Posts filed under ‘Sports’
Hockey excellence center to be moved from Rourkela to Bhubaneswar
Following is a report from the Sambad:
Cricket academy for women to be setup in Balangir
Following PTI report is from http://www.cricketcountry.com/:
A women cricket academy would be established in Odisha’s Balangir, Odisha Cricket Association (OCA) Secretary Asirbad Behera said on Monday.
OCA would provide various facilities for the running of the academy, where women cricketers under 19 years would be given coaching, said Behera who was felicitated by the Balangir District Athletic Association.
Madhu Mehetta and Roshnara Parwin, two women playing for India, are from Balangir.
Expressing satisfaction at the proposed academy, cricket coach Arun Naik said it would help in tapping hidden talents.
Following is a report from the Sambad:
Sundergarh: India’s mine of hockey jewels
Following report is from NDTV:
New Delhi: It is a blazing hot afternoon, a group of 4-5 boys are sitting under the shade of a mango tree with hockey sticks in their hands. The kids are from a village a few kilometres off Sundergarh town, a place where no one speaks or talks about cricket, it is hockey all the way. Ask anyone about their favourites sportsperson and it is hockey player, most prefer and idolise Dileep Tirkey, cricket does not even feature in the list. Most of the local tournaments held here are not fancy affairs, at times the prize is a goat.
Sundergarh belongs to impoverished region of the Chotha Nagpur Plateau, a place which has great mineral wealth, yet has seen little or no development. The region is famous for producing world class hockey players and being good is at the time the only hope for a secured future. It is not a cakewalk for most of them, the dream involves endlessly hours of honing their skills with makeshift bamboo sticks, poles serve as goalposts.
Drenched in sweat and a bruised leg to show off, 10-year-old Amit Tirkey, dribbles with a piece of stick bent at one end. He is too poor to afford a proper hockey stick. Mention the name of any of the famous hockey players from this region and his eyes light up. He adds, “I share the same surname as Dileep Tirkey and I want to be a great player like him, but I want to be a midfielder or a forward and not a defender.” When asked why, he adds, “I like to score goals and not stop goals”. Pat comes a tap on his head from his friend, who dares him to score a goal and off they go to play on the dusty and stony surface, the joy clearly evident for all to see.
The question that everyone wants to know is how and why did the game become so famous in this part of the country? Some believe that the Christian missionaries were the main reason for spreading the game. Sampad Mahapatra, a journalist who has covered the region for decades, points out that most of the players who have played for the country belong to the Oram tribe. Most of the Orams are Christians. Mr Mahapatra adds, along with hockey a host of other games were also introduced, but it is hockey which became a rage.
What also works in their favour is their never ending stamina and strong legs.
For those who graduate to the next level, there is a SAI academy in Panposh, near Rourkela. The academy which is meant to provide a platform to raw talent, does not really live up to it mark. The amenities are very few and those available do not live up to the standards. The state hockey association is based in Cuttack and officials only make infrequent trips to the region, much to the disgust of the locals in the region. The locals believe that people will continue to play the game, but what they question is for how long in the midst of very little support from the state administration. If the apathy continues, the game will die a slow and painful death.
Silent soccer revolution taking place in Sambalpur football academy
Following report is from the Hindu:
Tucked away some 15 km from the bustling western Odisha town of Sambalpur a dream has taken shape in the form of the Sambalpur Football Academy (SFA). And the vision has begun to make an impact in the life of youth in the State. The Academy, established on a sprawling 18-acre property very close to the Hirakud Dam , is complete with three full-sized playfields, a state-of-the-art gymnasium, accommodation for nearly 100 boys of different age groups, a dining hall, a well-equipped kitchen, class rooms, a three-storied guest house, swimming pool and a well-stocked store room. Apart from learning the nuances of the game, the boys are given compulsory education in a Government-affiliated school.
Having come into existence on November 22, 2008, the SFA has made a marked difference to soccer in the State. Two of the leading clubs of Cuttack have based their teams on the SFA boys. More are eyeing talent from this academy.
The SFA, an initiative of former minister, player and a soccer lover Jaynarayan Mishra, is run on self-finance and donations. The MLA of the area for the third successive term, Mishra’s project is contributing to the development of tribal welfare. As much as 90 per cent of the boys are tribals of the State. The rest of the trainees are from Jharkhand, West Bengal, Assam and even Manipur.
Top-class players
The teaching staff is all from the region which helps the boys and the faculty to interact better. Apart from well-qualified coaches, headed by technical director Sanmoy Basu, the academy has a doctor, a dietician and administrative staff to run the programme smoothly.
“We spend close to Rs 1.5 crore per year on the project. The biggest problem we face is lack of exposure to our boys against better teams. We are planning to send our boys to Kolkata to play in local league,” Mishra says.
After organising a football festival for schools in the area, the academy coaches fan out to other States to choose boys for the academy. At present, there are 25 boys in the under-14 group, 24 in U-16, 20 in U-19 and 20 more senior boys.
Pritam Singh is presently in the National under-17 camp in Goa. Sayed Viju Oasim, Golak Pradhan and Prakash Naik were part of the group of Indian boys trained at Arsenal and A.C. Milan academies. The best boys play for Samaleswari FC, owned by the academy.
“The main objective is to produce top-class players through promotion of the game at the grass-root level. In less than four years we have successfully created the right atmosphere in and around the district and the State,” the chairman of the SFA points out. “We need to tie-up with an I-League side. The rest will fall in place.”
The SFA is indeed the beginning of a silent soccer revolution.
Balangir girl in national cricket team
Following report is from the Telegraph:
Bhubaneswar, Feb. 4: Odisha girl Madhuri Mehta has been included in the national senior women’s cricket team for its upcoming tour of West Indies.
Madhuri, who is from Balangir, caught the selectors’ attention by scoring 36 and 40 against Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka, respectively, in T20 matches held in Cuttack last month.
The Odisha Cricket Association (OCA) today announced a cash award of Rs 1 lakh for Madhuri.
Madhuri said: “My brother and father helped me shape my career. I have been playing cricket for the last five years. I have also conveyed my feelings to the Odisha Cricket Association for their support in shaping my career.”
OCA secretary Ashirbad Behera said: “We spotted Madhuri when she played for the Balangir district team three years ago. She will certainly emerge as a good player for the Indian women’s cricket team.”
The Indian team will play five T20 and three One-Day Internationals in the West Indies. Anjum Chopra will lead the team in the series.
Another report from the Hindu:
Anjum Chopra replaced Jhulan Goswami as the skipper of the Indian women’s cricket team ahead of its West Indies tour. Goswami will continue to spearhead the attack.
India will play five Twenty20 matches and three ODIs in the tour that will commence from February 18.
The team:
Anjum Chopra (captain), Mithali Raj (vice-captain), Jhulan Goswami, Harmanpreet Kaur, Veda Krishnamurthy, Subhalaxmi Sharma, Diana David, Sunitha Anand, Gouhar Sultana, Mamtha Kanojia, Archana Das, Ekta Bist, Amita Sharma, Madhuri Mehta and Sulakshna Naik.
Balangir girl “Madhuri Mehta” finds place in the Indian women’s cricket team
Following is a report from the Samaja:
Badminton players make Balangir proud
Following report is from the Telegraph:
Balangir, Sept. 29: Balangir is emerging as a power-centre in the state badminton scene with players from here regularly making it to national-level tournaments.
Two young shuttlers from Balangir have qualified to play in national-level tournaments after they won the doubles title for men (under-19) at the state badminton championship organised by Orissa Badminton Association at Cuttack recently.
This follows Balangir’s phenomenal success last year in the state badminton championship at Talcher where two boys — Abhimanyu Bagarty, 12, son of a rickshaw-puller, and Surendra Nepal, 14, son of a daily labourer — emerged champion at the mini (under-13) and sub-junior level respectively and qualified to play at national level.
The reigning champion duo, Akash Nanda, and Abhishek Babu, both 18, are at present playing in an east zone tournament in Patna.
Secretary of District Badminton Association (DBA) of Balangir Suru Matari said they encourage young boys, especially those coming from the lower strata of the society. “We know that Balangir has potential in the field of sports and we look for hidden talents. Apart from providing free coaching, we provide help such as playing equipment, track suit and shoes to them. We are very happy that our efforts have paid off well as the two boys have made us proud by emerging champion and qualifying to play at the national level,” Matari said.
DBA treasurer Shankarlal Barai, who accompanied the players at the state meet, was very happy with the success of the players.
“At least seven of our players performed beyond our expectations. In fact, the champion duo, Akash and Abhisek, defeated another pair from Balangir, Akram Khan and Debapriya Negi, in the final. They had entered the final by defeating yet another pair from Balangir — Chandan Mishra and Surendra Nepal. Chandan Mishra also reached the semi-final in the singles (under-19). It’s an all-Balangir show at the state meet. The Balangir boys have been doing extremely well at the state meets and national level tournaments on a regular basis,” Barai said.
Ghanashyam Mishra, who coached the boys, said both Akash and Abhisek were very talented. “Winning titles in this tournament ensures a chance to play in the national level. I am really excited by the performance of players from Balangir who have done so well despite all odds. A small sponsorship would help them to improve their game in the future,” he said.
Kosal Discussion and Development Forum 