Bounce back
Odisha senior women’s cricket team lost its first match to Goa in an Elite-B league T20 match played at Jamshedpur. Goa defeated the Odisha women by 41 runs, as the latter couldn’t chase the target of 100 set by the former in 20 overs and got all out for 59 runs. Odisha will meet Madhya Pradesh in its second match, Hyderabad and Uttar Pradesh next.
Legwork
The Odisha leg cricket team got a rousing welcome at Jharsuguda railway station on January 2 after making their mark in a national championship. They secured third position in the Fifth National T-10 Leg Cricket Championship held at Pooth Khurd in Delhi from December 29 to 31. The team was lead by Bargarh boy Chandan Ray who is trying his best to promote the sport here and he was assisted by Tushar Meher. Niranjan Mahakur went with the team as the coach-cum-manager.
Set for game
Odisha Table Tennis Association has announced a 12-member team to take part in the 78th Junior and Youth National and Inter-State Table Tennis Championship, 2016, which is going to be held at Sama Indoor Sports Complex, Vadodara, from January 6 to 11. The players include Bikash Singh, M. Eshwar Rao, K. Karthik, Pranat Sachin, Krishan Prusty, Arya Shankar Mohaprashasta and Soumya Ranjan Pati. The women players are Ananya Basak, Ankita Senapati, Suryasmita Aparajita, Gayatri Mitra and Natasha Mishra. Raj S. Subramaniam will accompany the team as coach.
Power guys
Samarendra Routray and Shakti Ranjan Barik brought laurels to the state by winning gold medals in the Subrat Classic International Powerlifting Championship held at Jamshedpur from December 26 to 30. Routray won six individual gold medals in the 66-kg category. He bagged three gold medals each in the junior and senior events, in 132-kg benchpress, 225-kg deadlift and 165-kg squat categories. Shakti Ranjan Barik from Odisha Police grabbed gold in men’s 74-kg category by lifting 155 kg in benchpress, 250kg deadlift and 217.5 kg in squat. Barik also won first runners-up trophy in deadlift and a silver medal in benchpress in other categories. Around 300 participants, including 50 from abroad, took part in the meet. Players from China, Afghanistan, Iran, Kazakhstan and Mongolia also took part in the event.
Kabaddi tourney
The 11th All India Kabaddi Tournament concluded at Town Club Ground, Bhubaneswar, on December 31 where ONGC emerged champions by defeating CRPF team. The champion team received a cash award of Rs 2 lakh while the runner up took home Rs 1 lakh at the event hosted by Kalinga Kabaddi Academy. Some 16 teams from across the country and five from Odisha took part in the four-day tournament. Other teams who took part in the event include Hyderabad Army, Nagpur Railway, SAI Gujarat, SAI Sonipath, Tata Steel, Delhi Development Authority and Eastern Railways.
Series of wins
For the 6th time in a row, OPTCL bagged the Power Cup Cricket title by defeating Nalco by 110 runs in the final match played here at Kalinga Stadium on December 30. OPTCL decided to bat first after winning the toss and scored 230 for two in 20 overs. Abhay Mallick smashed 154 runs in 73 balls. Nalco managed to score 120 for eight in 20 overs. The champion team received a trophy along with cash award of Rs 15,000. Soumitra Sethy of OPTCL was adjudged the man of the series for scoring 193 runs and taking 14 wickets.
Delhi bound
The Odisha State School Under-17 sepak takraw team is taking part in the National School Sepak Takraw Championship in Delhi from January 2. A five-member boys’ team and a five-member girls’ team are taking part in the tournament that will continue till January 9.
