All aces
Ameek K. Batth and Abhishek Mohapatra emerged champions in the Under-16 singles category of the AITA Odisha Open Talent Series Tennis Tournament held in Bhubaneswar from November 5 to7. Ameek beat second-seeded Aneesha Mukharjee of Bengal by 6-2, 6-1. In the final, fourth-seeded Abhishek Mohapatra edged out third-seeded Kanav Goel of Bengal by 6-2, 6-3 to claim the title. This was the third singles and 10th overall AITA career title for Abhishek while the sixth singles and 12th overall AITA career title for Ameek. General Ambalavanan R. distributed the trophies to the winners in the presence of tournament referee Jatin Batsya and Odisha Tennis Association manager Prakash Pattnaik.
Khurda District Tennis Association hosted the 10th edition of Major Sandeep Mohapatra Memorial Odisha Open Tennis at Bhubaneswar Club Tennis Complex. The AITA Talent Series Under-16 (boys’ and girls’) tennis tournament concluded on Tuesday. A total of 33 players, including eight girls, took part in the event.
Master moves
Women FIDE Master Saina Salonika emerged champion in the girls’ category while Anshuman Samal was the winner in the open category of the state Under-15 sub-junior chess championship that concluded on Monday at Kalinga Stadium. Out of seven rounds, Saina remained undefeated with six wins and one draw and led the table with 6.5 points. In previous editions, she was champion in different age groups. Ansuman Samal got 7 points from 8 rounds with 7 wins and one loss. Jagdish Barik of Puri and Mohitesh Dey of Khurda came second and third respectively. Top four merit holders in both girls and open category will represent the state in the National Sub-junior Under-15 open and girls’ chess championships.
Athletics fever
The 32nd National Junior Athletics Championship will be held at Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu from November 10 to 14. The Odisha Junior Athletics team consisting 18 athletes are taking part in it. Bhojaraj Mohapatra has been nominated as the manager of the team. The team includes nine boys and girls each of the age 14, 16, 18 and 20. Apart from the hurdles, javelin, long jump and triathlon, the players will also take part in the 100 metres and 200 metres dash.
Refereeing course
All India Football Federation selected three women referees of Odisha to join the FIFA M.A. course for women referees at Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh, which is under way. It is being organised by FIFA, the apex football governing body of the world. Sudipta Dash (national referee), Chitrambada Patra and Retali Baral (Football Association of Odisha referee) have been selected for the course. FAO secretary Sanjay Behera and other sportspersons congratulated the ladies for their fantastic feat.
Swimmer felicitated
Commissioner of police Y.B. Khurania felicitated international swimmer Pratyasa Ray on Sunday in Bhubaneswar for her outstanding achievement in the Under-15 girls’ events at the six-day South Asian Aquatic Championships held in Sri Lanka from October 18 to 23. Khurania conveyed his best wishes to the sportsperson and assured help in her future endeavours. Pratyasa bagged gold medals in the 100 and 200 metres backstroke events and in the 4X100 metres medley and 4X100 mix-medley events. She also bagged a silver medal in the 50 metres backstroke.
Smash & jab
The Sarada Prasan Memorial and Odisha State Table Tennis Championship was held at Saheed Nagar Indoor Hall in Bhubaneswar last week. Cuttack-A and AG, Bhubaneswar, emerged champions by defeating BTTA and Cuttack-A in the junior boys’ and men’s team events respectively. In the junior boys' final, Eshwar Rao and Arya Mohapatra from Cuttack-A scripted big wins. In the men's final, AG Bhubaneswar edged out defending champion Cuttack-A by 3-2. Around 262 players from 20 districts took part in the championship.
We are the champions
Odisha won the East Zone Visually-impaired Cricket Tournament for the fifth consecutive time after beating Bengal by a huge margin of 151 runs in the final held in Jharkhand on Friday. After lifting the title, the state also qualified for the National Cricket Tournament for the Blind to be played at Valsad in Gujarat from November 10 to 14. Riding on an all-round show by Sukhram Majhi, Odisha scored a mammoth total of 262 for the loss of five wickets in the stipulated 20 overs. Majhi made 136 while Lalprasad Soren complemented him, falling short of a half-century by seven runs. Man of the match Sukhram took two wickets in the match.
