Winners take all

Orissa’s renowned athlete Saraswati Chand made an impression at the international level by winning two gold medals at the World Police and Fire Games in New York. The Cuttack district girls’ basketball team emerged victorious at the basketball championship, while S.K. Mushtaq has been selected for the World Body Building Championship. The Orissa Cricket team touring Australia has secured its first victory. The Telegraph turns the spotlight on this week’s achievements

Athletics champs

The Orissa squad put on an impressive show at the 23rd National Inter-Zonal Junior Athletic Championship-2011, which was held from September 2 to 4 in Bhopal. Around 14 athletes (nine boys and five girls) represented the state at the event. Ace athlete Dutee Chand performed brilliantly by winning two golds at individual sprint events. She won gold at the girls’ under-16 100m and 200m hurdles and was a part of the state relay team, which secured a bronze medal. Rajeswari Bhoi won a silver medal at the 100m hurdles, while Jambeswar Panda bagged a silver medal at the boys’ under-14 shot-put event. The Orissa team secured a total of seven medals (two gold, two silver, three bronze).

Top cop

The state’s renowned athlete, Saraswati Chand, who is representing the Indian police team at the World Police and Fire Games in New York, has made the country proud by giving a brilliant performance. The athlete had secured two gold medals and one bronze last week, and has also recently added a silver medal to her kitty at the event.

Shared glory

The 13th sub-junior state basketball championship concluded last week at Barabati Stadium. The Cuttack District Athletic Association (CDAA) girls’ team won the title by defeating Rovers Club in the finals (18-12). In the boys’ segment, the finals were a wash out because of rain. Finalists CDAA and Rourkela Steel Plant shared the title.

Check it out!

The 4th Sandeep Mohanty memorial All-Orissa Open Chess Tournament concluded at Secretariat Recreation Club in Bhubaneswar on September 2. Surjeet Nayak emerged winner by defeating Manas Ranjan Parida who was the top seed in the tournament. Natabar Das and Jitendra Kumar Das also finished at the top of the points’ chart. Bhubaneswar Chess Association organised this three-day event.The Cuttack District Chess Association (CDCA) held its elections recently. Santosh Kumar Prusty and Vivek Kumar Tibarewal were elected president and honorary secretary of CDCA from 2011 to 2014.

Strike it right

Budhi Mangala Club held a 16-day carrom tournament in Cuttack. Out of 31 players, Sanjay Kumar Sahu and Upendra Sahu emerged champions, while Sudhanshu Moharana and Debendra Sahu were runners-up in various categories.

Show of strength

Balasore boy S.K. Mushtaq has been selected for the World Body Building Championship to be held in Mumbai from November 3 to 7. Indian Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation will organise the event. Selections for the event were held in Nagpur last month. Mushtaq stood first in the 60-kg category and will represent India along with 15 others.

Victory over Aussies

The Orissa Cricket team, which is on a tour to Australia, has secured its first victory in the tournament. Orissa had lost against New South Wales earlier, while on Sunday they defeated Sydney University team by 200 runs. Girija Rout scored a half century (59 not-out) while Deepak Behera scored 48 in the first innings to build a total of 250 for the loss of eight wickets. Bibhudatta Panda and Deepak Behera took three and two wickets respectively to win the match. Cricket lovers in Bhubaneswar will soon witness the Bhubaneswar Cricket league, which will begin from October 15. Organisers Bhubaneswar Athletics Association made the announcement yesterday.

Football action intensifies

The 9th Gatikrushna Panda Memorial Bhubaneswar Football League, which is being held over a period of two months at the Unit I Boys' High School ground, is witnessing some interesting matches with local teams fighting it out in the first league phase. Organised by Bhubaneswar Athletics Association, the Sunday match between Yazdani Club-73 and Netaji Railway Institute left football lovers awestruck, with Yazdani winning the match 6-0. On Monday, Paramount Sporting Club put up a good show by defeating Chandrasekharpur Athletics Association 8-0. The star of the match was Bijay Das, who earned the Man Of The Match title for scoring four goals.Organisers Unit 6 Athletics Association announced the Jayant Mohapatra Memorial Women's football tournament. The one-day tournament will be held on September 11 at the Unit 6 Government School ground. Six teams of the state will participate in the matches, which will start from 6am and continue till late in the night. The 70th State Police Football Championship kick-started at Jharsuguda OSAP ground from September 5.