IM M.S. Thejkumar of South Western Railways, Mysuru, the highest ranked chess player from Karnataka (Rating 2443), will be representing India in the Qatar Open International Chess Tournament to be held at Crowne Plaza Hotel in Doha, Qatar, from Nov. 25 to Dec. 5.
A total of 156 players are taking part in the tournament including Grand Masters Vladimir Kramnik, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, Anish Giri, Alexei Shirov, Gata Kamsky, Pentala Harikrishna and Pavel Eljanov.
Taking part in the tourney from India are a total of 22 players — GM P. Harikrishna, GM Abhijit Gupta, GM B. Adhiban, GM Surya Shekar Ganguly, GM Sandipan Chada, GM G.N. Gopal, IM Ghosh Diptyan, GM D. Harika, IM Karthikeyan, GM R.R. Ankit, IM C.V.R. Aravindh, GM Debashis Das, GM Shyam Sundar, IM Das Sayanthan, IM Thejkumar, GM Neelotpal Das, GM Sundarrajan Kidambi, IM S. Gagare, WGM Mary Ann Gomes, IM P. Konguvel, IM S. Vijayalakshmi and IM Kathmale Sameer.
The total prize money of the tourney is 89,300 US$. The winner gets 25,000 US$, runner-up 15,000 US $ and third place winner 10,000 US $. The top 20 players will get cash prizes. The tournament will be of 9 rounds.
Thejkumar is sponsored by Yashasvi Shankar of Saanvi Technologies, U.S.A. and www.mysoresport.com
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Sports News / Tuesday , November 25th, 2014
At the age of 15, he is the youngest player in Champions Tennis League
Vasisht is seen with his father Vinod Reddy and mother Asha Reddy
by S.N. Venkatnag Sobers
Mysore, over a decade ago produced great tennis players, from Mohit Vijay Kumar to Prahalad Srinath and from Neeth Devaiah to Pooja Shree, after which there had been a lull. Now we have Vasisht Cheruku from Mysuru. He is just 15-year-old, is over 6 foot tall, has a wide rage of shots and a mental strength to boot, making him a perfect tennis machine and many hope to see him in the international scene pretty soon.
As the first edition of Champions Tennis League (CTL) began recently in New Delhi, one boy from Mysuru stood tall, as Vasisht became the youngest player in the league. The CTL, headed by Indian tennis Legend Vijay Amritraj, has 12 top junior players from India drafted into six teams — with two players each. For Vasisht, the CTL has come at the right time when he has won every tournament there is to be won in his age category in India and now hopes to hit the international circuit.
Apart from playing various tournaments, Vasisht has represented India thrice in U-14 category. He has also presented Indian at the World Junior Tennis finals played at Czech Republic.
Vasisht, a national junior U-18 champion, started to play tennis at the age of 7 years under the guidance of Nagaraj. After having got a strong foundation from Nagaraj Tennis Academy in city, he joined Mysore Tennis Club (MTC) in 2011-12 . It was during this time that former Davis Cup player Prahalad Srinath, who was in Mysuru with his students at MTC, noticed Vasisht practising at MTC and asked him to join his Academy in Bangalore.
“It was a tough decision,” says Vasisht’s father Vinod Reddy, “as Vasisht was going to School in Mysore but Prahalad’s Tennis Academy was in Bangalore. Now he is in the National Institute of Open Schools programme so it gives him freedom to travel, of which there is a lot in tennis.” Inspite of his gurgling travel schedule, Vasisht is good at studies too, he has been a distinction student.
The rise of Vasisht in tennis has been phenomenal, considering that, he stopped playing in U-14 category much before he was 13-years-old and started playing in U-16 and U-18 categories and has now won almost all the Junior Tennis Tournament in the country. If you thought this would make the young lad pompous, he has his father to keep him grounded. “ I am happy that he has done well so far. I hope he continues to be humble and grows further in Tennis,” says his father.
Vinod had a lot of people, including his family and friends, to thank for supporting Vasisht throughout his endeavour to excel in tennis. He says: “lot of my family members and friends have supported us both financially and mentally to help Vasisht reach this level” and adds “my wife too has gone the extra mile, as sometime I cannot travel with Vasisht and she does, which can be quite tedious. Also, added to that is the anxiety one experiences when their child is playing, it can be quite stressful.”
On Vasisht being selected for Bangalore Raptors, Vinod said it was a good opportunity for young Indian tennis players to get exposed to international conditions and working style of international tennis players. “Though Vasisht may not get a chance to play, just being in team, along with Venus Williams, Thomas Enqvist and others, itself is a great opportunity to learn,” says Vinod.
When Vasisht was asked how it feels to be the youngest player in the Tennis Champions League, he says: “initially I didn’t believe it but then they sent the confirmation and I was very happy.” Speaking of what he hopes to gain from this experience, he says: “the very fact that I get to interact and get information is amazing. It will help mould my game better for international standards and more importantly mould my attitude and mental strength for the international games. Also, just to be with and practice with the people I have watched on TV and idolised is a great experience.”
This humble boy, who loves tennis and with a family that has taken a bold step by making their son’s passion their own, is sure to be the next big name in Indian Tennis and in turn, making Mysuru’s presence felt again in Tennis.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Sports News / Tuesday , November 18th, 2014
Sneha SS of Dakshina Kannada clocked 12.50 seconds to win the gold in girls’s U-18 100M sprint at the 30th Karnataka Junior inter-district athletics championships here on Monday. Inchara NS and Anusha MR from Mysuru pocketed silver and bronze with a timing of 12.70 and 13.00 seconds respectively.
Basketball is a very popular sport in the International sporting scene and it’s a game which demands speed, ability and stamina. Our city’s women’s basketball player P.U. Navaneetha has been a outstanding performer for Karnataka in the senior and junior levels. She has represented India in the FIBA Asia Youth Cup and has also attended the Indian Junior camp. She was recently awarded the prestigious ‘Ekalavya Award’ for her feats in the sport at a grand function held at Vidhana Soudha last week. She is our ‘Star This Week.’
Navaneetha, 20, is the daughter of P.P. Udhay Kumar and P.U. Girija, residents of Suntikoppa, Kodagu. A 1st year MA student at Teresian College for Women, Mysuru, and a product of the Department of Youth & Empowerment Services (DYES, Mysuru), Navaneetha has been performing consistently in National and State basketball scene.
Encouraged by her parents, she joined Sports School, Vidyanagar and later on joined Sports Hostel, Mysuru, in 2006. Initially she was coached by B.S. Girish, SAK Basketball coach and presently she is being trained by DYES & SAK Basketball coach M.B. Patil at DYES, Mysuru.
A forward, Navaneetha is an attacking player and impresses with her skilful play. She began her career by representing Karnataka in the School Nationals held at Punjab in 2008 and from then on has never looked back. She has represented the State in the women’s Nationals, Youth Nationals in 2009 and 2010. In 2011, she represented the State in the Senior and Junior Nationals in Delhi.
She represented the Mysore University in the Inter-University Championships in 2011-12 at Kannur and has been a regular in the team from then on.
In 2009-10, her excellent play in the Nationals earned her the Indian cap when she donned Indian colours in the 1st FIBA Asia U-16 Championships held at Pune. She also took part in the NBA All India Tournament held at Delhi in 2001-12.
She took part in the Junior Indian and Youth Indian camp held at Deli and Tamil Nadu respectively. She represented Karnataka in the Federation Cup held at Gujarat in 2013-14.
Encouraged by her parents, coaches, DYES, Teresian College and the Mysore University, Navaneetha intends to work hard and represent the country in the senior level.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Sports News / Sunday , November 16th, 2014
Cycle Pure Agarbathies, in association with ACUK (Association of Cricket Umpires Karnataka), Mysore Zone, had organised the Mysore Warriors Cricket Quiz at Sarada Vilas Law College auditorium, Mysore. The event witnessed active participation from around 120 students in the city. S. Muralidhara, President, ACUK, Karnataka and Balachandar, President, KSCA, Mysore Zone, were the chief guests on the occasion. Vishnu Ranga, Partner, NR Group, was also present.
Winners of Mysore Edition: Champion Team: Vidyaashram PU College (Syed Hisham and Yeshwanth Kumar).
Special Award: Kautilya Vidyalaya (M.C. Gururaj and Nitesh Bharadwaj).
1st Runner-Up: Vijaya Vitalla PU College (T. Pranav and V. Kiran); 2nd Runner-Up: Sadvidya High School (J. Niranjan and B.S. Harsha).
Appreciating the winners, Muralidhara, said: “We are overwhelmed by the response received for the quiz. It is always the knowledge that fuels one’s desire to excel. Through this initiative we want to foster our efforts towards nurturing sporting knowledge and there by instill a growing desire among the children to excel in the sports of their choice.”
Organised as a zonal round run up to the 24th Umpires Day State Level Cricket Quiz Competition, the contest was open to all school students studying between VIII to X grades and I and II PUC in the city.
The winners will now represent the Zone at the State-level Finals to be conducted at Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore on Nov. 30.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / Sunday , November 16th, 2014
* Indian batswomen set world record with 275 runs for 2nd wicket partnership in Women’s Cricket.
* India comfortably placed at 357 for three in 138 overs.
Indian Batswomen M.D. Thirushkamini (left) and Punam Raut crossing over for a run during the second day’s play of India Vs South Africa Women’s Test Match played at SDNR Wadiyar Stadium.
Mysuru :
Mysuru entered the cricket record books with India’s batswomen, M.D. Thirushkamini and Punam Raut, setting a world record for the second wicket partnership on the second day of the first Test match between India and South Africa at the SDNR Wadiyar University Platinum Jubilee Stadium in city this morning.
The duo added a record 275-runs for the second wicket before losing Punam Raut at the score of 283 in 121.1 overs. Punam was dismissed for a well compiled 130 (355b, 18x4s) by leg-spinner Dane Van Niekerk.
Thirushkamini and Punam bettered the previous record of 235 runs set by Betty Snowball (189) and Molly Hide (110) of England vs New Zealand at Lancaster Park, Christchurch at New Zealand on Feb. 16,1935.
When we went to the press, India were comfortably placed at 357/3 in 138 overs with M.D. Thirushkamini batting on 167 (22x4s, 1x6s) and Harmanpreet Kaur batting on 9 (2x4s). Skipper Mithali Raj scored 37 runs before getting out.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / Monday , November 17th, 2014
Checkmate: M.S. Thej Kumar / by Special Arrangement
M.S. Thej Kumar is doing all the right things to become a Grandmaster
Mysore’s M.S. Thej Kumar, IM (International Master) has made rapid strides towards his goal of becoming a Grand master.
He is the highest ranked player in Karnataka. With an ELO rating of 2452, he needs 48 more points to get his Grand Master title. Ranked 35th in the country and 1573 in the world, this South Western Railway employee has been a consistent performer.
Triple Grand Master Norm holder, and seeded 20th in the tournament, Thej’s eight move draw with GM Deepan Chakravarthy was enough to give him his maiden National B chess title when he clinched the coveted trophy at Bhopal with 10.5 points from 13 rounds.
He became the first Karnataka player to win the National B chess title. He has wins against OP Yadhav, Rohan Ahuja, Abhishek Das, WGM Padmini Rout, Vishnu Prasanna, IM Ashwin Jayaram, IM Swayms Mishra, IM K Ratnakaran.
He drew with GM G B Prakash, GM S P Sethuraman, IM Akshat Khamparia, IM Debashish Das and GM Deepan Chakravarthy. He gained 30.5 ELO points with his performance in this tournament.
A superior tie-break score earned this hard working International Master from Mysore win the title after Ashwin Jayaram matched his winning tally.
With this win, Thej also qualified for the National A Championships scheduled to be held at Jalgaon, Maharashtra in December 2013. Significantly, the top four seeds, Deep Sengupta, B Adhiban, M R Lalith Babu and S P Sethuraman failed to make the top 9 bracket.
“I want to play in as many tournaments as possible so that I can achieve the target. I am grateful to my employers, the State Government and my sponsors,” says this soft spoken chess champ from Mysore.
With support from Yashasvi Shankar of Saanvi technologies, USA and www.mysoresport.com, and the airfare being paid by the Government of Karnataka, Thej has been able to participate in several international tournaments.
He recently played in the Montepellier International chess tournament in France during July 2013, where he finished third.
He also represented South Western Railways in the 66th Inter-Railway chess championship at Hubli in October 2013 and helped his team secure the runner-up spot.
Although Thej was awarded the IM title in 2009 by FIDE, he first shot into prominence at the National ‘B’ chess championship in Aurangabad in 2011, where he finished second. He followed that with good performances at the Rajiv Gandhi All-India Open Chess tournament at Delhi and in the 32nd National team championships in Goa.
In 2010, he also finished second in the National B tournament held at Bhiwani and in the 2009 National B tournament held in Goa he finished fourth.
Thej — a post-graduate from Mysore University — has represented his University at the all-India inter-university championships and won a silver medal.
He lives in Mysore with his wife, M K Jayashree, and coaches upcoming players at the Mysore Professional Chess Academy. His success on the National and International scene will provide huge encouragement to the chess fraternity in India, and Karnataka in particular.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Sports> Other Sports / by C.K. Muralidharan / Bangalore – November 10th, 2013
HIS nine-game second Grandmaster norm was achieved after he conceded a walkover in the second round when he overlooked the playing schedule.
RAMESH KURUP
Overcoming this handicap, the 39-year-old Devaki Venkataraman Prasad of Indian Oil, Bangalore, added this norm to the 11-game first Grandmaster norm he achieved at the Sakthi GM Tournament in Chennai in 1996. He now has two norms covering 20 games and needs another norm covering at least four games to become India’s next Grandmaster.
In the process of achieving the norm, Prasad also remained undefeated and tied for the second to fifth places at the Grandmaster Open in Dortmund on July 22 for his best performance in five years.
As he was waiting for his taxi to leave Dortmund for Biel, Prasad spoke to The Sportstar.
Excerpts:
Question: How does achieving your second Grandmaster norm feel?
Answer: It gives me immense satisfaction. Especially the way I played here. There were no hiccups in any of my games. I am happy that I made my second Grandmaster norm. If I make one more norm I will be achieving the title. Though it has come a bit late – after nearly five years since my first norm – I still have confidence in myself and I did some preparation before coming on this European tour.
Is it not a gamble that you took by not playing in the National ‘B’ at Nagpur and opting for this expensive trip to Europe?
No. I will put it the other way. I thought if I became a Grandmaster, anyway I can play the National championship. I also wanted to complete my norms quick since my first norm was in 1996. So I decided to play in as many strong Grandmaster tournaments as possible abroad and in India so that I make the title.
So, was there a lot of pressure on you due to the forfeit, as well as the weak Elo rating of the field?
When I arrived here I was expecting the field to be much stronger. When I found there were only seven Grandmasters I realised it would be very difficult to make the category average. There was no player above 2,600 rating. Forfeiting a game worsened it. Because of the streak of wins I could make up my performance rating which I had not anticipated earlier.
How did it feel to play the classical seven-hour control after playing the four-hour control in New Delhi?
I feel seven-hour control is still okay, I am quite comfortable. I did not have much problems in four- hour controls, but playing two rounds in a day in events like the National championship really puts pressure on all the players.
Does it favour any one group?
No, it doesn’t favour any single person. Even if a player is able to play fast, accuracy can’t be maintained in a four-hour game in all the games, especially when there are two rounds. We had this experience twice: in the Zonals in Colombo and in the National ‘A’ championship in New Delhi.
What went wrong for you in the Zonals and the National ‘A’?
In the Zonals, I was playing after a gap of three months. I had not played from January to April. So, I had a loss in my very first round. After that I made up, but it was not possible to be in the race for the championship because it was dominated fully by the Indian players.
In the National ‘A’ I lost a crucial game in the penultimate round. That put me off and I had to be content with the eighth place.
Which was your best victory in Dortmund and what is special about it?
It was my victory over Grandmaster Vladimir Belikov of Russia because it was a very hard fought and lengthy game. I needed a lot of planning to improve from a slight edge to win the game. I was able to convert it into a king side attack and finally I won an ending.
Was there something new in your approach?
Not really. I faced a lot of 1.e4 players this time. So there were many Sicilian games in this tournament. Even in the lone game where my opponent played 1.d4 it got converted into a Sicilian! It was like I had five black Sicilian games and I scored 4.5/5. That was the key in this tournament.
Where to from here?
At Biel we have a round tomorrow (July 23). Then I will play the Asian Championship at Kolkata.
Was bringing your wife along helpful?
It was very helpful. This is the first time she is accompanying me abroad. Also I am again planning to play a lot of tournaments in Europe.
India is now one of the stronger countries in chess and visitors lose Elo. Do you have this feeling that it is easy to earn Elo points outside India than at home?
Definitely. In most of my trips to Europe I have invariably gained rating. The reason is that many of the Indian players are under-rated. They play much better than their strength of 2300 or 2375. They are playing at a higher level than their rating. As a result, making norms or trying to improve rating is an uphill task at home compared to coming here. Here, twenty-five hundred is a normal rating.
Do you work with any particular person or do you work alone?
For this trip I did it alone. Sometimes I work with Abhijit Kunte.
How did it feel coming to Dortmund and how does it feel leaving this place?
When I left India I was desperate to make the norm. I was edged out narrowly in the National championship. I skipped the National ‘B’. I want the GM title. It has been five years since I won my first norm. After this series, I may play one tournament in the Gulf. These events come one after the other and I thought even if I click in one of them, the title is there.
What prize money did you get and what support did you receive from your employers?
Here I received 600 German Marks (Rs.12,600) for the second to fifth prize besides the appearance fee. Indian Oil is supporting me fully. We get a lot of time to prepare. Sponsorship is there whenever we play abroad. This is done by the PSCB. This has helped a lot since it is very difficult for a player to come to Europe spending his own money.
Is it a one-off or do they do it periodically?
It is done on a case by case basis. If the performance is good they keep sanctioning. If a player is in the National team and is generally doing well his expenses are paid.
The Petroleum Sports Control Board has won the National team championship and is the strongest team in India. Will they lose interest like the Bank Sports Board did some years ago?
PSCB has won the National team championship over the last four years. I was a member in all four. I don’t think the interest will die down that early because most of the players are relatively recent recruits. Many of the players are doing very well. Kunte and Sasikiran became Grandmasters after joining. Besides, there are many youngsters like Ganguly and Ramesh and so on. Recently Konguvel gained a GM norm.
PSCB has many chess players who have unconfirmed jobs. Does this put pressure on the players to perform all the time?
I think it is the only company which is having this policy. PSCB is a governing organisation. In Indian Oil we don’t have this problem but there are some companies who do so. Those players try to prove by performance.
Do you think the challenge for PSCB from Bank Sports Board in team competitions is a thing of the past?
Yes. It is slowly fading away. A lot of players went out of BSB and I was also one of them.
source: http://www.sportstaronnet.com / The Sports Star / Home> Chat-D.V.Prasad / byArvind Aaron / Vol.24, No.34 – August 25-31st, 2001
Vedanth M. Urs of Vidyashram, Mysuru, won a triple crown by clinching the Men’s singles, Youth Boys singles and Junior boys singles titles in the State Ranking Table Tennis tournament conducted by Rover’s Club at Shimoga from Nov. 6-9. Vedanth won the men’s singles title beating Akshay Mahanta of Mysuru 11-8; 11-9; 7-11; 2-11; 8-11; 11-8; 11-6 in the final. Vedanth won the Youth Boys singles title by once again by beating Akshay Mahanta in the final 11-6; 12-14; 8-11; 11-8; 13-11; 12-10. In the Junior boys singles final, Vedanth beat Nikhil Nanda 7-11; 11-7; 12-10; 11-7; 11-8 and completed a fine triple.
The results: Men’s singles: Final: Vedanth M. Urs bt Akshay Mahanta- 11-8; 11-9; 7-11; 2-11; 8-11; 11-8; 11-6.
Dogs with their owners participating in the first ever exhibition of Indian breed of dogs in Bagalkot city on Sunday./ The Hindu
On Sunday, Bagalkot set the record of becoming the first city in the country to host the first ever exhibition of dogs only of Indian breed.
The extravagant event in which around 230 canines of different breeds had gathered to showcase their strength and sense of obedience, was organised by Society for Indian Breeds of Dogs (SIBD), an affiliated body to Kennel Club of India.
“It is just great to see so many different dogs here”, said Shalini Asnotikar, an Engineering student of Mangalore who is a dog lover. Though dogs of breeds such as Pashmi, Combai, Rajapalayam and Caravan hound were present, the dominating among them were the local, Mudhol hound breed.
B.C. Ramakrishna,president of SIBD, said that Mudhol hound, one of the domestic breeds, had got itself registered in the league of international breed of dogs. “ It is surely a matter of great pride for us”, he said.
Informing that the Union Government, in the recognition of Mudhol hound, had released a stamp, he said that this breed is being developed as sniffer dog for police and security personnel for its sharp memory and obedience.
With this lean yet sturdy physique and pointed face, Mudhol hounds instantly caught the attraction of the people during the event.
Sharing his opinion, Raju Anneppanavar, one of the participants who owns a Mudhol hound, said that the event encourages the canine owners and also to people to raise the dog as pet. The objective of the event was to spread awareness about the Indian breed of dogs, protect and promote them, Mr. Ramakrishna said.
Claiming that India once was home to 27 varieties of domestic dogs, he regretted that the owing to negligence, the country had lost some of the best breeds forever. “ Today, we have only seven Indian breeds, and if not protected, we may lose them too”, he said.
Earlier, inaugurating the event, District In-charge Minister, S. R. Patil promised to get an ambulance for dogs as demanded by Mudhol Dog Research and Information Centre, Timmapur. He also assured get a multi-special hospital built for canines at the centre with the help of Union Government.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Karnataka / by Firoz Rozindar / Bagalkot – November 16th, 2014
