Mixed bag
Odia boy Shubham Nayak is representing India in the ongoing Under-19 tri-series hosted by India. Bangladesh and Afghanistan are also taking part in the tournamnet. Nayak, an off-spinner, who features regularly in the junior Odisha team, played against Afghanistan. He took a wicket and conceded only 25 runs in seven overs resulting in India’s win.
In the Under-19 Cooch Behar Trophy, Subhranshu Senapati, the skipper of the Odisha team, scored a brilliant 275 while middle order batsman Saurabh Rawat scored 158 in a match against Baroda held at Vadodara. While the visiting Odisha team scored 552 in their first innings in the four-day match, Baroda gave a befitting reply with M.G. Patel’s 148 and were inching closer to cross the Odisha score and getthree points from the match.
Odisha eves’ team finally won a match in the women's inter-state one-day cricket tournament played at Rajkot. After losing three matches at a streak and ending the hope of entering into the quarter-finals, Odisha successfully chased the 173 target against Andhra Pradesh. Madhusmita Behera scored a half-century. The match was played on Monday.
Football action
In the FAO (Football Association of Odisha) League, Sunshine Club defeated Kishore Club 1-0 on Monday while Chand Club defeated Utkal Club 1-0 in the two matches played at Cuttack. Anand Samada scored the only goal of the match for Sunshine Club while Karunakar Singh for Chand Club got the ball into the net in the second match. On Tuesday, Radhagobind Club and SBI along with Sunrise Club and Rising Stars are locking horns. FAO League is an annual tournament played among clubs from different parts of the state and players are selected for the state team based on their performance in the competitive tournament.
Padmini on top
International Master (IM) Padmini Rout is all set to win the prestigious National Premier Women’s Chess championship title played in Calcutta for the second consecutive year. Though one round remains to be played, Padmini, who has been leading from the second placed contestant with a clear margin of one point is going to be the winner. While she has 8.5 points at the end of 10 rounds, her closest contestant Woman Grand Master (WGM) Swati Ghate is locked at 7.5 points. Even if Padmini loses her last round, and Swati wins the 11th round, Padmini would still emerge winner since she had defeated Swati in a previous round. The top 12 women players in the country are taking part in the premier chess tournament. Padmini entered the tournament as the defending champion while others were selected through challengers.
Kho kho meet
Odisha men’s and women’s Kho kho teams are busy participating in the 49th National Senior Kho kho Championship being held at Solapur in Maharastra from November 23 to 27. While the men's team consists of 12 players and is accompanied by coach Bhuban Mohan Das, the women’s team has 11 players along with coach Shasmita Ojha.
Ping pong champs
Saheel Suman Bhuyan of Cuttack and Anusweta Hembram of Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) emerged winners in the cadet boys’ and girls’ categories of the 21st Inter-district and Odisha State Table Tennis Championship held from November 15 to 17 at NTPC, Kaniha. Bikash Singh of RSP won in the youth men’s category while Ananya Basak of Khurda and Asif Haque of RBI became winners of men’s and women’s singles events. In men’s team event, Cuttack-A emerged winners while in the junior boys’ team event, Cuttack beat RSP.
Grappling time
The first grappling training programme in the state was organised at Utkal Karate School by the recently formed Grappling Association. The organisers stated that for the upcoming national grappling event to be held in Haryana from November 27 to 29, players from the state were selected from the training camp that was held on November 21 and 22. Around 70 sportspersons had taken part in the training camp. International grappling coach Shaker Saberi from Afghanistan provided training to the participants.
Skate away
Around 75 young roller skaters from various parts of the state took part at the two-day Odisha State Open Roller Skating Championship held at Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar on November 22 and 23. Competitions were held in speed skating and artistic skating. The tournament was organised by the Bhubaneswar Roller Skating Association and Odisha Skating Academy to promote the culture of roller skating.
Bullseye
A four-lane electronic shooting range was inaugurated by the State Rifle Association at the Utkal Karate Association on Friday. As many as four electronic target systems of Sius Ascor that had been used in the Olympics were fixed at the shooting range. Besides, sound proof materials have been used on the walls of the air-conditioned rooms and the arena is properly lit up. This is touted as the first-of- its-kind electronic shooting range in the state. It has been built to prepare shooters from the state to represent the country.
