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In the 24th Sub-junior National Baseball Championship, Maharashtra boys and Chhattisgarh girls emerged champions. The event was concluded at Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar recently. Hosts Odisha finished runners-up in both the segments.
In the boys’ finals, Maharashtra crushed Odisha 5-0. Omkar Pawar, Tallah Faruque, Lalit Tirali, Chirag Sonawane and Amay Pol scored for the winning team. Omkar was awarded the best all-rounder as well as the best pitcher awards. Odia girls, however, put up a valiant fight but lost 1-2 to Chhattisgarh. Swetaswini Sabar of the host team was named the best fielder of the tournament.

Hockey downer

Four-time champions Hockey Odisha made a disappointing start in the 5th Hockey India Sub-junior Men’s National Championship (Division A) as they were restricted to a 2-2 draw against Madhya Pradesh Hockey Academy (MPHA) in Pool A. The match was held at the Dhyan Chand National Stadium in Delhi on Sunday. The Hockey Odisha Team members are Amit Chirmako, Sabyasachi Minz, Satish Lakra, Sumon Beg, Sanjit Beg, Samir Ekka, Tapan Surin, Krishna Tirkey, Sudhir Kujur, Aswini Kujur, Suraj Lakra, Pradip Lakra, Ajit Ekka, Bikash Kujur, Rohit Beg, Bima Ekka, Niraj Xess and Navin Kujur. Kalu Charan Choudhury is the coach while Abhaya Samantray the manager of Hockey Odisha.

Strong tackle

The performance of the Odia girls was disappointing in the Sub-junior (U-15) Girls’ National Football Championship after the host team lost to Mizoram in the quarterfinals. Odisha was one of the favourites in the tournament, which is being conducted at the Barabati and Satyabrata stadiums in Cuttack since May 8. The Odia eves had reached the quarters after winning two matches in the league round. They defeated Madhya Pradesh 7-0 and Pondicherry 14-0 to finish at the top of Group B. Manipur, Jharkhand, Chandigarh, Haryana, Maharashtra, Bihar and Mizoram were other seven teams to reach quarterfinals after completion of the group league.

The closing ceremony of the 3rd Grassroots Football Coaching Course was held at Satyabrata Stadium, Cuttack, to mark the Asian Football Confederation Grassroots Day, which is celebrated throughout Asia. At the closing ceremony, a football festival was organised in which around 100 children participated along with 30 coaches under the guidance of Akshya Das, an instructor at the All-India Football Federation (AIFF).

Swimming tourney

The 56th State Swimming Championship 2015 will be held at OCA Club Swimming Pool, Barabati Stadium, in Cuttack from May 31 to June 1. The championship is open to senior men and women, junior boys and girls and sub-junior boys and girls. The championship is being organised by Odisha Olympic Association. All the units of the Odisha Swimming Association will be taking part in the championship. Trials for selection of the Bhubaneswar contingent will be conducted on Wednesday at Biju Patnaik Swimming Pool Complex in Kalinga Stadium.

Chess festival

A chess festival hosted by Srusti Academy of Management is under way in Bhubaneswar. The state-level Under-7 and Under-17 open and girls’ championships began on Sunday. All Odisha Chess Association is conducting the event. As many as 80 participants have enrolled in the U-17 boys’ segment while 35 players are taking part in the girls’ event. In the U-7 event, 39 boys and 22 girls are taking part. The top four players in the U-17 event will be selected for the national championships, which will be held in Karnataka in October. The winner and runners up in the U-7 events will also represent Odisha at the nationals to be hosted in Chennai in August.

Cricket camp

Bhubaneswar Athletic Association will conduct a 10-day cricket coaching camp for women from May 20 to 31 at the Unit-I High School ground. The camp will be held under the guidance of eminent cricket coach Lalit Mohanty, along with the state and national level women cricketers. To take part in the coaching camp, interested candidates should reach the venue on May 20 at 7am, said Sourjya Ranjan Parija, general secretary of the Bhubaneswar Athletic Association. The camp is free of cost.