Hockey high 

Four women hockey players from the state have been selected in the 17-member national women's hockey team. They will play a four-nation tournament in Darwin, Australia, from May 30. Defenders Sunita Lakra and Deep Grace Ekka, midfielder Namita Toppo and striker Lilima Minz will take part in the tournament, which is seen as a preparation for the upcoming Rio Olympics. Sushila Chanu Pukhrambam has been named captain of the team while Deepika is vice-captain. The tournament will also feature hosts and world No. 3 Australia, fourth-ranked New Zealand and world No. 10 Japan. The tournament will give the Odia players some  exposure.

Smart dodge

Bidanasi Club of Cuttack won the first semi-final of the All-Indian Kalinga Cup football tournament played at Barabati Stadium in Cuttack. The local team defeated Indian Railways 5-4 goals in a tiebreaker on Monday. The match was played under floodlights and the spectators cheered for Bidanasi. The match remained goalless in the permitted time following which a tiebreaker was held. The Bidanasi goalkeeper managed to save a goal that helped his team enter the final. The second semi-final will be played between Army-XI and Mohammedan Sporting, Calcutta. The winner will clash with Bidanasi for the title. The tournament is organised by the state sports and youth affairs department and Football Association of Odisha. 

Sprint away

Nine athletes from the state will be taking part in the 13th National Youth Athletics Championship to be held at Kozhikode in Kerala from May 26 to 28.  The team includes three boys and six girls. While Pranjit Kujur and Biplabini Sha (both from Cuttack) will take part in the 100 and 200 metres boys' and girls’ event respectively, Krishna Munda of Bhubaneswar and Binkash Barwa of Sundargarh will take part in the boys’ 400 metres and 400 metres hurdles respectively. The Odisha Athletic Association announced the team on Monday. The other women players include Rashmita Chinhara (800 metres), Sunita Oram (1,500 metres), Salmi Kispotta (discus throw and shot put), Carmela Barla and Sanjukta Minz (javelin throw).

Straight sets

Rutuparna Choudhury from Odisha won both the singles and doubles title at the girls’ All India Tennis Association (AITA-Under-16 Championship Series Tennis Tournament at the Sports Cult Tennis Academy, Bangalore, on May 20. The Bhubaneswar girl defeated Luxmi Sahiti Reddy from Andhra Pradesh in straight sets (6-2, 7-5) in the singles final. In the doubles final, Rutuparna partnered with Aditi Narayan from Andhra Pradesh to defeat Vijayvani and Joshika 6-3, 6-3. The winning stints helped Rutuparna increase the number of her total AITA titles to 27, including 17 singles and 10 
doubles. 

Karate chop

The Odisha junior karate team won one gold and five bronze medals at the National Junior Karate Championship held at Talkatora Stadium in New Delhi. The event was held between May 20 and May 22. Abhishek Pattnaik, who had won a gold medal in the Commonwealth Championship in the 18-20 age category, got a bronze medal on the concluding day. A 29-member team of players from different age groups (sub-junior, junior and cadet) along with officials had gone from the state to take part in the competition. The Odisha Karate Association had selected the players. The karatekas trained at the Utkal Karate Association hall in Bhubaneswar before they left for New Delhi.

Moves that matter

The 9th KIIT International Chess Festival was inaugurated on May 23 on the varsity campus in Bhubaneswar. The tournament will be played in three different categories. In the elite category, a total of 220 players are taking part in the 9-round meet that includes chess players from India, Bangladesh, Russia, US, Uzbekistan, South Africa, Nepal, Bhutan, Kazakhstan, Sierra Leone, Canada, Indonesia and Afghanistan. Altogether 86 rated players, including 15 Grandmasters (GM), three Women Grandmasters and 18 International Masters (IM) are taking part. Ivan Popov of Russia, who is among the top 50 players of the world with a Fide rating of 2,645, will also compete in the tournament. Top players from Odisha, including Swayam Mishra, Manishah, Saina Salonika, Kiran Manisha Mohanty and Aparajita Gochhikar will also be part of the event and they stand a good chance to become IM and GM if they perform well. The championship aims at boosting confidence of the players by giving them a chance to play with IMs and GMs.