It was a proud moment for the state when Sasmita Mandal was named captain of the national women’s football team. Weightlifter Pramila Kirsani made Orissa proud in Thailand by winning three silver medals at an Asia-level competition but at the National Junior Chess Championship being held in Goa, contenders from the state are having a tough time. The Telegraph checks out all this and more.

Sasmita honour

Kendrapada girl Sasmita Mallick was announced the captain of the Indian women’s football team for their Bahrain trip that begins from September 17. She is the second Oriya to lead the national women’s team after Shradhanjali Samantray.

Weightlifter

Well-known weightlifter from Orissa, Pramila Kirsani bagged three silver medals at the Asian Youth Weightlifting Meet held in Thailand last week. She lifted 68kg in snatch, 89kg in clean & jerk and 157kg in total. Earlier this year, she had won the best lifter award in the girls’ category with three gold medals in the 6th Youth National Weightlifting Championship held in Haryana. She had also represented India at the World Junior Weightlifting Championship in Malaysia in July.

Boxing medals

Oriya boxers performed brilliantly at the sub-junior National Boxing Championship in Shillong, Meghalaya. Akshay Nayak from Puri bagged the gold in the U-12 boys’ category in the 30kg segment beating Punjab’s Gurpreet Singh. Bhubaneswar boy Satya Prakash got the silver in the U-14 boys’ category.

Football crown

Unit-IX Government High School won the Jayant Mohaptra Memorial women’s one-day football tournament. Six teams took part in the tournament, which was held on Sunday at Unit-VI High School Ground. In the league rounds, Unit-IX High School defeated Baraipur (2-0) and Neeta Ambani Football Academy (1-0). The other finalist, Sailabala Women’s College, Cuttack, had won their matches against KISS School (2-0) and Directorate of Sports (1-0). In the finals, Unit-IX girls defeated the Sailabala team 1-0. In Bhubaneswar Football League, former champions Kishore Club continued their winning streak. In a league match on Saturday, the team won 2-0 against Sangharsh Sporting in a Group A match.

Chess struggle

Oriya contenders at the National Junior Chess Championship in Goa are having a tough time. WGM Padmini Rout, who was at the second position in the points table, has come down to the fourth position after a defeat from Tamil Nadu’s IM S Nitin. However, Anwesh won his game against Goa’s Rohan Ahuja. Kalinga Chess Academy has announced its Kalinga Fide Rating Chess tournament to begin from October 3. The championship will be held at OAS Bhawan in Bhubaneswar.

Snooker tourney

An all-Orissa open snooker championship was held at Puri Club last week. There were 25 participants from Bhubaneswar, Puri, Cuttack and Rourkela. The final between Suman Subudhi and Sanjay Das Mohapatra, both from Puri, was a close match. Suman eventually became the champion after winning 3-2. The winner received a cash prize of Rs 30,000 while the runner-up received Rs 20,000. Puri Club had organised the three-day event.

Hockey knockout stage

The Rural Hockey Tournament-2011 organised by Sports Department of Rourkela Steel Plant reached the quarterfinal stage on Sunday. In one of the matches, Ghoda Bandha team from Jagda played against Sastri Club from Samblaimunda. After an impressive performance, Sastri Club won 4-1. The match was held at Biju Patnaik Stadium, Rourkela.

Mountain biking

Four Oriya girls took part in the National Mountain Biking Expedition organised by Youth Hostels Association of India (YHAI), which was held from August 16 to September 3. They completed the expedition from Kulu in Himachal Pradesh to Khardung la, the world’s highest motorable pass. Eighty-six girls, out of 107 participants from across the country, achieved this feat. The Oriya participants were Sasmita Ekka and Ranjita Oram from Rourkela, Rajnik Pundi from Berhampur and Arpita Mohapatra from Bhubaneswar.

Rugby debut

KISS Rugby Academy team is set to make its debut at the 78th All India and South Asia Rugby Tournament that began on September 10 in Mumbai.
Rajkishore Murmu is leading the 22-member squad.
On the other hand, three Oriya women rugby players - Bhagyashree Barik, Sanjukta Munda and Laxmipriya Sahu - are participating in the National Women's Rugby training camp in Pune. The camp will be on till September 30 after which the national team for the Asian Women's Rugby Championship would be selected.