Aces up their sleevesThe All-India Tennis Championship, organised by Ganjam District Tennis Association and Odisha Tennis Association for under-16 boys and girls, concluded recently at Union Club. Top seed Nandipalli Bhupal Raju (right) emerged winner in the boys’ singles as well as doubles along with partner Sajid-ur-Rahman. Sai Keerthi Behera (left) also proved her efficiency as top seed by clinching the girls’ singles title. Tanmayee Pattnaik and Koyal Mishra won the girls’ doubles title.

Goal rush

Jharkhand won the 34th Sub-junior National Football Championship (East Zone Qualifiers) for Coca-Cola Mir Iqbal Hussain Trophy that was hosted by Odisha. The winners defeated hosts Odisha 3-2 in the final, in a nail-biting penalty shootout at the Cuttack Satyabrata Stadium. The match remained goalless in the regulation and extra time following which tie-breaker was held. Ramugaihakima, Prantik Roy and Sisher Purty scored for Jharkhand, while Harimohan Soren and Sunil Soren scored two goals for Odisha. In the semi-finals, the state team had defeated Bengal 3-1, while Jharkhand thrashed Chhattisgarh 14-0.

Hockey squad

Ace midfielder Ignace Tirkey returned to the Indian team by being named in the 18-member Olympic qualifying squad. Another Odia player with him in the team is Birendra Lakra. Odia defender Manjit Kullu has been named as the stand-by. The Olympic qualifiers will be played against Canada, France, Italy, Poland and Singapore among other teams.

Cricket victory

Odia boy Nataraj Behera again proved his worth as the captain of the East Zone team in the Duleep trophy by emerging Man of the Match in the semi-finals that his team won against West Zone. The match was held in Gujarat. The East Zone team emerged winners by 5 wickets. Nataraj scored 130 runs in the first innings.

Show of strength

The 24th State Powerlifting Championship organised by Odisha Powerlifting Association concluded at the Upendra Bhanja Institute in Mancheswar on Tuesday. Khurda boy Pradeep Kumar Patra and Mandakini Mahanta of Mayurbhanj bagged the ‘Strongman’ and ‘Strongwoman’ titles, respectively. With 557 points, Khurda won the team title. A new record was made by Neelakantha Pradhan lifting 175kg in the 105kg open benchpress category. As many as 260 powerlifters from 16 districts participated in the three-day championship. The best performers were chosen for the Junior National Powerlifting Championship to be held in Lucknow from February 1 to 5. The 14-member team includes G. Shiva, K. Dora, Pradeep Patra, Shakti Ranjan Barik, Sangita Ekka, Sulochana Pradhan, Priyadarshini and Rita.

Chess honour

The Bhubaneswar based All Odisha Chess Association felicitated 19 players and as many organisations for their notable contributions to Odia chess last year. Coaches and officials hailing from the state were also felicitated. Among the players who were awarded were Padmini Rout, who was a part of the Indian women’s team for the World Women Team Championship, national U-7 champion Sambit Panda, medal winners in Asian School Championship, Baibhab Singh, B. Niranjana, Aiswharya Dass and Adyasa Mohapatra, U-7 girls’ bronze medal winner in World Youth Championship Saina Salonika, Commonwealth Championship gold medal winner Aparajita Gocchikar, Mohammad Ashraf (best junior prize in London Classic), Debashis Das (U-18 open gold medal in Asian Youth Championship and U-18 open bronze in World Youth Championship) and other talented players.

Athletics meet

The East Coast Railway will organise the All-India Railway Athletics Championship from February 3 to 5 at Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar. The highlight of the sports meet will be the presence of star athletes, such as Arjuna awardees P.T. Usha, J.J. Sobha, Joseph Abraham, S. Geeta, Preeja Sridharan and Krishna Poonia. A ‘Torch Rally’ will be taken out from East Coast Railway Sadan to Kalinga Stadium. The mascot for the event, Purva – The Little Rabbit, was unveiled on Tuesday.

Rugby triumph

Maharashtra State Police (MSP) emerged champions in the All-India Callaghan Cup Division-II Rugby Tournament organised by State Rugby Association at Kalinga Stadium. The winners defeated Chennai Cubs 47-3 in the finals. Meanwhile, Delhi Bulls won the plate final playing against Young Rugby Club, Calcutta. MSP and Chennai Cubs qualified for the Division-I of the Callaghan Cup Tournament, which will be held in Calcutta in September this year.