Odisha continue unbeaten run in Senior Men’s National Hockey
Jhansi, Oct 11: Odisha made it two wins from two matches at the Hockey India Senior Men National Championship with a 9-0 thrashing of Kerala here on Sunday. Uttarakhand and Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu (DNH&DD) also won tight contests, and Jharkhand and Himachal also claimed wins. In Pool A match of Division B, Odisha were goalless in the first quarter, then scored twice in the second, five times in the third quarter and twice in the fourth. Sudeep Chirmako opened the scoring with a field goal in the 27th minute. Captain Dipsan Tirkey converted a penalty stroke in the 29th minute and struck from a penalty corner in the 49th. Aryan Xess (36th minute) and Ritik Lakra (39th) also scored from open play. Anmol Ekka then scored four penalty corners in the 40th, 44th, 45th and 54th minutes. Odisha have scored 27 goals and conceded just one in two matches. In another Pool A match, Uttarakhand won their first match after a 1-18 loss on Day 1, beating Assam 3-2. Ritik Patir put Assam ahead in the 6th minute. Uttarakhand took control in the second half through Vishal Kumar (36th), Mohd Rushan (39th) and Vivek Sharma (47th). Assam captain Ramesh Shahu pulled one back in the 49th minute, but Uttarakhand held on. In a Pool B encounter, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu beat Arunachal 2-1, while in another Pool B match Jharkhand defeated Goa 4-1. (PTI)
Udhayveer Sidhu wins 10m air pistol gold at Cairo World Cup
Cairo, Oct 11: India’s Udhayveer Sidhu clinched the gold medal in the men’s 10m air pistol competition at the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup Rifle/Pistol here on Sunday. The 24-year-old produced a determined performance in the medal match to finish with a score of 240.6. He edged out Germany’s Olympic medallist Christian Reitz by 0.5 points in a dramatic finish. Reitz secured the silver medal with a tally of 240.1. Italy’s Paolo Monna took bronze with 219.8. Udhayveer held his nerve during the closing elimination stages. Trailing Reitz by 0.3 points going into the final two shots, the Indian fired 10.2 and 9.8. Reitz recorded twin scores of 9.6, handing Udhayveer victory on the final shot. Earlier in the day, Udhayveer qualified for the eight-man final in fourth position. He posted a total of 585 across six series (99, 98, 98, 97, 97, 96). India’s Jonathan Gavin Antony, competing for Ranking Points Only (RPO), shot an impressive 586 to tie for the top score in qualification with Monna. Among the other Indian participants in the field, Ajendra Singh Chauhan finished 14th with a score of 580. Olympic medallist Sarabjot Singh placed 31st with 574, while Kumar Yogesh posted 573 in the RPO section. The final also featured Turkey’s Paris 2024 Olympic medallist Yusuf Dikec, who finished seventh with 138.0. Greece’s Georgios Gampierakis placed fourth on 198.7, followed by Latvia’s Emils Vasermanis in fifth position with 177.6. (PTI)
WFI hopes for visa reprieve ahead of U23 World C’ships
New Delhi, Oct 11: The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) is hoping for a favourable response from the US Embassy on the rejected visa applications of four U23 World Championships-bound women grapplers, as their events are scheduled to begin at Las Vegas only on Wednesday. Five Greco Roman and four women wrestlers were denied visas for being under 20 years of age and unemployed. With the women’s competition scheduled to begin from Wednesday, the WFI is hopeful that the two-day window following Sunday will give the embassy time to reconsider its decision and issue visas to Parveen (50kg), Ahilya Shatrughn Shinde (55kg), Neha Sharma (57kg) and Neha Sangwan (65kg). WFI assistant secretary Vinod Tomar said the federation was making efforts to resolve the issue and was hopeful of a positive outcome. “We are hopeful that the US Embassy will reconsider the decision, particularly in the case of our women wrestlers. They have prepared for this competition and we are making every possible effort to ensure that they get an opportunity to represent India at the World Championships,” Tomar told PTI. (PTI)
NZ unveil spl jersey for India ODIs to mark 100 years of sporting ties
Wellington, Oct 11: New Zealand will wear a special limited-edition jersey featuring lotus flowers and mandala art during next month’s ODI series against India, marking 100 years of sporting ties between the two countries. The ‘Kotahitanga’ ODI shirt represents two cultures bound together by their love for cricket with a design that celebrates the shared history and respect between New Zealand and India. Artists Ben Thomason, Shiv Narandas and Jai Pancha have collaborated on the shirt design, New Zealand Cricket said. Narandas and Pancha have used three Indian motifs as the unifying elements; the lotus — India’s national flower, a repeating ogee pattern drawn from Indian architecture, and the mandala to provide a symmetrical framework aligning naturally with Maori design systems. While Thomason weaved traditional Maori abstract painted scroll designs and motifs — kowhaiwhai — over a background of haehae lines to connect the living with those who have passed, honour the people who built the bond between the nations, and celebrate what it means to players, fans and those behind the scenes. (PTI)