Odia weightlifter K. Ravi Kumar may have crashed out of the Olympics but nevertheless made sports lovers in the state proud. Many other Odia sportspersons too shone in various disciplines last week, with some of them having been chosen for national and international events to be held later this month.

Odia weightlifter K. Ravi Kumar in action at the Olympics in London on Tuesday. His Olympic 2012 journey ended on a dismal note when he finished sixth in Group B of the 69kg category. He lifted 303kg with 136kg in snatch and 167kg through clean and jerk. (AFP)

 

Kick off

The Football Association of Odisha First Division League started at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack last week. Twenty-six clubs from all over the state are taking part in the tournament. A total of 111 matches will be played during the event. The teams have been divided into four groups to play in the preliminary league stage. Three teams from each group would qualify for the super league.

These 12 teams would form two groups to clash in the super league stage and the top two from each group would meet in the semi-finals. The tournament will continue till September 30.

Checkmate

Mahitosh Dey from Bhubaneswar and Aditi Mohanty from Cuttack performed very well at the 26th National Under-7 Chess Championship that concluded in Pondicherry last week. Mahitosh emerged runners-up in the open category while Aditi stood third in the girls’ category. Both have been selected for the World and Asian Under-8 Chess Championships to be held next year at Dubai and Vietnam, respectively.

Earlier, the 26th Bhubaneswar Schools Chess Tournament concluded at Secretariat Recreation Club last week. Ritesh Mohapatra from St. Joseph High School in the capital emerged champion while five players shared the top position securing seven points each. The other top scorers were Anant Prava Nayak of Kendriya Vidyalaya No. 4 who was runners-up and Subham Jyoti Nanda (St. Xavier HS, Kedargouri), Parag Sanket Mohanty (Puri) and Cuttack boy Pratyush Mohanty. Bhubaneswar Chess Association working president Smruti Ranjan Das and secretary Arati Bijoy Mohanty were present at the prize-giving ceremony.

Champ’s visit

Reigning World Chess Champion Grandmaster Vishwanathan Anand was in Bhubaneswar for the first time on Sunday. Chess players and followers greeted the chess wizard with enthusiasm wherever he went. Anand spent some time with the All Odisha Chess Association team members who congratulated him for his magnificent victory against Israeli chess player Boris Gelfand at the world championships in Russia. Anand interacted with players such as Swayangshu Satyapragyan and Saina Salonika, the youngest Woman Candidate Master of chess in the state.

Martial law

The Silver Jubilee State Karate Championship concluded at Saheed Nagar Indoor Hall in Bhubaneswar on July 29.

The three-day state meet saw 300 competitors from 20 districts of the state. Anupama Swain (Bhubaneswar) won the women black belt kumite while Dilip Jena, Santosh Moharana and Debasish Mohanty, all from Bhubaneswar, won the 55kg, 61kg and 67kg category kumite titles, respectively. Khurda won the Men’s Black Belt Team Kata while Bhubaneswar won the Men Team Kumite.

Victory in Spain

Odia boy Avilash Mishra (extreme right in picture) won the Elcha U-16 National Junior Tennis Championship Title at Elcha, Spain last week. He defeated Mesia Jose Antonio of Italy 6-7, 6-0, 10-7 in the semi-finals and in the finals, he defeated Alexandro Diaz of Spain in straight sets 6-4, 6-2 and received a prize coupon worth 200 Euros.

“I would like to thank my team, especially my coach S.C. Sarangi and director coaching S.S. Tennis Academy who took all pains to help me reach this level,” said the young tennis player. Other Odisha players Ayush Panda, Nishant Mohanty, and Adarsh Sahoo lost in the final qualifying round after winning two rounds while another player Nishant lost in the knock-out rounds.

Odia weightlifter K. Ravi Kumar in action at the Olympics in London on Tuesday. His Olympic 2012 journey ended on a dismal note when he finished sixth in Group B of the 69kg category. He lifted 303kg with 136kg in snatch and 167kg through clean and jerk. (AFP)