Wednesday, December 2, 2009

OFFICE INAUGURATION THROUGH LENS































‘Society’s united efforts can produce champions from city’

SJAN fetes Fadnavis for hat-trick of wins in State Assembly elections

Terming the Sports Journalists’ Association of Nagpur (SJAN) as the real fourth estate of the society, MLA Devendra Fadnavis, re-elected to the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly for the third consecutive term, exhorted SJAN to act as bridge between sportspersons, bureaucracy and politics for the betterment of sports in the region.
“SJAN has made immense contribution in development of sports in the city and to me it is the real fourth estate of the society. For further development of sports and sportspersons, I expect SJAN to work as a bridge between sportspersons, bureaucracy and politics,” Fadnavis said, while replying to his felicitation by SJAN for making a hat-trick of wins in the State Assembly elections.
“The sports scribes of the city cover all the sporting action very well. The space they give to these news not only makes the players happy but also their parents proud. This encourages them to continue with sports. If the bureaucracy, politics and society come together, I am sure Nagpur will be able to produce players of international level. This is where the SJAN has to play an important role, of being a bridge,” Fadnavis said to the gathering which included representatives of various sports bodies of the city and sports lovers.
At the outset, Fadnavis was handed over a citation by Praveen Darade, District Collector, Prashant Vaidya, former international cricketer and B C Bhartia, President, Vidarbha Hockey Association on behalf of SJAN.
Speaking on the occasion, Vaidya expressed happiness on being part of the first function organised by the sports body in its new office premises. “It’s a dream come true for SJAN to get their own office for which they were trying hard since long. This big place, I hope, will help them think and plan big and better ideas for further development of sports in the region,” he said.
In his address, Bhartia congratulated SJAN and Fadnavis and hoped for positive reporting from the sports journalists. “There are times when small paper cuttings with positive reports can help players in many ways. To promote sports in the region it is important to project our sportspersons in a positive way which will come with positive reporting,” the VHA chief said.
Chief guest on the occasion, Darade, citing a couple of examples, said that sports should be looked upon as a career. “For encouraging young sportspersons to take sports as a career, I think the role of these sports associations is very important. There is no constraint on the finance coming for hard-working and deserving players. There is five per cent sports quota in government job for the class 3 and 4 posts. Direct posting to class 1 and 2 will attract more players taking sports as career,” said Darade.
Dr Ram Thakur, President, SJAN and Naresh Shelke, Vice-President made the introductory remarks. Kishor Bagde, Joint Secretary conducted the proceedings and proposed a vote of thanks. (Report courtesy The Hitavada)

Monday, November 30, 2009

SJAN to fete Devendra Fadnavis on Dec 2

Sports Journalists’ Association of Nagpur (SJAN) will be felicitating MLA and President of Nagpur District Basketball Association Devendra Fadnavis for winning Maharashtra assembly elections for third successive term at a function on December 2 at SJAN office, near Vivekanand Nagar Hindi Primary School, behind Sai Mandir at 10 am. Praveen Darade, District Collector, Prashant Vaidya, former international cricketer, B C Bhartia, President, Vidarbha Hockey Association and corporator Sandeep Joshi will grace the function. SJAN has appealed to the sports lovers to attend the function in large numbers.

Monday, August 31, 2009

SJAN awards function through frames




























All pictures courtesy The Hitavada/Moonlight.

Sunday, August 30, 2009

SJAN's award function covered in Orissa too

Newspaper in Bhubneshwar Dharitri, Orissa gave good coverage to SJAN's annual award function 2008-2009. The paper took picture of Padmashri Dilip Tirkey being felicitated during the function.


Saturday, August 29, 2009

SJAN-NMC awards given away


Three-time Olympian Dilip Tirkey praises ‘sports crazy’ city

"WHEN I saw international cricket matches held at Nagpur on television I thought that Nagpur knew only about cricket. But I was pleasantly surprised to know that the people here follow hockey and others sports deeply. I think Nagpur is a sports crazy city," said three-time Olympian and former Indian hockey captain Dilip Tirkey.
Tirkey was addressing sports lovers of the city at the jam-packed Tilak Patrakar Bhavan auditorium on the occasion of Annual Awards Function jointly organised by Sports Journalists’ Association of Nagpur (SJAN) and Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC), on Saturday.
"Cricket organisers are doing a good job and we have to learn a lot from them to promote hockey. The cricketers have also done the country proud. And in this atmosphere other sports including hockey will have to fight hard to make a name for themselves.
"We have talent in hockey but we have to spot them at grassroot level and make the young players strong providing good facilities and maximum exposure," Tirkey, chief guest of the function, said.
Tirkey expected passion from the players. "No doubt we have the quality and talent but the players should have passion for the sport. If a player gives his 100 per cent, is physically and mentally strong and plays with passion, he is bound to succeed," said the Indian defender who is playing for India since 14 years.
The Eklavya, Arjuna and Padmashri award winner Tirkey was felicitated by SJAN and NMC with a shawl and a glittering trophy for becoming the only player in the world to play more than 400 international matches.
In the annual awards function which followed, noted kabaddi player Shashank Wankhede, hoopster Khushali Jethwa, upcoming table tennis player Devdatta Fadnavis, swimming champ Vedashree Bondre and noted sports organiser Prof Atmaram Pande were honoured.
Wankhede and Jethwa won the Mayor’s trophies for being the best senior men and women player for the year 2008-09. Fadnavis and Bondre won the Western Coalfields Limited (WCL) and Baidyanath trophy, respectively, in the junior category.
Except for Devdatta, who is representing India in a junior international meet in China, everybody received the award in person at the hands of Tirkey.
Dr Babanrao Taywade, Principal, Dhanwate National College proudly accepted the ‘Best College’ award while Deepak Bajaj of the Sindhu Education Society received the Centre Point School trophy for ‘Best School’ won by Mahatma Gandhi Centennial High School (MGCHS) for promotion of sports.
From next year, the ‘Best College’ trophy would be given in the memory of K C Bajaj, it was announced.
The function started with garlanding of the picture of hockey legend Major Dhyanchand, whose August 29 birthday is celebrated as National Sports Day, and lighting of the traditional lamp.
Rahul Dixit, Secretary, SJAN made the introductory remarks while Dr Ram Thakur, President, spoke on various activities of the association.
Anil Sole, Leader, Ruling Party, NMC; Suresh Sharma, Joint Managing Director, Baidyanath Ayurved Limited; and Balbir Singh Renu, President, Nagpur District Badminton Association also stressed the need to promote sports and sportspersons in the city.
Sole informed the gathering that NMC has already constituted a panel to frame sports policy for the city.
Ms Kana Roy Chaudhuri, Principal, Centre Point School and Pravin Bhisikar, Standing Committee Chairman, NMC shared the dais with the dignitaries.
Kishor Bagde, Joint Secretary, SJAN, and Naresh Shelke, Vice-President, conducted the proceedings while member Ms Aditi Deodhar proposed a vote of thanks. (Report courtsey The Hitavada)

Like cricket, hockey too needs corporates: Tirkey



EXHORTING the corporates to come out in support for the national game and other sports apart from cricket, former Indian hockey captain Padmashri Dilip Tirkey has said that like cricket, hockey too needs to be glamourised.
Speaking at the ‘Meet the Press’ organised by Sports Journalists Association of Nagpur (SJAN), the star defender said that the national game too deserves better support from the corporates.
"I would not say that all the attention is given only to cricket but I feel that corporates should come forward and promote our national game too," Tirkey said when asked about the crores put in by corporates and filmstars in the Indian Premier League cricket.
Being the first hockey player in the world to appear in more than 400 international games, Tirkey said he had never thought of reaching this far.
"As a young player I only wanted to play for India. It was only when hockey statistician B G Joshi told me that I had played 360 international matches that I came to know I was second in the world," recollected Tirkey.
"Today I have played 412 international matches and it feels great to be on top of the world," he said.
Eventhough Indian hockey team is languishing at the 12th spot in the world rankings and European teams dominating the top half of the chart, Tirkey believes there was no favourite to win next year’s Commonwealth Games and World Cup, scheduled to be held in India.
"The game has changed a lot. The team that won the last World Cup failed in the Champions Trophy. So there are no clear favourites," Tirkey said.
Like cricket, Tirkey feels it’s time hockey too is glamourised. "Tournaments like Premier Hockey League (PHL) should be restarted. Our hockey organisers, though doing well, should search new and innovative methods to bring more glamour to the game. PHL tournaments were a great success. We should start such tournaments to bring in crowd," said Tirkey who led Orissa Steelers to the podium in the inaugural edition of PHL.
The Arjuna Awardee is of the view that six-a-side hockey should be introduced to make hockey more fast and interesting.
"Without disturbing the 70-minute game, I feel six-a-side hockey tournaments should be started. It will be very fast and of short duration," he opined.
Tirkey said India were unfortunate that whenever the team started doing well something untoward happened. "In 2003 we were doing well but defender Jugraj Singh got injured. Similarly, in the recent past the team got a setback when ace dragflicker Sandeep Singh got injured in a freak accident."
The defender is also worried over goal-keeper Baljit Singh’s injury. "He (Baljit) is our main goal-keeper. With him our team had started doing well. He was exceptional under the bar. His injury is a big blow to the Indian team. We hope Baljit recovers fast," Tirkey said.
The 31-year-old Tirkey, who won Arjuna Award in 2002, expressed concern over lack of infrastructure in popularising the game.
"There is a need to create conducive atmosphere for hockey by organising various tournaments at club and district levels," he said.
India’s 1-1 draw against Poland in the 2000 Sydney Olympics still rankles Tirkey, who has been rated as one of the most difficult defenders to get away with in the world.
"By playing a 1-1 draw against Poland, we lost an opportunity to play against Pakistan in the semi-final. That is one of the most regrettable moments in my life," he said.
The gold medal in Bangkok Asian Cup in 1998 is one of the happiest moments in life for the man from Sundergarh in Orissa, who made his international debut in 1995 against England.
Leading the Indian side for around a decade, Tirkey said he enjoyed his stint. "Pressure of leading Indian team was always there. In defeat it was the captain who had to face criticism. But I enjoyed captainship too because victory and defeat are part and parcel of the game," concluded Tirkey. (Report courtesy The Hitavada)

Friday, August 28, 2009

Chief guest Dilip Tirkey arrives in city

SJAN annual awards function on Aug 29th







Three-time Olympian and former India hockey captain Dilip Tirkey arrived in the city on Friday night to attend the annual awards function of Sports Journalists’ Association of Nagpur (SJAN) and Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) to be held on Saturday, August 29. The hockey star was received by Dr Ram Thakur, President, SJAN and other office bearers at the Dr Ambedkar International Airport, Nagpur.
The function, to be held on National Sports Day, birthday of hockey legend Major Dhyanchand, will be held at Patrakar Bhavan auditorium, Panchsheel square, at 10 am. Tirkey will be the chief guest of the function.
Noted kabaddi player Shashank Wankhede, hoopster Khushali Jethwa, upcoming table tennis player Devdatta Fadnavis, swimming champ Vedashree Bondre and noted sports organiser Prof Atmaram Pande have been selected for the annual awards. Mahatma Gandhi Centennial High School (MGCHS) has been selected as best school working for promotion of sports while Dhanwate National College has been selected as best college.
The guests of honour include Mayatai Iwnate, Mayor; Aseem Gupta, Municipal Commissioner; Kishor Kumeriya, Deputy Mayor; Anil Sole, Leader, Ruling Party, NMC; Pravin Bhisikar, Standing Committee Chairman; Suresh Sharma, Joint Managing Director, Baidyanath Ayurved Limited; Arundev Upadhyaya, Director, Centre Point School.

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Tirkey arriving on 28th for SJAN awards function

Three-time Olympian and former Indian hockey captain Dilip Tirkey will arrive on Friday night in the city to attend the annual awards function organised by Sports Journalists’ Association of Nagpur (SJAN) and Nagpur Municipal Corporation.
The function will be held at Tilak Patrakar Bhavan auditorium, Panchsheel square, on August 29 at 10 am.
Tirkey will be the chief guest of the function. The guests of honour include Mayatai Iwnate, Mayor; Aseem Gupta, Municipal Commissioner; Kishor Kumeriya, Deputy Mayor; Anil Sole, Leader, Ruling Party, NMC; Pravin Bhisikar, Standing Committee Chairman; Suresh Sharma, Joint Managing Director, Baidyanath Ayurved Limited; Arundev Upadhyaya, Director, Centre Point School.
The award winners are- Senior men- Shashank Wankhede. Senior women- Khushali Jethwa. Junior boys- Devdatta Fadnavis. Junior girls- Vedashree Bondre. Best organiser- Prof Atmaram Pande. Best School- Mahatma Gandhi Centennial High School. Best College- Dhanwate National College.

Friday, August 21, 2009

Wankhede, Khushali, Fadnavis, Vedashree, Pande claim top honours, MGCHS, DNC to get awards too

SJAN’s annual awardees named

NAGPUR, Aug 21: Noted kabaddi player Shashank Wankhede, hoopster Khushali Jethwa, upcoming table tennis player Devdatta Fadnavis, swimming champ Vedashree Bondre and noted sports organiser Prof Atmaram Pande have been selected for the annual awards of Sports Journalists’ Association of Nagpur (SJAN) and Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC).

Shashank Wankhede

The awardees were announced in a press meet for scribes at Tilak Patrakar Bhavan on Friday.
The awards will be conferred on August 29, National Sports Day, at Tilak Patrakar Bhavan auditorium at 10.30 am. Three-time Olympian and former Indian hockey captain Dilip Tirkey will be the chief guest.
Addressing mediapersons on Friday, SJAN secretary Rahul Dixit said that Mahatma Gandhi Centennial High School (MGCHS) has been selected as best school working for promotion of sports while Dhanwate National College has been selected as best college.
The best senior sportsman’s award will be conferred on kabaddi player Shashank Wankhede. He was among the probables for Indian team this year. An employee of South East Central Railway Wankhede has played seven nationals, five for Vidarbha and two for Railways. He was the best player in the Federation Cup kabaddi meet held in Mumbai two years ago. He will get Mayor’s Trophy and Rs 5,000 cash.
Basketball star Khushali Jethwa will be given the best senior sportswoman’s award. Khushali has been representing Maharashtra in senior nationals since last two years. A regular of Saraswati Kanya Sangh (SKS) she was also instrumental in Maharashtra basketball team’s entry into the elite group. She will be honoured with Mayor’s Trophy and Rs 5,000 cash.

Khushali Jethwa

The best junior sportsman’s award will go to upcoming table tennis player Devdatta Fadnavis. Currently ranked number five in India in the sub-junior category Devdatta is also Maharashtra number one in the same group. Apart from finishing in the first three in various national and ranking tournaments since last two years, the paddler has re presented India in World Junior Circuit meets at Qatar and Pune and in Asian Junior Circuit meet in Jaipur. He will get WCL Trophy and cash prize of Rs 3,000.
Devdutta Fadnavis
Swimmer Vedashree Bondre has been chosen for the best junior sportswoman’s award. A gold medal winner in school national swimming meet, Vedashree has podium finish in nationals since last two years. She

Vedashree Bondre

also has place in school nationals and junior nationals. She will be awarded Baidyanath Trophy and cash prize of Rs 3,000.
Prof Atmaram Pande
The special award for best organiser will go to noted sports organiser Prof Atmaram Pande. A Chhatrapati Awardee in handball, Pande has been promoting football relentlessly since last 16 years. He has been nurturing talent through his Big Ben Football Club helping players in their careers. He will get SJAN Trophy and Rs 3,000 cash.
Mahatma Gandhi Centennial High School, Jaripatka, has been selected as best school promoting sporting activities. MGCHS has been into sports activities since last many years. The school has also provided good infrastructure for sports and encourages its players throughout the year apart from organising various tournaments. Their Under-16 cricket team had also qualified for inter-school cricket tournament organised by Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). They will get Centre Point School Trophy and cash prize of Rs 3,000.
The award for the best college promoting sporting activities will go to Dhanwate National College. The college has maintained its sporting tradition for several years by organising various tournaments and even financially helping their students. DNC also boasts of various titles and good infrastructure for sports.
Baidyanath Ayurved Limited, Western Coalfields Limited, Centre Point School and Manganese Ore India Limited have extended their helping hand to organise the annual awards function.
SJAN President Dr Ram Thakur and Vice-President Naresh Shelke were also present on the occasion. (Report courtesy The Hitavada)

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

SJAN’s office inaugurated

Sports Journalists’ Association of Nagpur’s (SJAN) new office in Vivekanand Nagar was inaugurated at the hands of Devendra Fadnavis, MLA, West Nagpur, on Tuesday.
Fadnavis dedicated the office, built through his local development fund, to the sports journalists. He exhorted the sports scribes to keep up their good work and help in sports development of the city.
“Since last decade sports journalists of Nagpur have been doing a great job for raising standard of sports in the region,” Fadnavis said. He also assured more help in functioning of the office.
Sandeep Joshi, corporator, was also present on the occasion. Dr Ram Thakur, SJAN President, made the introductory remarks. Rahul Dixit, Secretary, welcomed the guests. Naresh Shelke, Vice-President conducted the programme while Kishor Bagde, Joint Secretary, proposed a vote of thanks.
SJAN members and many other sports enthusiasts were present on the occasion.




West Nagpur MLA Devendra Fadnavis inaugurating
SJAN office








(All pics Anil Futane)

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

SJAN-NMC annual awards on Aug 29



Olympian Dilip Tirkey to be the chief guest

Continuing its tradition of felicitating outstanding sportspesons of the city, Sports Journalists’ Association of Nagpur (SJAN) in association with Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) will hold its annual awards function on August 29, birth day of hockey legend Major Dhyanchand, at Tilak Patrakar Bhavan auditorium, Panchsheel square, at 10 am.
Dilip Tirkey, Olympian and the first hockey player in the world to play over 400 matches, will be the chief guest of the function, informs a press release issued by Rahul Dixit, Secretary, SJAN.
Baidyanath and Western Coalfields Limited are the co-sponsors of the event.
Total seven awards including senior and junior sportspersons in men’s and women’s categories, sports organiser, best school and college will be presented on the occasion.
Names of the awardees will be announced soon.
In the past SJAN’s annual awards functions have been graced as chief guest by eminent people including ex-Test stars Dilip Vengsarkar, Sanjay Manjrekar, shooter Anjali Bhagwat, Olympian Mukesh Kumar, former India stumper Kiran More, Indian Cricket Board chief Adv Shashank Manohar and other sports personalities.

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Bhaskar’s Vaidya wins singles title










Gendlal Vaidya (R) of Dainik Bhaskar receiving the trophy at
the hands of guests Sameer Meghe (2R) and Anil Ahirkar (2L)
as AICF Vice-President Prabhjit Singh Bachher looks on.













Title winners pose with the guests.

The Hitavada’s Marulklar-Lokhande reign supreme in doubles
Dainik Bhaskar’s Gendlal Vaidya, who upset last year’s winner Paritosh Pramanik of The Hitavada in the pre-quarters, defeated Jeevak Gajbhiye of Deshonnati for the singles title in a match which went down the wire. in the carrom tournament for mediapersons organised by the Sports Journalists’ Association of Nagpur at the Nagpur Union of Working Journalists Hall on Thursday.
In the doubles competition, The Hitavada’s second seeded combination of Ramesh Marulkar and Kartik Lokhande reigned .
Vaidya started the final in a grand style pocketing the first 13-0 in no time. Gajbhiye composed himself and bounced back to claim a keenly-contested second set 5-4 which saw fortunes fluctuating every now and then.
The deciding set was also a treat to watch. The tension of playing the last four boards of the title match was visible on the faces of both players. Vaidya won the first board 8-0, Gajbhiye reduced the margin picking two points in the second board (8-2). Vaidya committed some silly mistakes and Gajbhiye executed some brilliant shots to score seven points in the third board to gain a one-point lead (9-8) going in for the final board of the final match.
Vaidya kept his cool when it mattered the most to score five points to make it 13-9 in his favour. The final score read 13-0, 4-5, 13-9.
In the doubles final, Marulkar (popularly known as Tiger among journalists since he covers the forest beat), who had lost the final last year with Pramanik, extracted revenge upsetting the top seeds Chittaranjan Nagdevte-Shekhar Mahule combination of the Lokmat.
Marulkar teamed up with Kartik Lokhande this time and The Hitavada pair won the first set 14-0 giving no chance whatsoever to their opponents. The top seeds tried their best in the keenly contested second set but lost 5-6 to go down in straight sets. In the hard-liners final, The Hitavada combine of Amol Deokar and Anupam Soni lost to Sakaal’s Nikhil Gotmare and Anand Deshpande 3-11, 6-9. Deokar was at the receiving end in the singles match for the third place as Nagdevte beat him 8-5, 16-2.
Sameer Meghe, Chairman, Tirupati Urban Co-operative Bank Ltd was the chief guest of the prize distribution function. Anil Ahirkar of Anil Kumar Tea Company presided over.
Dr Ram Thakur, President, SJAN delivered the introductory speech.
Prabhjit Singh Bachher, Secretary, Vidarbha Carrom Association and Yashwant Chintaley, former carrom player were felicitated on the
occasion. Bachher, who hails from Akola, was elected as the Vice-President of the Indian Carrom Federation recently. Chintaley has been promoting the game of carrom since decades.
SJAN Vice-President Naresh Shelke conducted the proceedings while Tresurer Kishor Bagde proposed a vote of thanks. Tirupati Urban Co-operative Bank Ltd was the sole sponsors of the event for consecutive second year. Technical support was provided by the Nagpur District Carrom Association.

SJAN's FIRST
PRABHJIT Singh Bachher, Vice-President, Indian Carrom Federation, while replying to his felicitation informed the gathering that the Sports Journalists’ Association of Nagpur (SJAN) became the first association in India to conduct a carrom tournament applying the new rules framed by the International Carrom Federation.

Upsets galore as Deokar storms into SF




















Top seed Paritosh Pramanik was stunned by unseeded Gendlal Vaidya.


















Ramesh Marulkar and Kartik Lokhande during the doubles match.




Nagpur, Apr 22
Amol Deokar of The Hitavada led the pack of unseeded players into the singles semi-finals as all the top seeds bowed out of the carom meet for mediapersons on the penultimate day at the Patrakar Bhavan Hall on Wednesday.
Ramesh Marulkar and Kartik Lokhande kept The Hiatvada’s flag flying as the duo entered the summit clash of the doubles. The final could well have been an all The Hitavada affair but the combination of Deokar and Anupam Soni threw away the second set after narrowly missing the first one in the other semi-final.
Deokar accounted for two seeds enroute to the singles semis. In the pre-quarter-final, he defeated Sakaal’s fourth seed Anand Deshpande 11-1, 11-1 and then had the better of senior colleague Ramesh Marulkar 9-7, 11-4 in a closely fought quarter-final match.
Gendlal Vaidya of Dainik Bhaskar caused the major upset of the tournament in his maiden entry. He defeated defending champion The Hitavada’s Paritosh Pramanik in a thrilling PQF tie.
Pramanik won the first set 7-7
(1-0) via tie-break but Vaidya bounced back to win the next two 15-4, 12-3 to effect the biggest upset of the day. He had a rather easy outing against an erratic sixth seed Pankaj Najpande of the Lokmat in the quarters winning 10-5, 8-1 in straight sets.
Second seed Pravin Dabli of Vidarbha ki Baat was shown the doors by Jeevak Gajbhiye of Deshonnati. Gajbhiye won 13-5, 12-3. In the pre-quarters, Gajbhiye had beaten Sakaal’s Rajesh Vyawahare in three sets 14-1, 6-7, 8-7.
Chittaranjan Nagdevte of the Lokmat completed the semi-final line-up when he blanked Dilip Thikhile 19-0, 17-0 in a one-sided game.
An in-form Nagdevte defeated third seed Sandip Gadge 13-1, 8-3 in the PQF.
Dabli, earlier in the day, became the first player in the meet to win a set via sudden death. He defeated Dainik Bhaskar’s Sujan Masid
23-0, 8-8 (0-0, tie-break, 1-0 sudden death). When the scores are level at the end of four boards in a set, the game is stretched to a tie-break wherein both the players get three chance to pocket a coin placed in the circle alternatively. If at the end of the tie-break, the scores are still level, the sudden death rule comes into picture. Each player gets a chance one by one.
In the semis, Deokar will take on Vaidya while Gajbhiye plays Nagdevte for a place in the final to be played after the doubles final later in the day.
In the doubles, the top two seeds lived up to their billings. Second seeded combination of Marulkar-Lokhande will play top seeds Nagdevte-Shekhar Mahule for the title. Marulkar-Lokhande defeated Sakaal’s Nikhil Gotmare and Anand Deshpande 9-2, 13-0 while Nagdevte-Mahule had the better of Deokar-Soni 8-6, 14-0 in the semi-finals.
In the doubles quarters, Marulkar-Lokhande beat Tarun Bharat’s Datta Wazalwar-Gadge 6-3, 23-0; Nagdevte-Mahule defeated Dabli-R Nagpure 14-7, 13-6; Deokar-Soni stunned third seeds Lokmat’s Prabhakar Kapshe-Najpande 8-7, 10-8 and Gotmare-Deshpande outplayed Loksatta’s Uday Dindorkar-Ravikant Sane 8-1, 20-0.
The prize distribution function will be held at 12 noon. Sameer Meghe, Chairman, Tirupati Urban Co-operative Bank Ltd, the sole sponsors of the event, will be the chief guest on the occasion.
Ramesh Borkute, bank’s director and Shirish Borkar, President, Nagpur Union of Working Journalists (NUWJ) will be the guests of
honour.
Prabhjit Singh Bachher, Secretary, Vidarbha Carrom Association and Yashwant Chintaley, former carrom player will be felicitated on the occasion for their services rendered in betterment of carrom in the region.
The tournament is being organised by the Sports Journalists’ Association of Nagpur (SJAN) with technical support from the Nagpur District Carrom Association.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Second seed Dabli registers exciting win

Anand Deshpande of Sakaal in action. (pic Sakaal)


Ashish Yawle of Saam TV in action during the carrom tournament organised by SJAN and NUWJ. (Pic Courtesy Sakaal).

Nagpur, Apr 21

Second seed Pravin Dabli rallied brilliantly to score a close win over Sakaal's Nikhil Gotmare in a thrilling contest on the second day of the second carrom tournament for the media employees organised by Sports Journalists’ Association of Nagpur (SJAN) at Nagpur Union of Working Journalists Hall, Panchsheel Square on Tuesday.


After Sakaal’s Gotmare had won the low scoring first set 5-3, Dabli bounced back to pocket the next set 10-0. In the see-saw third and final set, both the players kept their cool but Dabli prevailed 8-6.


The Hitavada’s seasoned campaigner Ramesh Marulkar and greenhorn Amol Deokar won their singles and doubles matches to move up in the .
While both entered the pre-quarter-final rounds in the singles category they made it to the quarters in the doubles event.
Marulkar defeated Lokmat’s Yadu Joshi and then teamed up with Kartik Lokhande to beat Tarun Bharat combine of Roshan Tamboli and Yudhistir Raich. The second seeded pair won 16-0, 23-0.
Deokar blanked Danni Waikar 17-0, 23-0 in the singles and registered his second win of the day when he combined with Anupam Soni to tame Deshonnati pair of Amit Ramteke and Rajesh Praikar 23-0, 11-1.
Except for The Hitavada’s fifth seed Anil Futane and Sakaal’s seventh seed Naresh Shelke all the seeded players had a smooth sailing.
Futane was shocked by Lokmat’s Subhash Sharma 0-23, 0-22 and Shelke was stunned by Jeevak Gajbhiye 0-18, 0-23. However, Sharma will in all probability miss his pre-quarter tie as he has to go outstation to attend a close relative’s marriage.
Defending champion and top seed Paritosh Pramanik of the Hitavada moved into the pre-quarters as Mukesh Hedao didn’t turn up for their second round clash.
In another match which went till the distance Dainik Bhaskar’s Sujan Masid had the better of a fighting Ankeet Ghutke of The Hitavada 6-12, 9-8, 11-0. Ghutke’s blunder in the last board of the second set cost him the match.
Third seed Sandip Gadge beat Shekhar Mahurle 11-0, 12-1 while fourth seed Anand Deshpande had no difficulty in moving past Jugalkishor Dixit 23-0, 7-0.
In other second round singles matches of the day, sixth seed Pankaj Najpande blanked Datta Wazalwar 23-0, 23-0; Gendlal Vaidya beat Prabhakar Kapshe 18-0, 23-0; Aashish Yawle beat Rahul Dixit 17-0, 15-0; C Nagdevte defeated Anupam Soni 18-1, 22-0; Dilip Tikile blanked Kiran Rajderkar 16-0, 26-0; Rajesh Vyawahare beat Girish Thakre.
In the doubles pre-quarters, top seed C Nagdevte-S Mahurle beat Yawle-Waikar 23-4, 23-0; third seeds Prabhakar Kapshe-Najpande defeated Amol Sultane-Sharad Bagde 23-0, 22-0; Dabli-Nagpure beat Pankaj Ganorkar-Vikas Barokar 19-0, 12-0; Wazalwar-Sandip Gadge beat Deepak Labde-R Pethe; Gotmare-Anand Deshpande blanked Ankeet Ghutke-Sachin Gadge 13-0, 20-0; Uday Dindorkar-Ravikant Sane beat Raj Sharma-Abhijit Gade 23-0, 23-0.
The four-day meet sponsored by Tirupati Urban Co-operative Bank is progressing smoothly under the guidance of Vidarbha Carrom Association Co-ordinator Iqbal Mohammad.

Monday, April 20, 2009

Media employees' carrom meet begins


Ramesh Borkute, Director, Tirupati Urban Co-operative Bank makes a strike to mark the opening of the carrom tournament for media employees organised by Sports Journalists’ Association of Nagpur in the Patrakar Bhavan premises on Monday. (Pic courtesy The Hitavada)

NAGPUR, April 20, 2009

The second Carrom Tournament for the Media Employees organised by Sports Journalists’ Association of Nagpur and sponsored by Tirupati Urban Co-operative Bank began at NUWJ Hall, Panchsheel Square on Monday
In the most engrossing match of the first round, Anupam Soni of The Hitavada edged out Swapnil Jain of Lokmat Samachar 4-11, 23-0, 10-4 in three sets.
After losing the first set, Soni rallied brilliantly to win the second without conceding a single point in just three boards out of a maximum four. He maintained his rhythm in the decider to win the tie.
Other games of the opening day were one-sided affairs.
Anil Futane of the Hitavada blanked Deepak Labde of Lokmat in straight sets 17-0, 12-0.
Sujan Masid of Dainik Bhaskar had no difficulty in eliminating Balaji Iyer of Sakal 23-0, 14-0. Gendlal Vaidya also of Dainik Bhaskar thrashed Vilas Tijare of Lokmat 23-1, 23-0 in straight sets.
Jeevak Gajbhiye of Deshonnati got the better of Santosh Singh of Lokmat 18-0, 23-0.
On Tuesday the second round will start at 8.30 a.m. followed by doubles first round at 9.30 a.m.
Earlier, the 4-day event was inaugurated by Ramesh Borkute, Director, Tirupati Urban Co-operative Bank. Yadu Joshi, President, Maharashtra Union of Working Journalists; Pradeep Maitra, President, Tilak Patrkar Bhavan Trust were the guests of honour on the occasion.
Dr Ram Thakur, President, SJAN; SN Narnaware, Chief Referee and Mukund Nagpurkar, Assistant Chief Referee shared the dais.
SJAN treasurer Anupam Soni conducted the proceedings while convenor of the meet Nilesh Deshpande proposed a vote of thanks.
Tirupati Urban Co-operative Bank is the sole sponsors of the tournament.
Results (round one): Gendlal Vaidya bt Vilas Tijare 23-1, 23-0; Anupam Soni bt Swapnil Jain 4-11, 23-0, 10-4; Sujan Masid bt Balaji Iyer 23-0, 14-0; Jeevak Gajbhiye bt Santosh Singh 18-0, 23-0; Anil Futane bt Deepak Labde 17-0, 12-0.

Media employees’ carrom tournament from today

Nagpur, Apr 20
The second carrom tournament for the media employees being organised by Sports Journalists’ Association of Nagpur and sponsored by Tirupati Urban Co-operative Bank will begin on Monday at NUWJ Hall, Panchsheel Square at 9 a.m.
Sameer Meghe, Chairman, Tirupati Urban Co-operative Bank will inaugurate the tournament in the presence of Pradeep Maitra, President Tilak Patrakar Bhavan Trust; Shirish Borkar, President, NUWJ and Yadu Joshi, President, MUWJ.
SN Narnaware is the chief arbiter of the tournament and he is being assisted by Mukund Nagpurkar.
The tournament has evoked good response as 53 in singles and 16 pairs in doubles have registered their entries.
The tournament will be played according to the new rules framed by Carrom Federation of India.
The seedings of the tournament have also been declared. Paritosh Pramanik, last year’s single’s winner has been given top billing in singles while C Nagdeote and S Mahurle have got first seeding in doubles.

Friday, April 17, 2009

Media employees’ carrom tourney with new rules

The 2nd Carrom Tournament for Mediapersons being organised by Sports Journalists’ Association of Nagpur (SJAN) and sponsored by Tirupati Urban Co-operative Bank from April 20 to 23 at Tilak Patrakar Bhavan hall will be played according to the new rules framed by Indian Carrom Federation.According to the new rules, all matches will be decided on the basis of best of three sets of four boards or 23 points (whichever is earlier). A player who reaches 23 points first or leads to conclusion of the fourth board will be the winner of the ‘Set’.Now the game will be called as set. In the third set, sides will be changed after two boards.A maximum of 11 points can be scored in a board. Queen is not required to be covered. Queen will have the value of two points. The player shall be entitled to be credit with the value of the queen, only if he/she wins the board. Loser of the board shall not get any point even if he pockets the queen.The player will not lose the advantage of getting the credit of two points for pocketing queen even if reaches the score of 21 or 22 points. In other words, a player shall get two points for pocketing queen at all stages of the set without any consideration for the score. A player has the right to pocket the queen provided a carrom man of his own has already been pocketed. In case score of both the players at the end of four boards is equal, the set will be decided on the basis of tie-breaker. In tie-breaker both the players will be given three chances alternatively to pocket a carrom man from the same side they are already sitting.

Carrom meet for newspaper staffers from April 20

Sports Journalists’ Association of Nagpur will be organising Carrom Tournament For Newspaper Employees at Tilak Patrakar Bhavan from April 20 to 23. The tournament has been sponsored by Tirupati Urban Co-operative Bank.
The tournament will be held in two categories i.e. men’s singles and doubles. Women’s singles event will depend on the entries. The entry fee for the men’s singles will be Rs 30 and Rs 50 for doubles. The last date of entry is April 17 and it can be confirmed with the sports desk of respective newspapers.
Cash prizes will be given to the winner, runners-up and first runners-up in each categories.
This is the second year of the tournament. Last year Paritosh Pramanik of The Hitavada clinched the title.
In the doubles, Lokmat duo Chittaranjan Nagdevte- Chandu Dasarwar emerged the winner while Paritosh Pramanik- Ramesh Marulkar finished runners-up.
Last year 81 players participated in the tournament. This year the organisors have expected more than 100 entries.
For more details interested persons can contact the coordinator Nilesh Deshpande (9881243198) and Bhaskar Choudhary (9822232987).

Media employees’ carrom meet with new rules

The 2nd Carrom Tournament for Mediapersons being organised by Sports Journalists’ Association of Nagpur (SJAN) and sponsored by Tirupati Urban Co-operative Bank from April 20 to 23 at Tilak Patrakar Bhavan hall will be played according to the new rules framed by Indian Carrom Federation.According to the new rules, all matches will be decided on the basis of best of three sets of four boards or 23 points (whichever is earlier). A player who reaches 23 points first or leads to conclusion of the fourth board will be the winner of the ‘Set’.Now the game will be called as set. In the third set, sides will be changed after two boards.A maximum of 11 points can be scored in a board. Queen is not required to be covered. Queen will have the value of two points. The player shall be entitled to be credit with the value of the queen, only if he/she wins the board. Loser of the board shall not get any point even if he pockets the queen.The player will not lose the advantage of getting the credit of two points for pocketing queen even if reaches the score of 21 or 22 points. In other words, a player shall get two points for pocketing queen at all stages of the set without any consideration for the score. A player has the right to pocket the queen provided a carrom man of his own has already been pocketed. In case score of both the players at the end of four boards is equal, the set will be decided on the basis of tie-breaker. In tie-breaker both the players will be given three chances alternatively to pocket a carrom man from the same side they are already sitting.

Carrom meet for newspaperstaffers from April 20

April 6

Sports Journalists’ Association of Nagpur will be organising Carrom Tournament For Newspaper Employees at Tilak Patrakar Bhavan from April 20 to 23. The tournament has been sponsored by Tirupati Urban Co-operative Bank.
The tournament will be held in two categories i.e. men’s singles and doubles. Women’s singles event will depend on the entries. The entry fee for the men’s singles will be Rs 30 and Rs 50 for doubles. The last date of entry is April 17 and it can be confirmed with the sports desk of respective newspapers.
Cash prizes will be given to the winner, runners-up and first runners-up in each categories.
This is the second year of the tournament. Last year Paritosh Pramanik of The Hitavada clinched the title.
In the doubles, Lokmat duo Chittaranjan Nagdevte- Chandu Dasarwar emerged the winner while Paritosh Pramanik- Ramesh Marulkar finished runners-up.
Last year 81 players participated in the tournament. This year the organisors have expected more than 100 entries.
For more details interested persons can contact the coordinator Nilesh Deshpande (9881243198) and Bhaskar Choudhary (9822232987).

Monday, March 2, 2009

Double delight for Sant


He had to beat the defending champion and last year’s runner-up both if he wanted to lay his hand on the singles trophy. Vijay Sant of Loksatta did more than that with consummate ease not only to pocket the singles title but also win the doubles crown. After missing the last edition Sant made his re-entry into the Badminton Tournament for Mediapersons a memorable one with this double whammy.Sant set the Subhedar Hall wooden courts on fire on Sunday in the tournament organised by Sports Journalists’ Association of Nagpur (SJAN) in co-operation with the Post Graduate Teaching Department of Physical Education, RTM Nagpur University.Sant, who employed deft drop shots and power-packed smashes, tamed defending champion Ashish Jain of Lokmat 21-14, 21-11 in the singles final giving the title favourite no chance of any comeback.Later partnering veteran Vivek Puradbhat, Sant rallied brilliantly to upset the top seeded combination of Jain-Manish Charpe 18-21, 21-17, 21-18 in a thrilling doubles summit clash.Both the singles finalists had straight games wins in their semi-finals. Sant beat a hard-working Suhas Nayse, runner-up of the last edition, 21-11, 21-18 while Jain defeated colleague Vilas Tijare 21-12, 21-17.Meenakshi Menon consoled her Lokmat mates by winning the women’s title. In a closely-fought final, Menon edged past Rakhi Chavan of Loksatta 21-17, 21-18.Earlier in the men’s doubles semi-finals, The Hitavada’s pair of Anupam Soni and Hitesh Limbachia lost to Jain-Charpe 14-21, 6-21 while Sant-Puradbhat had the better of Nayse and Sarabjeet Ahluwalia 21-13, 14-21, 21-13.Krishnarao Pandav, President, Sanmarg Shikshan Sanstha was the chief guest at the prize distribution function. Navneet Singh Tuli, Director, Gurunanak College of Engineering, Dahegaon was the guest of honour. SJAN vice-president Naresh Shelke conducted the proceedings while joint secretary Kishor Bagde proposed a vote of thanks.
Report and pic courtesy The Hitavada