Weightlifter Ravi Kumar made the state proud by winning the Arjuna Award. Football fever continues to grip the state with Yuva Bandhu Cultural Group emerging as winners in the second division football league. The Bhubaneswar women’s team emerged victorious at the central rugby tournament while Ashutosh Padhi won the sub-junior title in snooker. The Telegraph turns the spotlight on these bright stars.

Football fever

The state continues to be in the grip of football fever as a number of events continue to take place in Cuttack and Bhubaneswar. The second division football league conducted by the Football Association of Orissa (FAO) came to an end on Sunday with Yuva Bandhu Cultural Group winning the championship. Their final super-league match was held at the Bidanasi Ground against Lalbag Club. The match ended in a goalless draw. With five points from their three matches, Yuva Bandhu topped the points' table. With the title, the team will be seen in next year's first division football league. On the other hand, in the first division league being played at Barabati Stadium, the match between Azad Hind Club and Bidanasi Club ended in a goalless draw, while Jay Durga Club won 3-1 against SBI on Monday. The super league stage of the championship will begin from August 4. The capital city, meanwhile, is gearing up for the upcoming Bhubaneswar Football League that was announced on Monday. Organised by the Bhubaneswar Athletic Association, the league will begin from second week of August.

Promise for more

The announcement of Arjuna Award for Orissa's golden boy, weightlifter Ravi Kumar, has brought joy to the state. But what holds promise for the state is the arrival of several young weightlifters. Five weightlifters from Orissa have made it to the national youth team. They are Achyutananda Sahu, Minati Das, Pramila Kirsani, Subhalakshmi Mohanty and Kiran Kumari Digal. The young weightlifters were chosen for their brilliant performance at the recently held camp in Bangalore. They will represent India at the Asian Youth Weightlifting Championships to be held in September in Thailand and at the Commonwealth Youth Weightlifting Championship in South Africa in October.

Cue sports

Cueists from the state are going strong at the National Cue Sports Championship at Chennai. While Ashutosh Padhy won the sub-junior title in snooker, he, along with Chirag Arora, is going strong in the junior category. State senior rank player Subrat Das, who recently won the state doubles title (snooker and billiards), is also cruising along in the initial rounds of the senior category. Other players from Orissa at the event are Amit Lath and Jeet Kishore Das.

Bull’s eye

KIIT engineering student Saurav has made it to the national team, which will participate in the fourth Youth Archery Championship to be held in Poland next month.

He is one of the three members of the Indian contingent to represent the country at the archery event. The selection was done at SAI Sports in Calcutta.

The team will be leaving for Poland in August.

Rugby crown

A buzz gripped the rugby field as the Bhubaneswar team won the Central Women's Rugby Sevens tournament held last weekend at Raipur in Chattisgarh. They defeated the women's team from KISS in the finals. The result was decided through a toss after both teams were level at 5-5 at the end of the game.

Oriya boy Rajeev Kumar Nath, competition assistant and sports specific volunteer for rugby at Commonwealth 2010, is coaching rugby hopefuls in Bhubaneswar. A former rugby player, Rajeev has been an international referee at the Tag Rugby Tournament in Uganda and Namibia.

Chess champs

Orissa players put up a spectacular show at the Under-7 Chess Championships held in Pune. Chess players from more than 23 states participated in the tournament. The top 20 prize winners - both boys and girls - were selected based on their performance and ranking.

Orissa won the National Championship and master Sambit Panda took the first place with nine points from 11 rounds.

He will represent India in the World Youth Chess, Asian Youth Chess and Commonwealth Chess Championship 2012.

Niranjana Aishwarya Das from the girls' section played in the top board and won the fourth place by upsetting Rakshita Ravi of Tamil Nadu.

Soumen Rajdev secured the fifth place while Baibhab Singh stood 10th in the tournament.