted in the tough batting conditions. In the last match for Bury he scored mammoth ton of 173 runs. In the 12 matches he has scored 425 runs and also taken 22 wickets for his club.

“It is always good to score big hundreds and help team win. It is different league and different club. I play for Bury in Greater Manchester Cricket League and its matches are played only on Saturday’s while this T25 event is specifically played on Wednesday. To take full benefit of my stay in England and learn as much as I can, I opted to play in it,” said Banday.

“So far my stay in England has helped me in improving as batsman and I am confident that this new experience will help me in upcoming Ranji trophy season. I am looking forward to coming back to Kashmir and join my teammates for the preparation of the next season,” he added.

source: http://www.greaterkashmir.com / Greater Kashmir / Home> Sports / by Abid Khan, Srinagar / July 13th, 2018

Meet Nadeem Hussain, a Budgam boy who designed a scoreboard out of door hinges

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, Science & Technology, Sports, , ,

Chana Mohallah Village (Budgam District ), JAMMU & KASHMIR :

NadeemMPOs24jul2018

Budgam:

Nadeem Hussain Mir, 21, of district Budgam has designed a cricket scoreboard out of door hinges which has become a major attraction for the players and spectators at Budgam’s lone stadium in Paller village.

The manually operated scoreboard has been erected on the fencing of the playground.
Nadeem, a resident of Budgam’s Chana Mohallah village presented his scoreboard during the knock-out matches of a local tournament here in which Kashmir’s famous cricketer Manzoor Pandav is also participating.
His invention has stirred interest among the spectators here who remain updated about the score during cricket matches.
“In 2017, I noticed that cricket fans here were unable to keep a track of score and then an idea of designing a manually operating scoreboard struck my mind.”
Nadeem told ‘Kashmir Images’ that he wanted to make a scoreboard that would be different from a traditional number plate board. “Once I saw my father, who is a carpenter, fixing joints of a door with the hinges; then and there I began work on designing a score board out of door hinges.”
Nadeem, who is a student of final year, says that he had shared the idea with his friends, but received a negative response from them. “My friends told me that it was not feasible to make a scoreboard out of door hinges.”
“In 2018, I shared the idea again with my friends and I was told to give my idea a practical shape and was also given five thousand rupees by the organisers of the tournament,” he says.
He says that first of all he made a graph which took him many days to complete it. “I fixed 63 hinges on a blackboard. In order to make the scoreboard visible I painted the inside of each hinge with black color and colored those hinges yellow outside.”
When asked what people think of his invention, he says, “Everyone is lauding my effort.”
Nadeem says that a local player and one of the organisers of the tournament, Rameez Hassan, helped him to give his idea a practical shape. “Without the support of Rameez, it was impossible to even think of making a scoreboard.”
Nadeem is a famous chess player of his locality. He claims that no opponent has ever defeated him in a chess game.
source: http://www.thekashmirimages.com / Kashmir Images / Home> Budgam / by Abid Hussain / July 22nd, 2018