Category Archives: Sports

Talented Tennis player : C. Varunya

Records, All, Sports

VarunyaBF27mar2015

Tennis is a global sport and Mysuru has been producing talented tennis players from time to time who have gone on to represent the country in different levels. One such player, who has made her mark in the National level is city’s Varunya Chandrashekar. Ranked No. 3 in the State and No.54 in the country, Varunya has been regularly taking part in the ITF women’s circuit to improve on her rankings in the National and International level. Varunya, recently taking part in the Blue Jay AITA 50K Women’s Tennis Tourney at Bengaluru, on Friday finished runner-up in the Women’s Doubles event partnering West Bengal’s Shivika Burman. She also entered the quarter-finals in the Women’s Singles. She is our ‘Star This Week.’

Varunya is the daughter of Chandrashekar and Anitha, residents of J.P. Nagar, Mysuru, has been consistently performing well in ITF and National tournaments. She trains with Hemant Bendre, a reputed National level tennis coach at Pune.

Varunya, taking part in the 50K AITA Women’s Tennis Tourney, partnering Shivika Burman of West Bengal lost in the Women’s Doubles finals. S. Soha (Kar) and Shrishti Das (Mah) beat Varunya and Shivika Burman 6-0, 1-6, 10-8 to clinch the title. In the semi-finals, Varunya and Shivika beat Simran Kejriwal and Nikita Pinto of Mumbai 7-6,6-3,10-2 and entered the title round.

In the quarter-finals, Varunya and Shivika Burman beat Anusha Kondaveti and Shivani of Andhra Pradesh 7-5,6-4 and entered the semi-finals.

In the Women’s Singles event, Varnya lost in the quarter-finals to Preeti Srinivasan 3-6, 4-6. Sixth seeded Varunya beat Nidhitra Rajmohan 6-3, 6-2 to enter the quarter-finals.

She also entered the quarter-finals in the 50k AITA Women’s Tennis Tourney held at Delhi recently and lost to Sneha Padam 3-6, 4-6. Varunya represented Karnataka women’s tennis team in the National Games held at Kerela recently and fared well.

After a bout of injury problems for two months, Varunya has recovered back well and is playing in the National and ITF circuit with the help of her sponsors M/s. Cycle Pure Agarbathis, Mysuru, Dr. Prashanth and her coach.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Sports News / March 22nd, 2015

Star this week : Ranji Champ : H.S. Sharath

Sports, Uncategorized

SharathBF21mar2015

Cricket is a very popular game in our country and after the exploits of the Indian team which has been doing well in the International scene, many youngsters have taken up cricket as their career. Mysuru also has its share of producing talented cricketers who have gone on to represent the country. On these lines is Mandya-born speedster H.S. Sharath who recently was part of the triumphant Karnataka team which won the Ranji Trophy for the second year in succession. Karnataka won the Ranji title with a innings and 217-runs win over Tamil Nadu at the Wankhede Stadium at Mumbai on Thursday. Sharath played his role with figures of 1/17 & 1/77 against Tamil Nadu and helped his team retain the coveted Ranji Trophy. He is our ‘Star This Week.’

Sharath, a right-hand medim-pacer and right-hand batsman, combined well with skipper R. Vinay Kumar, A. Mithun and S. Aravind to bowl out Tamil Nadu for a low first innings score of 134. He returned with figures of 15-6-17-1 in the first innings and in the second innings had figures of 20-4-77-1. He played three Ranji Trophy games for Karnataka this season and with four wickets, is an important member in the Karnataka team and has played his part in his team’s eighth Ranji title triumph.

Sharath came into the limelight when he won ‘Man of the Match’ award with his excellent eight wicket haul against Mumbai (five for 57 & three for 12) at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in December 2013, which helped Karnataka to score a historic win in the Ranji Trophy Elite Group ‘A’ tie against Mumbai at home after 22 years.

Sharath comes from a modest background, he started his cricket in Mandya seven years ago. He joined Vidyaranya Cricket Club and excelled in the KSCA Mysore Zonal league.

Helped and guided by his coach Mahadev, Sharath learnt the finer aspects of fast bowling and made his Ranji debut against UP at Meerut in November 2012.

He emerged as the highest wicket taker for Karnataka in 2013 with 24 wickets from seven matches. With 68 wickets already in Ranji trophy in 21 matches, Sharath is one of the main-stay in Karnataka’s battery of fast bowlers.

Sharath owes a lot to his father Shivalingaiah, who has sacrificed a lot for molding him into a fine cricketer. Helped by his Club Secretary Nagesh and KSCA Mysuru Zone, Sharath aims to do well in the days to come. Presently employed with State Bank of Mysuru, Bengaluru, he visits MRF Pace Foundation in Chennai for a three month period and trains under the legendary Australian fast bowler Glen McGrath.

The 6 foot 3 inch speedster and 21-year-old Sharath has the talent in him to go to the next higher grade.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Sports News / March 15th, 2015

Swimming in slam

Education, Records, All, Sports

ShaunBF19mar2015

Shaun D’Souza, a final-year student of forensic science at Jain University, had a penchant for multiple forms of expression — be it prose, poetry or performing arts — ever since he was a child. Now, he is trying to perfect slam poetry with relentless vigour. 

It was after attending a few workshops organised by ‘Airplane Poetry Movement’ last year that he got interested in it. “Slam poetry is one which expresses a personal story or struggle in a very intense form. The idea of slam poetry is simple — have something to say, write it down and be brave enough to recite. The poem will turn out sincere and moving and the poet’s writing and presentation skills improve as you go along,” he says.
He has taken part in a number of slams, shared stage with many artistes and won a number of slams conducted by the ‘Airplane Poetry Movement’ as part of their workshops and at college fests like META in St Joseph’s Pre-University College and the cultural fest at RV College of Engineering. He is also part of a project of ‘Armed WithThe Arts’ called ‘Poetry Slam for Peace’, which involves individuals from around the globe writing works related to peace and sharing them online.

Though slam poetry faces many challenges here as it attracts a niche audience, Shaun is trying to promote the art in a big way. “People generally come for workshops if they are under the banner of theatre, hip hop, or stage/public talk but poetry itself is considered as boring and abstract. One has to find a way to make performance poetry fun and at the same time, not lose the essence of poetry itself.” To improve on his slam poetry further, he is working with an Australian poet, Tim Lo Surdo, and is also propagating ‘Open Sky Slam’, a project which aims to convert dead spaces to performative spaces.

“Slam poetry is still growing in the City and it hasn’t caught the attention that it deserves. I’m looking forward to be a part of a giant community of performing artistes, who, co-dependently, encourage slam for art and peace. As this form still remains under-rated in India, Tim and I are working towards decentralising the concept of ‘Open Sky Slam’ so that every performing artistes throughout the world is encouraged to come and present their skill,” says Shaun.

And that’s not all. Shaun is a freestyle swimmer who has been making waves in the pool ever since he was five. He says that support from his parents and rigorous training at Basvanagudi Aquatic Centre has helped him. Shaun has swum in the national meet in 2011 and has bagged many medals. He has also represented Jain University in the All India University Meet held in 2012 at Kolkata, 2013 at Amritsar and 2014 at Bengaluru.

In 2011, he was awarded four medals at the School Nationals in Kolkata. “My biggest achievement was qualifying for the ‘Asian Age Group Championship’, Tokyo in 2009, and also winning the ‘Best Swimmer Award Championship’ at a National Meet.”

Though Shaun quit professional swimming last year, he considers it as his first love and says that it has taught him many lessons. “Swimming is a lot like doing maths as it requires a lot of practice. In India, it is hard to get to the point of qualifying for an international meet as it requires a lot of sacrifices, which my parents chose to make without hesitance, such as procuring the finances to support swimming kits. However, swimming taught me a lot of life lessons that I would not have been able to learn,” he says.

source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> Supplements> MetroLife / by Anushka Sivakumar, Bengaluru /DHNS – March 19th, 2015

A ride with pride

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Sports

Even on the noisiest roads of the City, these bikes stand out due to their roar (which is more like music to the ears). The members of the Bangalore Jawa Yezdi Motorcyle Club (BJYMC) are sure to catch your attention when they ride in pride together. It’s ironic that their sentiment echoes the name of one of the Yezdi bikes — ‘Roadking’. 

RoadkingBF07MAR2015

Started by four people — Amrit, Brian, Lokesh and Sam — who shared a love for Jawa and Yezdi bikes, the club has become like family today. Says Amrit, “It was the idea of Lokesh, who put it up on Orkut in 2007 and the three of us reciprocated. We wanted to revive these old bikes and help each other out. We soon started planning the ‘Jawa Day’ and promoting it. We even asked mechanics to ask their customers to come!”

The first ‘Jawa Day’, held in July 2008, saw 200 bikers turning up though only 60 had confirmed. “We had held it in Cubbon Park and we actually ran out of space! The reaction was better than what we had expected,” says Brian.

Sreedhar remembers picking up a Yezdi in 1996, which was its last year of production. “The best part about riding a Yezdi is that it is easy to manoeuvre and riding it is like an exercise by itself,” he says.

The BJYMC has members of various age groups. Two of the youngest members of the club are the 19-year-olds — Nehal Ganapathy and Varun Kariappa. “The bike is a legacy that was passed to me by my grandfather. It has a two stroke engine and I have loved riding it since my school days. I feel Yezdi is a bike that separates men from boys,” smiles Nehal while Varun just decided to go for a Jawa Day and has not looked back since then. “I had the bike and thought of going for the meet. I have been part of the club for two years now,” he recalls.

Messiah, who has been riding since 1989, simply loves riding the Yezdi. “My father had a Roadking and later, I got a Jawa too. The feeling that you get from riding a Yezdi is the best,” he notes. For Mahesh, every ride is a “brotherhood” of sorts. “It’s more like meditation. We have campfire many a time and also hold introductory sessions. When I bought my bike from its previous owner, it had already completed 8,000 kms. Today, even though I have finished 12,000 kms, it hasn’t given me any problem,” he notes.

Tejas always had a passion for bikes too. “My story is a short one! I had put up a Yezdi for sale on Facebook and a member saw it and asked me why was I selling it. I have always had a passion for bikes and am very happy to be a part of the club. I have been part of it for a few months now,” he says.

The members meet every second Sunday of the month at Airlines Hotel and go for rides often. The club has three big events during the year — ‘Jawa Day’, ‘Malnad Diaries’ and ‘Southern Raid’. While ‘Malnad Diaries’ has various Jawa Yezdi clubs from Karnataka meeting up, ‘Southern Raid’ includes the bikers from Jawa Yezdi clubs of other states.

“Before the big day, one or two people take charge and check on things like the location, parking, accommodation etc,” says Brian. According to him, it is the mountain climb on these bikes that’s memorable.

With more and more bike clubs emerging in the City, ask them if they have any advice for the younger lot and Sreedhar says, “Whenever a club becomes big, politics gets to it. The members of every club should remember that their purpose is to help each other out and not gain glory.” Brian agrees, “Your focus should be on the bikes.”

For details, visit their Facebook page — ‘Bangalore Jawa Yezdi Motorcycle Club’.

source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> Supplements> MetroLife / by Deepa Natarajan Lobo, Bengaluru / DHNS – March 03rd, 2015

Vikas wins Bronze Medal in Nationals

Sports

VikasBF01mar2015

Mysuru :

City-lad M.Vikas, a 10th standard student of Ramakrishna Vidyashala, Mysuru, taking part in the 60th National School Games Federation of India’s Diving Competitions held at Gujarat recently won the bronze medal in the U-17 section for Karnataka.

Vikas is a being trained by Ramakrishna Vidyashala, Mysuru’s Diving Coach Guruprasad.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Sports News / Monday – February 23rd, 2015

Talented Tennis Player : Dhruthi

Sports

DhruthiBF28feb2015

Tennis is a global sport and Mysuru has been producing talented tennis players from time to time who have gone on to represent the country in different levels. One such player who has made her mark in the International level in the Junior Girls section is city’s Dhruthi T. Venugopal. She has represented India in the junior-level and is presently taking part in the women’s circuit. Dhruthi has been consistently performing well in the ITF tournaments. Recently taking part in the 25,000$ ITF Women’s Tennis Tourney in Delhi from Feb. 16 to 22, 2015, Dhruthi qualified for the tournament proper and lost in the pre-quarter-finals in the Women’s Singles and Doubles events. She has took part in the ITF Tourney in Eqypt in the previous month and performed well. She is our ‘Star This Week.’

Dhruthi is the daughter of Venugopal and Vanamala of our city who encourage her to the maximum. Dhruthi trains in Pune and is coached by Sandeep Kirtane. Dhruthi, presently ranked No. 41 in the country and No.3 in the State in the women’s section, has been performing well in the ITF women’s circuit. Dhruthi has represented India in the Junior section and has also played in the Australian Open Junior Girls event. Dhruthi, taking part in the 25,000$ ITF Women’s Tennis Tournament in Delhi from Feb. 16 to 22, 2015, lost in the pre-quarter-finals in the women’s singles to Slovakia’s Tadeja Majevic 2-6, 4-6. In the first round, Dhruthi beat Katherina Lehnert (Phi) 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-0.

In the qualifying rounds, Dhruthi beat Abou Zekry of Egypt 6-3, 6-2 and entered the main draw. In the second round she beat Ching-wen Hsu (Tpe) 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 and in the first round got past China’s Yukun Zhang 6-1, 6-3.

In the Women’s Doubles event, Dhruthi, partnering Snehadevi Reddy of India, went down to the Japanese pair of Miyu Kato and Riko Sawayanagi 1-6, 2-6. Dhruthi also took part in the three legs of the Sharam El Sheikh 10,000$ ITF Women’s Tournament held at Egypt and performed consistently and entered the main draw in two tournaments after playing the qualifying rounds.

In the tournament held from Jan. 26 to Feb. 1 at Eqypt, Dhruthi lost finals in the qualifying round in the Women’s Singles going down to Federica Prati of Italy 6-3, 6-7 (10), 3-6. In the first round, Dhruthi beat Russia’s Ekaterina Lavvikova 7-6 (4), 7-6(4). Dhruthi was ranked No 4 in the country in the Junior Girls (U-18) section and is now taking part in the women’s circuit. Dhruthi is an attacking player with a double handed backhand and is quite consistent in her performances in the women’s ITF circuit representing the country.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Sports News / Sunday – February 22nd, 2015

J.Suchith : A Mumbai Indian in the making …

Sports

SuchithBF28feb2015

by S.N. Venkatnag Sobers

Star of Mysore (SOM): How would you react on being picked up by Mumbai Indians for this year’s IPL?

Suchith: I am very happy and excited to be part of Mumbai Indians team. Initially, I thought chances of me getting into the team were difficult, as Mumbai Indians had already picked Pragyan Ojha and Akshay Wakhare. But, with the team management deciding to pick me, I believe it is a golden opportunity for me to excel.

SOM: What inspired you to play cricket?

Suchith: At first, I started off with gymnastics at the University Sports Pavilion. After my gymnastics classes, I used to watch people play cricket and that is how I developed my interest towards the game. I joined MUCSC and later shifted to Mysore Gymkhana where I was trained by Sudhindra sir and Ravindra sir. I also got a lot of support from Club Secretary Subramaniam sir while I was playing for Mysore Gymkhana.

SOM: How did your parents react on you being selected for Mumbai Indians?

Suchith: In fact, it was my father who informed me about being selected for Mumbai Indians. I was travelling from Indore to Bengaluru after playing a match and that is when my father informed me. My parents are very happy on me being picked up by Mumbai Indians. K.V. Shantha, my mother, was glued to the television and was praying for me when the auction was going on. They have always supported me in all my endevours.

SOM: What do you have say about KPL?

Suchith: Karnataka Premier League (KPL) has been a launch pad for the budding cricketers. The tournament has definitely helped many youngsters to showcase their talent. It’s not only me, players like Shishir Bhavane and K.C. Cariapppa have been benefitted a lot from the tournament. I hope that more players would emerge in the future.

SOM: Whom do you idolise as cricketer?

Suchith: Daniel Vettori! He has been the most successful left-arm spinner in the modern era. He is very accurate and has set a landmark for the cricketers across the world.

SOM: What do you expect being a part of Mumbai Indians team?

Suchith: I expect to gain a lot of experience, learn work ethics and ways to handle pressure. I would like to give my 100 per cent, both on and off the field, to improve my skills as a cricketer. Playing for Mumbai Indians will be exciting as I would be sharing the dressing room with some of the best cricketers in the world and also learn a lot from greats such as Sachin Tendulkar, Anil Kumble and Ricky Ponting.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Feature Articles / Sunday – February 22nd, 2015

Hayabusa rider plans big for 2016

Nri's / Pio's, Sports

Mangaluru :

City-born UK Bangalore-resident Sushanth Shetty, 28, is aiming high on adventure next time round.

Sushanth in a self-challenge- The East India Express – planned a 12,000 km ride across 12 countries, and seven time zones – alone and in 15 days. But his goal went awry due to certain variables he could not control. His next adventure in 2016 will be well planned and executed.

Sushant who was in Mangaluru, told TOI: I’m working on something big which needs lot of funds. That’s why I cannot reveal what it is as of now. The plans should firm up in the next six to seven months.

This is the first visit of Sushanth along with Patrick”- the Hayabusa to his home-town. I visited Manjeshwar, my dad’s home town and later to mother’s place Sajipa, near Ira village (Bantwal Taluk). I took Patrick where I thought he would not go. He enjoyed it and so did I running him on the red-dust laden quarry roads. I did not think he would take it, he did sportingly.”

Regarding his East India Express ride, what he would do differently, if he had a go at it again? Pakistan is unreliable for the next decade. Interestingly if I had been granted entry, the day I would have reached Lahore there was a bomb blast. Imagine that. I just wonder what would have happened to my plans. But since that did not happen, I would prefer a hotel for solitude between the rides and would have lied to ride earlier part of the year as the bitter cold made my progress difficult. If it was warm I would have covered more distance. As far as Patrick – I would not change him for anything,” Sushanth said.

While Sushanth will leave for UK in two weeks, his Hayabusa would leave India for UK in about two months’ time after getting him serviced at a dealership in Bengaluru.

On Tuesday Sushanth went to Moodbidri where he met some enthusiastic bikers and then rode three Ghats – Agumbe, Kudremukh and Charmadi. He will rest at one of his friend’s estate in Sakleshpur and reach Bengaluru by Thursday.

A Josephite, Sushanth did his mechanical engineering at MS Ramaiah Institute and then MS in Motorsports Engineering from Coventry University, UK. He is working for Ford Europe.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home>City> Mangaluru / by Stanley Pinto, TNN / February 24th, 2015

City Kick-Boxers bag medals in National Championship at Sikkim

Sports
The medal winners are seen with M.N. Vikram (Coach) and Syed Tanveer Ahmed (Team Manager).
The medal winners are seen with M.N. Vikram (Coach) and Syed Tanveer Ahmed (Team Manager).

Mysuru :

Students of Academy of Martial Science (AMS), Krishnamurthypuram in city, the oldest and first combat school in Mysuru promoting Muay Thai Kick-Boxing, MMA and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ), who participated in the semi-professional Muay Thai Kick-Boxing National Championships held at Jorethang, Sikkim organised by Muay Thai India (MTI)-IOC recently, have excelled in the championship by bagging 4 titles, four Silver and three Bronze medals respectively.

Zulkharnain and Chethan Gowda defended their Heavy Weight and Light Heavy Weight titles, while Abdul Razack and Sumanth Subrahmanya became new Light Middle Weight and Cruiser Weight Champions. As a result of this medal haul, Karnataka became No.2 for the country next to overall champions Sikkim. They are trained by internationally accredited coach Vikram of AMS.

Results: Zulkharnain-Heavy Weight Champion of India; Sumanth-Cruiser Weight Champion of India; Chethan Gowda-Light Heavy Weight Champion of India; Abdul Razzack- Light Middle Weight Champion of India; G. Rajesh- Pin weight silver medalist; Amith- Feather Weight Silver Medalist; Aditya-Middle Weight Silver Medalist; Rakesh- Light Heavy Weight Silver Medalist; Prakyath- Light Fly Weight Bronze Medalist; Naveen Shetty- Bantam Weight Bronze Medalist and Srihari- Light Welter Weight Bronze Medalist.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Sports News / Wednesday – February 18th, 2015

History of Varsity Athletic Grounds

Records, All, Sports

by K.R.Dinakar

This refers to a news item in SOM dated 9.2.2015 about the renovation of the University

Athletic Ground [opposite Crawford Hall]. It is laudable that the University has kept in mind both the sportspersons and the public. Hundreds of citizens including me, regularly use this beautiful ground for morning or evening walks.

VarsityBF22feb2015

This is a historic ground, which was part of what was earlier known as ‘Gordon Park.’ It was a cricket ground, popularly known as ‘The Ovals’ and was a regular venue for many eventful league matches of the State Cricket Association. My grandfather used to play on this ground in the 1940s. Even I played a practice match here [besides several tennis-ball cricket matches] in 1980-81 for The Mysore Gymkhana [TMG], before it was converted into a full-fledged ground for athletics in 1982. I am sure the University will keep the present ambience of this ground intact, with the lovely surroundings of Crawford Hall, DC Office and the Oriental Research Institute, when it is renovated.

Many are not aware that this very ‘cricket ground’ is where a world record was created 80 years ago, which still stands unsurparssed.

The year was 1934. M.N.Parthasarathy [‘Pachu’] who was an English teacher at Maharaja’s College, a well-known radio commentator and an important member of The Mysore Gymkhana, wrote a tribute to Y.S. Ramaswamy [YSR], the leg-spin bowler, who created the world record, mentioning the historic event in a souvenir [brought out for the Ranji Trophy match between Mysore and Andhra at Maharaja’s College Grounds -1972].

It was a School Tournament where high schools from all over the State used to participate. YSR was representing Marimallappa’s High School, captained by N. Krishnaswamy [who later became a Sports Correspondent in Bengaluru], was meeting Methodist Mission High School, Bengaluru. It was the Final. YSR was bowling from the District Office end. Pachu writes that he saw something sensational in YSR’s leg-breaks on the first day and so, he sat at the Oriental Research Institute end to watch the game. All ten wickets in the first innings had fallen to YSR. In the second innings too, YSR repeated this feat, much to the excitement of one and all as Marimallappa’s won. No one else, other than YSR, has taken ‘all twenty’ in a match till this day, at any level.

YSR went on to play for the State. The Y.S. Ramaswamy Memorial Tournament is being held by the State Cricket Assosiation every year.

I hope that after renovation, this ground does not become a victim during Dasara for various activities.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Sports News / Monday – February 16th, 2015