SPORTS
THE GOLDEN SPARROW ON SATURDAY JANUARY 23, 2016
PUNE
“You can’t expect MS Dhoni to do it every single time, and he has done well for India for such an amazingly long period of time. I would keep backing him to do this job for as long as he feels he can do the job.” — Mike Hussey, Former Australia Cricketer
“In my whole career I’ve given 100 percent. I gave everything I had, like always, and left nothing in the locker room and that’s something I can always be proud of.” —Lleyton Hewitt, Former World Number One Tennis
Bonanza for Pune’s cricket buffs A whole lot of cricket, with T20, Ranji Trophy, ODI and Test matches scheduled at MCA stadium in Gahunje TGS NEWS SERVICES @TGSWeekly The Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) will host a bonanza of cricket this year beginning with the India-Sri Lanka Twenty20 International at its Gahunje Stadium, on February 9. The weekday encounter between the two Asian rivals will be part of the three-match T20I series and will also serve as preparation ahead of the ICC T20 World Cup to be held in India in March-April. Besides the ‘lip-smacking’ and ‘ideal getaway’ daynight encounter, the 2015-16 Ranji Trophy final will also be played at the venue between February 24 and 28. Augmenting this list are a Test match and a One Day International (ODI), which will happen against the backdrop of the packed home schedule of the Indian team in 2016. “MCA is delighted to announce that cricket action this year will be across all forms of the game. While official international encounters – T20I, an ODI and a Test add spice, the Indian Premier League (IPL-9) will have a full schedule of home matches courtesy the new Pune franchise, while the Ranji Trophy final will be historic as it will be only for the second time that the city will host this showpiece BCCI
Signposts Double crown for Arnav Arnav Paprkar won a memorable double crown in the Arun Wakankar Memorial Trophy District Ranking Tennis Tournament in Mukundnagar. Arnav, who had won a double crown last week, continued his fine form and won the under-8 mixed event with a 7-1 win over Tej Oak. Later he outplayed Aaryan Rajput 7-2 in the boys’ under-10 final. Meanwhile, Daksh Agarwal stunned fifth seeded Abhirav Patankar 4-3(4), 4-1 to claim the boys’ under-12 title. Fourth seeded Arjun Gohad asserted his supremacy, ousting Aditya Pillai 4-0, 4-2 in U-14 final.
ONGC are champions Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) registered a 36-run win over Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) to emerge champions in the finals of the 21st PSPB veterans cricket tournament organised by Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) at the Deccan Gymkhana cricket ground. Batting first and riding on an unbeaten 68 runs by Pabitra Butta and 41 runs by Rajesh Bajwa, ONGC scored 161 runs for loss of one wicket in 20 overs. Chasing the score, IOCL was restricted to 125 runs, losing seven wickets in the process.
Manjusha dominates veteran badminton Manjusha Sahasrabudhe won a triple crown in the Old Monk veteran badminton tournament at PDMBA complex, Shivajinagar. Manjusha paired with Rajashree Bhave to win the women’s doubles (45+) event. They defeated Anjali Kunte and Pratibha Nair. Manjusha then won the above-50 women’s singles’ final beating Pratibha Nair 21-5 4-0. In the mixed doubles, Manjusha and Sameer Bhagwat prevailed over Deepak Patwardhan and Deepali Joshi. Meanwhile, Sameer Bhagwat and Harish Angolkar also won two events each.
tournament final. The fans and MCA couldn’t ask for more,” said MCA president Ajay Shirke. The Indo-Lanka T20I will thus be the third match to be played at the MCA Stadium, Gahunje. The other two were the India-England T20I played in 2012, which Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s Team India triumphed, and the India-Australia ODI played in 2013 that the hosts lost by 72 runs. The MCA will host Sri Lanka after ten years. The last time the teams met was at the MCA’s former home ground - Nehru Stadium, in 2005. Incidentally, the November 3, 2005 encounter was the last match played at the venue before MCA moved to the state-of-the-art stadium at Gahunje near Pune. NEHRU STADIUM TO BE INSPECTED Asked if the newly-renovated Nehru stadium will host Ranji matches, Shirke dodged the question, saying a decision will be taken by the BCCI. “They (BCCI) have set strict norms about hosting international matches. So I can’t c o m -
ment whether Nehru stadium will regain its past glory. The stadium will first be inspected by the committee and only then can we decide about hosting a Ranji match at the venue,” he said.
MCA BOYS TO TRAIN ON UNPREPARED WICKETS The last time the city hosted a Ranji final was when the sixth edition (1939-40) was played at the Poona Club ground between Maharashtra and United Provinces. For the record, Maharashtra won by ten wickets for their fi rst ever triumph. However, this season, Maharashtra failed to perform up to expectations and faced an early exit. Maharashtra managed to notch up just one win, drew five and lost two matches. But MCA’s selection committee chief Riyaz Bagwan blamed it on unprepared wickets. “Our boys put up a good show at the home ground. But against Delhi at Firoz Shah Kotla ground and against Vidarbha in Nagpur, we played on unprepared wickets. That affected our performance
The athlete, who had won a national title in city, sees Pune as a happy hunting ground
Gurmeet Singh, who became the fi rst Indian in 28 years to make it to the Games in the 20km walk event at the 2012 London Olympics, has qualified for the Rio Olympics 2018, too. The 30-year-old athlete is currently caught up in a hectic training schedule, and is determined to grab a podium finish in Brazil this time. The Jharkhand athlete was in Pune to promote a walking event organised by Max Bupa. Walk for Health is a fi rst-of-its-kind, 33-day walking event in India that aims to inspire Indians across 15 cities including Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Surat, Jaipur and Delhi to walk regularly. Gurmeet said, “Pune has always been a happy hunting ground for me. I won my fi rst national title in 2002 here and then kept winning several events. Pune citizens are drawn to fitness, which I have seen for myself during my 5km exhibition walk. A lot of people who saw me wanted to join in, but they could not leave their vehicles behind,” he said. Hard work Gurmeet was born in a small village in Uttarakhand, and started on his sporting career quite late. He had won a silver medal in the national junior championships in 2000, and was placed fi fth in the 2001 Asian Junior Athletics Championships in Brunei, but his performance took a turn for the better when he started training under Ramakrishna Gandhi. “I lost my father when I was just five. My mother raised me and it was
whether to shift to running or other athletic sports, and decided to make walking my prime event,” he said.
Ashish Mehrotra, CEO & MD, Max Bupa Health Insurance and (R) Gurmeet Singh
my cousin and national discus thrower Surjit Singh, who inspired me to take up sports as a career. Right from the start I was inclined towards walking, as it’s an individual sport and doesn’t need advanced equipment or trainer. I used to observe senior players and improve my stance. After seeing my dedication they started giving me tips,” said Gurmeet. But he has put in exceptionally concentrated efforts that have tested his physical limits. “During the under-16 age group events, we were allowed to participate in just 6km walking event. But I started participating in the open category and would finish the complete 20km route at a reasonable pace. That was quite difficult, but it boosted my confidence and then I was never in dilemma
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October 21, 2007- work started at the site November 14, 2009 - Commencement of Work December 21, 2011, - Soft launch followed by the fi rst ever Ranji Trophy match between Maharashtra and Himachal Pradesh April 1, 2012 – MCA Stadium inaugurated April 8 , 2012 – First-ever IPL match; Kings XI Punjab v Pune Warriors December 20, 2012 – First-ever international; India v England, Twenty20 October 13, 2013 – First-ever ODI; India v Australia, November 9, 2015 – BCCI grants MCA, Stadium Test status February 24, 2016 – First-ever Ranji Trophy Final
adversely,” he said. “It’s unfortunate that our boys are used to playing on good wickets right from age-group matches. They just can’t perform on unprepared wickets. To ensure better practice sessions, we should also have a couple of unprepared wickets, so it does not become a surprise factor for them.” TEST STATUS The MCA’s major upcoming fi xtures, particularly the Test match, come in the wake of the BCCI granted the MCA Stadium Test status in November last year. Incidentally, the stadium was shortlisted by the BCCI as a backup venue to host the fourth Test match between India and South Africa, which however did not happen. tgs.feedback @goldensparrow.com
Gurmeet Singh is aiming for an Olympic medal BY ASHISH PHADNIS @phadnis_ashish
All about Gahunje stadium
Rio preparations In March 2012, he set a time of 1:21:31 at the Asian Championships in Nomi, Japan and produced a similar result in 2015 at the same venue to qualify for the Rio Olympics. About his preparations for the Rio Games, Gurmeet said that he was currently in good form and is undergoing intense training sessions with his coach Dr Ramakrishna Gandhi at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) at Bangalore. “Several Indian athletes are training with the Russian coach Dr Nikolai Snesarev. However, I decided to remain with Dr Gandhi as we have better understanding and for the past few years, my performance has been improving. For the last five years, I have managed to finish the event in 1 hour 22 minutes, which is quite satisfactory. And I am sure that if I can reduce the time to 1 hour 18 minutes, I can grab an Olympic medal. I have scribbled 1.18 hours on the wall and I keep looking at it for inspiration,” he said. Before the Olympics, Gurmeet has several international events lined up. In April, he will participate in Asian Race Walking event in Japan, followed by IFF Challenge Meet in China. Then he will take part in World Walk Championship in Spain. “My coach says that these events will help me to get into rhythm and I will be able to fine tune my performance. I am not bothered about getting into the top 10. What I am aiming for is an Olympic medal,” he says. ashish.phadnis@goldensparrow.com
Shivajians grab a point in opener TGS NEWS SERVICES @TGSWeekly Debutant DSK Shivajians FC, who made their entry from second division to the I-League, started their campaign on a safe note. In their fi rst match, they frustrated Sporting Clube de Goa in their own ground, Goa with a goalless draw. Goa had lost their fi rst encounter 3-1 against East Bengal and came up with a slight change in playing XI. Coach Mateus Costa brought in Rowlin Borges for Cajetan Fernandes, whereas Glen Martins came in for Mauvin Borges. The game started with some exciting fare as both teams had chances galore of opening the scoring. But neither team could convert chances into goals. It was Shivajians’ Indrajeet Chougule, who had the fi rst chance. The winger skipped past his marker on the right to cut on to his left foot, but his curler went wide of Arindam Bhattacharya’s goal. Shivajians’ custodian Subrata Paul was kept busy in this encounter. In the 10th minute, Odafa Okolie, Goa’s striker, bullied past his marker in the
box and shot straight at Subrata, a strike he saved with ease. Mohammad Rafi also got a good opportunity within a few minutes. When he was unmarked in the box and could have done better, he missed with a wayward header on a DSK corner. As the game progressed towards the end of the fi rst half, players opted for safety and had fewer opportunities in the box. The second half was a similar story as both teams came close to taking the lead within the fi rst few minutes. It seemed almost as though both sides decided to turn up the ante in the second half, with more vigour and dynamism. Indrajit was in the thick of things for DSK in the second half, the youngster nearly scoring from 35 yards out, after a well taken attempt forced a gallant save from Arindam. Indrajit was at it again in the 56th minute, as he picked a ball from Surchandra, but his shot was off target. Th ree minutes into added time, Sporting came close to sealing the match, only for Marcus to be denied by Subrata again, who did enough to send the ball wide. tgs.feedback@goldensparrow.com