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GYMNAST ARUNA REDDY GIVES INDIA FIRST WORLD CUP MEDAL AsianVoiceNews
Gymnast Aruna Reddy made history when she became India’s first World Cup medal winner with a bronze in Melbourne. The vault, made famous in India by Dipa Karmakar, once again proved the launch pad for a woman gymnast from the country. Aruna wanted a ‘Karate Kid’ story for herself, she even has a black belt to show for it. Narayan Reddy, her sports-mad accountant father had other plans in mind. He got her enrolled in an academy in Hyderabad as an eight-year old. “Every medal I will win is dedicated to my father who died in 2010,” she said. Training alongside Dipa under coach Bisweswar Nandi at national camps since 2011, playing second fiddle to Dipa had become a routine of sorts for Aruna. India’s first gymnastics World Cup bronze medal marks a serious emerging from the shadows for Aruna Reddy. A cloudy evening in Melbourne provided a sliver lining. All of 22, Aruna promptly took
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the plunge. It was historymaking, even if meant missing out on silver by a mere 0.05 points. She managed an average score of 13.649 points to finish behind gold winner Tjasa Kysslef (13.800) of Slovenia and Australia’s Emily Whitehead (13.699), who clinched silver. The other Indian in the fray, Pranti Nayak, finished sixth in the final with 13.416. “Indian gymnastics is synonyms to Dipa, but now people will know that there’s Aruna Reddy as well,” the Hyderabad girl said of Dipa Karmakar, the better known training partner. “We have been training together since 2011. We are not rivals and can’t be. We are each other’s support system during training and competition time. We treat each other as sisters and are close friends. Her hard work actually inspires me. Even before leaving for this competition, Dipa had motivated me by telling me to give my best shot and not to feel the pressure,” she added.
Aruna Reddy
India’s Vikas adjudged 'Best Boxer' Indian boxer Vikas Krishan who won a gold medal at Strandja, Bulgaria, was adjudged as the best boxer of the tournament – a first for an Indian. The 26-yearold defeated world championships bronze-medallist Troy Isley of the USA in the middle-weight (75kg) finals to claim his first medal since the Asian Championships bronze last year. It was big turnaround for Vikas, who had not just been laid low by a hand injury but had also found himself in the disciplinary line of fire after giving a walkover in his Asian Championships semifinal last year. "It is a big comeback for me and I feel I am a much The Indian chapter of Football For Peace (FFP) was launched in Mumbai by former Manchester United captain Nemanja Vidic and Bollywood actor Ranveer Singh. The inaugural peace match will be held on the premises of Indian Parliament later this year. Established by Chilean legend Elias Figueroa in 2006, the Football For Peace gathered momentum in 2013 when British south Asian footballer Kashif Siddiqi turned it into an international movement. “Football has been a great unifying force across the globe. The FFP has been using football
Vikas Krishan
stronger boxer now. Maintaining my weight at an optimum level, which used to be a problem earlier, is no longer an issue for me. I have also improved my technique and endurance," Vikas said. Along with Vikas, Amit Panghal (49kg) claimed a gold medal, rounding off India's best ever performance at the tournament. The country ended with 11 medals - five from men and six from women boxers. In all, the contingent clinched two gold, three silver and six bronze medals.
Vikas, the former Asian Games gold medal winner, who is also a world championships bronze-medallist, said he also cleared some mental cobwebs to get back in form. Finishing with silver medals were M C Mary Kom (48kg), who got a raw deal in the final, Seema Poonia (+81kg) and Gaurav Solanki (52kg). The bronze medal winners among the women were Meena Kumari Devi (54kg), L Sarita Devi (60kg), Saweety Boora (75kg) and Bhagyabati Kachari (81kg). Among the men, last edition's silver-medallist Mohammed Hussamuddin (56kg), and former Asian Games bronze-medallist Satish Kumar (+91kg) ended in third position.
Asian Voice | 3rd March 2018
Kohli achieves rare feat in ICC rankings
Virat Kohli
India captain Virat Kohli became the second batsman ever after South Africa’s AB de Villiers to have earned more than 900 rating points in ICC Rankings, in Test and ODI cricket concurrently. He also became the first Indian batsmen ever to have breached the 900-point mark in ODIs, extending his lead over de Villiers. Kohli now has 909 points, well ahead of de Villiers who has 844. Kohli’s 909 rating points are also the highest in the last 27 years since Australia’s Dean Jones in 1991, who then had earned 918 points. Before Kohli’s feat, de Villiers has been the only batsman to have carried more than 900 rating points in both Test and ODI cricket. It was in 2015 that de Villiers had 902 points in ODIs, while in Tests, he had 935. Averaging a mindboggling 186, Kohli hammered a record 558 runs with three centuries and one halfcentury, and was dismissed only thrice as India won the T20 series 5-1. It also marked the
Football For Peace launched in India diplomacy to bring people together by promoting peace since its inception,” Nemanja Vidic said. “I am sure it can pay a huge role in making India a more tolerant society,” he added. “We have organised Peace Matches at many locations, including at the Vatican, the Eiffel Tower and the Big Ben. We have begun the process of organising India’s match at the Parliament in New Delhi,” Kashif Siddiqi, who has played in UK’s professional league, said. “We will be inviting
British Deputy High Commissioner Crispin Simon hands the ball over to FFP's co-founder Kashif Siddiqi
Indian prime minister Narendra Modi to play in this match. We are also looking at other world
celebrities, like David Beckham, the Prince of Monaco, as also top diplomats and India’s senior
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politicians to bring about awareness for FFP’s initiatives,” he added. The FFP, which is supported by the English Premier League and the UK Foreign Office, will identify 10-12 cities in India as part of its Cities for Peace initiative. “Close to 1,600 kids in the age group of 7-14 years will be selected in each of these cities. They will be part of a year-long project, which will include 60% classroom education and 40% football training. Once we reach 5,000 kids,
first instance of a batsman scoring more than 500 runs in a bilateral series. “Kohli has thus moved ahead of Brian Lara in the all-timers’ list, having also overtaken him in the all-timers’ Test list last month. Kohli is now seventh in the ODI list of all-time rankings that is led by Vivian Richards with 935 points and the India captain is now a good 22 points clear of Sachin Tendulkar, whose ODI career high of 887 points came against Zimbabwe in January 1998. Kohli’s aggregate is the best since Brian Lara reached 911 points in March 1993,” the ICC said in its release. Among the bowlers, India’s Jasprit Bumrah and Afghanistan sensation Rashid Khan earned joint 787 rating points and occupy the first two spots respectively. South Africa captain Faf du Plessis, who played only in the first ODI against India and scored a fine century, moved up one position to reach the eighth spot. we will declare it a City of Peace,” Kashif explained. The FFP is supported by footballing legends like Pele, Ronaldinho as well as The Duke of Cambridge, Prince William and Albert II, Prince of Monaco. “The work of Football for Peace is important and the fact that sport can do this, bridge so many barriers is fantastic,” The Duke of Cambridge, Prince William stated. “The FFP is a great initiative. The UK Foreign Office is delighted to be part of the entire project,” Crispin Simon, the British Deputy High Commissioner, said.