Relief for sprinter
The Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) has suspended the Hyperandrogenism (a medical condition characterised by excessive levels of androgens in the body) regulations of the world athletics body for two years and granted permission to top Odia sprinter Dutee Chand to compete in both national and international events. Dutee described the CAS verdict as a victory for female athletes who suffer because of Hyperandrogenism tests and regulations.
Straight drive
In the K. Thimmappiah Memorial Tournament held by the Karnataka State Cricket Association, the Odisha team displayed brilliant cricket in its first match against Assam. The state team pulled an emphatic victory wining the match by six wickets. It was the pacers Alok Chandra Sahoo who grabbed six wickets in the first innings and Suryakant Pradhan who took seven wickets in the second innings that turned the match in Odisha’s favour.
The Barabati Stadium in Cuttack will host its maiden T20 International between India and South Africa in October. An Odisha Cricket Association official said the T20 match would be played in Cuttack on October 5.
Football coaching
The FIFA Women’s exclusive grassroots coaching course was conducted at the Satyabrata Stadium in Cuttack. Only eight such courses will be conducted by the FIFA in India. In the Cuttack edition, 30 women candidates from various parts of the state took part. Anju Turambekar of the All India Football Federation was the instructor for this course while former national team captain Sradhanjali Samantray was the co-ordinator for the course. In the closing ceremony, around 100 girls took part in a special football event.
Sports awards
International hockey player from the state Birendra Lakra has been selected for the Biju Patnaik Sportsperson of the Year Award, the highest honour given by the state government, for the year 2014. Basketball player-turned-administrator Ashok Kumar Sahu, football coach Nanda Kishore Patnaik and sports journalist Satish Sharma have been selected for the Life-time Achievement Award, Outstanding Coach Award and Outstanding Sports Journalist Award, respectively.
Snooker league
The first Odisha Snooker Premier League has been announced by the Bhubaneswar-based Vintage Club. The first-of-its-kind event will be quite similar to the premier leagues in other sports. The snooker league will provide an opportunity to upcoming players to rub shoulders with the veterans, said an organiser. The tournament will commence on Spetember 2 and conclude on September 6. The winning team will get a cash prize of Rs 60,000 while the first runner-up bags Rs 30,000 and the second runner-up gets Rs 15,000. The auction of the players took place at Hotel Crown in Bhubaneswar on Sunday. There are four teams for the premier league such as Q-ing Saddles owned by Autojinx, Baize Rulers owned by Blue Tech Products, Purple Squirrel owned by Purple Squirrel, and Blue Hawks owned by J.S. Industries and Cresco Constructors.
Rugby rules
Odia girls lifted the Rugby Championship Trophy at the All-India Senior National Rugby-7s held in Patna. Odisha smashed Bengal 27-5 in the final. Earlier in the semi-finals, Odisha demolished Bihar 41-0. The eves had won all the four of their Pool-X matches by huge margins to qualify for the quarterfinals. In the league, they won against Bengal 10-0, Delhi 20-0, Bihar 27-0, Jharkhand 25-0. They defeated Chhattisgarh 32-0 in the first quarterfinals. Hupi Majhi’s performance was noteworthy in most matches.
