Castle move
The State U-11 Chess Championship will be hosted from June 5 to 7 at the railway institute in Cuttack. The event is being organised by SR Chess Centre with the support of Cuttack District Chess Association and All Odisha Chess Association. Those players born on or after January 1, 2004 are eligible to take part in the three-day event that will feature seven rounds in open and girls categories. The top two players of open segment and top three players in girls' segment will be selected to represent the state in the respective national events to be held in Pondicherry from July 13.
Five in a row
Hockey Odisha claimed their fifth consecutive title in the Hockey India Sub-junior Men's National Championship (Division A) by defeating Hockey Haryana 4-1 in the final at Dhyan Chand National Stadium in Delhi. The other team from Odisha, Hockey Gangpur finished a respectable third despite playing in the Division A for the first time after winning the Division B title last year.
For the champion team, performances of Sabyasachi Minz and Suman Beck stood out.
They were adjudged the tournament’s best goalkeeper and best defender respectively. Hockey Odisha secretary Pratap Satpathy congratulated the players and support staff for winning the title again.
Cricket camp
Sahid Sporting hosted a summer cricket coaching camp at their club in Saheed Nagar, Bhubaneswar. It began on May 9 and concluded on Sunday. Eighty young cricketers from all across the state took part in the camp. They were taught batting techniques and were also also groomed in bowling and fielding. Ranji players and even international cricketers such as Debasis Mohanty gave them tips, said club secretary Pankaj Patnaik. Saurav Sehgal, P Jaychandra and many more former Ranji players were present at the valedictory ceremony.
Paramount Sporting is in a great form in the first Junior Cricket League, which is being organised by Town Club at their own ground in Old Town, Bhubaneswar from May 23. They have won two back-to-back matches and have already made it to the semi-final. The tournament features10 clubs divided into three groups and after completion of group league, two teams from Group A and one each from Group B and C will advance to the semi-final. The other teams include host Town Club, Greens Academy Jagruti Club, Pragati Sporting, BBCA, Rameswar Sporting, Sahid Sporting and Oscar Sporting. The final match will be held on June 7.
Top corner
African XI emerged champions in the second All-India Neelachal Express Football Tournament by defeating local favourite Sports Academy, Jatni in the final by 2-0 goals at Railway Stadium in Jatni. The champion team received a cash prize of Rs 50,000 and the runner-up got Rs 30,000. East Coast Railway chief mechanical engineer Prem Chandra handed over the trophy. Eleven teams participated in the tournament, which was organised by East Coast Railway Sports Association, Khurda Road Division.
Rugby selection
Odisha Rugby’s Muna Murmu and Bikash Kumar Jena have been selected for in the national team. They will be going to Tashkent, Uzbekistan, to play in rugby tournament from May 27-30. The duo will be a part of the Asian 15-A-Side Rugby Championship. Muna has been representing India for the past three years in Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Thailand. The selection-cum-coaching camp for the upcoming tourney was held in New Delhi.
