Harshitha was India’s leading scorer as the team progressed to Division A after beating Kazakhstan in the final.
There’s a sense of inevitability when Harshitha Bopaiah picks up the basketball for her sixth free throw in the Division B final of the FIBA Under-18 Women’s Asian Championships. Her body language doesn’t attempt to mask with fake nonchalance the pressure within. Her face doesn’t give false looks of insouciance. She’s focused.
Kazakhstan’s an easy opponent on paper as they lost two of their three group games and only won against Samoa. But they are in the final after beating Syria.
This is Harshitha’s first final of any tournament as an India player. She’s performing in front of her family and friends at Sree Kanteerava Stadium and the home crowd has not stopped cheering. There’s tension which you can see on her face. But all her five previous free throws of the night – and two in the semi-final – were executed to smooth perfection. Hence, the sense of inevitability.
Harshitha picks up the ball, pauses for a fleeting moment, breathes twice and, once again, makes the perfect parabola that earns her team an additional point. Six free throws out of six.
The point stretched India’s lead in the third quarter to 47-24 in the third quarter. They eased to a 68-45 win over the Kazakhs to earn a berth in Division A of the Championships in 2020.
Harshitha, who’ll turn 20 by then, won’t be there to play that tournament. It’s been just three years since started playing basketball. But she reluctantly admits to having bigger ambitions.
“I would like to play for the Indian senior team, and perhaps, play abroad as well,” she tells Scroll.in.
But she barely had those ambitions when she began hooping back in Coorg.
The 18-year-old was encouraged to participate in various sports as a kid as sports ran in her family but of a different kind. Her dad played hockey for the state team and her brother represented his University side.
However, Harshitha excelled in athletics – long jump and high jump – at school.
“I’d come for a selection trials for athletics. A coach there told me that I have the height (now 5’9) for basketball. So, I went for the selection… and, got into the team.”
As a 15-year-old she joined the sports hostel in Vijaya Nagar for further training. Initially, she would face challenges on the court having never trained in the game before. But with time she adjusted.
“But I enjoy playing the game a lot,” she says.
The Indian team was without the injured teenage sensation Vaishnavi Yadav, who scored 71 points in a Junior Nationals Game in Ludhiana. But in her absence, Harshitha stood out, scoring 75 points in five games to finish the tournament as India’s leading scorer.
Putting the ball in the basket, of course, is fun for Harshitha. But she finds greater relish whilst defending – blocking and stealing the ball from the opposition (she made four steals in the final against Kazakhstan).
But Harshitha never imagined herself playing in front of her home crowd in the Indian jersey. Atleast not so early in her career.
“I never thought I’d make the side. I gave my best in the national camp. And, when I got into the team, it was a little scary because I knew I would be playing in front of my home crowd. But, two-three matches later, I got encouragement from the crowd, the coach. I felt proud of myself that I ended up as my team’s leading scorer in the tournament,” she said.
Certainly, India coach Zoran Visic was proud of her. He is incharge of India’s three teams – U-16, U-18 and the senior – in Bengaluru. But he was more than impressed with her consistent performance.
“Harshitha was very good, on both the rebounds as well as scoring points for us. In the semi-finals, too, she got a double-double, almost triple-double. And, she’s an important member of this team,” Visic said.
Both Harshitha and Visic would hope that she can be an important member of the senior team as well.
source: http://www.scroll.in / Scroll.in / Home> The Field> Basketball / by Praveen Sudevan / November 04th, 2018
The 29-year-old shuttler has really come into her own this season in terms of taking charge of her partnerships with Sikki Reddy and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy.
Reuters
It’s hard to believe sometimes that Ashwini Ponnappa is already 29 years old. Just two years ago, at the Rio Olympics, she was the junior doubles partner of the experienced Jwala Gutta. Now, she is the leader, in not one but two doubles partnerships.
Ashwini has really come into her own this season in terms of taking charge of her partnerships with both N Sikki Reddy, 25, and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, 18. In April, she assumed charge and guided Satwik through to a brilliant win over the current world No 6 pair Chan Peng Soon/Goh Liu Ying of Malaysia to help India win the mixed team gold.
Throughout that one-hour-15-minute long match, Ashwini was seen constantly talking to Satwik in between points, guiding him tactically and also motivating him to push on. She did the same later with Sikki, as they won a historic bronze medal in the pair events.
Earlier this month, at the Denmark Open, Ashwini and Sikki defeated the world No 7 pair Lee So Hee and Shin Seung Chan from Korea despite going a game down. While that match was unfortunately not televised, Ashwini’s leadership was there to be seen in the quarter-finals, where the Indians faced the top-ranked Yuki Fukushima and Sayaka Hirota of Japan.
Even though the Indians, currently ranked 24th in the world, lost that match in straight games, the way Ashwini took charge of their partnership was heartening.
Reading the game
“I don’t see it as a leadership role,” says Ashwini, during an interaction in Mumbai at an event organised by Red Bull, which sponsors her. “It’s just a partnership where I have a lot to say,” she added, laughing. “My partners have been kind enough to let me voice my opinion and accept it.”
Sikki, butting in, says, “She reads the game very well. Being a very experienced player, her guidance is good for us because it makes it easier for us to play. We don’t need to think too much. Just go for what she says,” she adds, laughing.
From starting out as someone who hardly worked her grey matter during matches, Ashwini says she has evolved over the years into someone who loves using her head while playing.
“I love thinking,” she says. “Over the years, I have just evolved as a player from someone who used to just hit and hit, to someone who just really loves to watch my opponents, see things and figure out how we can get better as a pair. That’s something I am relishing. I really love using my head, I’d say.”
Ashwini Ponnappa believes she and Sikki have become more consistent since the Commonwealth Games (Image: PTI)
While Ashwini has all the intentions to play at the Tokyo Olympics in two years, when she will be nearly 31, does she see herself going into coaching after she hangs up her racket? “I don’t know, maybe, because I really enjoy thinking and analysing,” she says.
“I do love figuring things out – what’s good for us, what sort of drills would help us get better, what kind of rotation we could work on… those are things that of late my mind really thinks about. I love watching and learning, so maybe, yeah. I would love to [coach], I guess.”
Gaining consistency
Ashwini is quite pleased with how this season has gone for her, despite not going past the quarter-finals in any BWF World Tour tournament. She has been able to get the odd good result with both her partnerships but not really challenged for a medal, apart from the Commonwealth Games.
However, Ashwini believes their consistency as pairs has gotten better after the Commonwealth Games, especially with Sikki. After their bronze at Gold Coast, the Indian women’s doubles pair reached the quarters at the Asian Games and the Denmark Open.
“We have figured out the way we want to play,” Ashwini says, of her partnership with Sikki. “The Asian Games was good. We had a great match in the quarters [against the current world No 4 pair from China]. We could have won it. We were close but not quite there.”
Ashwini believes they are heading in the right direction, ahead of their last three international tournaments of the season: the China Open, the Hong Kong Open and the Syed Modi Championships.
“We are quite keen to do even better in the future,” she says. “The quarters is a start but hopefully we’ll win a Superseries soon.”
source: http://www.scroll.in / Scroll.in / Home> Badminton / by Jaideep Vaidya / November 01st, 2018
The ace Indian shuttler said she felt ‘lucky and blessed’ that she had not faced any sort of sexual harassment in her career.
Ace Indian shuttler Ashwini Ponnappa on Monday backed the country’s #MeToo movement against sexual harassment, saying it’s important to stand by the women who are sharing their experiences.
Since October 5, several women have used social media to make allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct against several journalists, media professionals, actors, writers and others.
“In a nation like India, you need to be tough and careful as well,” Ashwini said. “It’s important to stand by them, listen to them and give them strength and courage. It’s not easy to speak up and voice your opinion.”
Ashwini said she was “lucky and blessed” that she had not faced any sort of sexual harassment in her career. “It’s quite unfortunate with all the things I have read and that’s happened,” she said. “But all I can say is that I am fortunate in that respect that I don’t have much to complain about or say. I am grateful for that.”
Ashwini was speaking to reporters in Kolkata while promoting the inaugural Badminton Express League. The all-amateur meet will have six teams with 14 players each, who will compete for top honours at the Ordnance Club from November 28 to December 2.
Ashwini and her current partner N Sikki Reddy caused a massive upset at the recent Denmark Open, ousting seventh seeds Lee So Hee and Shin Seung Chan of South Korea to make the quarter-finals. Their fine run came to an end against top seeds Yuki Fukushima and Sayaka Hirota in the quarter-finals.
“It’s important to understand that when you play doubles, you win and lose together,” Ashwini said. “Sikki and I had a great quarters match and that has given me a lot of confidence that we are going in the right direction.”
She added, “In the quarters [of the Denmark Open] against the Japanese, we tried doing the same as we did against the Koreans. It did not work. We cannot have the same game style against everyone. We need to get better in a few tactical areas too. It’s important to have something special so that we work it towards the end.”
With the Olympics in two years time, Ashwini said she and Sikki are hopeful and working extremely hard to get better. “We are stretching the top players and it’s about time we start winning,” she said.
“Satwik [Rankireddy] and Chirag [Shetty] have had a great run. Sikki and I have had great matches, Satwik and I have had great matches. We are going to do everything we can to qualify and win a medal.”
With inputs from Scroll Staff
source: http://www.scroll.in / Scroll.in / Home> Field> Badminton / Press Trust of India / October 30th, 2018
Kodagu’s WCM Ananya Suresh won the Karnataka State U-19 Women’s Chess Tourney held at Kalaburagi from Oct.20 to 22, with six points from seven rounds.
Mysuru girl and former State women’s chess champion H.R. Manasa finished runner-up with 5.5 points from seven rounds.
In the open section, Samarth J. Rao won the title with 7.5 points from eight rounds.
In the girls section, Manasa had wins over Arfa Noorus Saba, S. Mahima, Swara Lakshmi S. Nair and AFM Renganayaki. She had draws against Divya, Ananya Suresh and S. Rajashree. Both Ananya Suresh and Manasa will represent Karnataka in the National U-19 Women’s Championships.
Final Placings — Women’s: 1. WCM Ananya Suresh (6), 2. H.R. Manasa (5.5-31.5), 3. Mahima Sherigar (5.5-29), 4. S. Rajashree (5-32.5) and 5. AFM Renganayaki (5-31).
source:http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Gallery> Photo News / October 24th, 2018
Hockey India on Wednesday congratulated Rohini Bopanna on being promoted as FIH International Technical Official by the FIH Officials Committee. The World Governing Body for Hockey announced its decision on Wednesday. Earlier this year, Bopanna was also appointed as a Technical Official for the 5th Women’s Asian Champions Trophy 2018 held in Donghae City, South Korea, after having officiated as a Technical Official at the 9th Women’s Asia Cup 2017 in Kakamigahara, Japan.
Rohini Bopanna started her career as a Technical Official when she first officiated during the 4th Hockey India National Championship (Women) in 2014 where she was involved with the Junior, Sub-Junior and Senior categories. Being a former hockey player herself, the 38-year-old has since then officiated in various domestic and international events.
Bopanna considers her first International assignment as a key milestone in her career as a Technical Official which came when she officiated at the 12th South Asian Games 2016 in Guwahati, India. She was also assigned to officiate the 4th Women’s Asian Champions Trophy which was held in Singapore later that year.
Hailing from a family that has hockey in its roots, Bopanna also played for the state of Karnataka in all age groups – Junior, Sub-Junior and Senior level. Her husband, P. Bopanna, also used to play hockey as a Goalkeeper, and has supported the 38-year-old in her endeavor as a Technical Official.
“It is a huge honour for me to have been promoted as FIH International Technical Official by the FIH Officials Committee. Exposure at the 4th Hockey India National Championship (Women) in 2014 helped me start my career as a Technical Official, and I have been fortunate to have officiated in various domestic and international tournaments. I would like to thank my family for always supporting me and helping me in continuing with my duties of being a Technical Official.
“I would also like to extend my gratitude to the Hockey India Umpiring, Technical and Competitions Committee for believing in my abilities and for giving me opportunities to progress and grow as a Technical Official. This would not have been possible without their training, guidance and support,” an ecstatic Bopanna said.
Congratulating Rohini Bopanna on her promotion accorded by the FIH, Hockey India’s Secretary General, Rajinder Singh said, “I would like to wish Rohini Bopanna the very best for her promotion as FIH International Technical Official by FIH Officials Committee. It has been Hockey India Umpiring, Technical and Competitions Committee’s aim to train, guide and support the upcoming officials to the International level by providing them with exposure in domestic and international competitions.
“I am delighted to see several technical officials and umpires making their name through hard-work and determination in the International stage, and would like to wish Mrs. Bopanna the very best for the future.”
source: http:/www.sportskeeda.com / SportsKeeda.com / Home> Field Hockey> News / Press Release / New Delhi, October 24th, 2018
Doubles star Ashwini Ponnappa, who moved from the Delhi Dashers to the Awadh Warriors for a whopping amount of Rs 32 Lakh, is happy with the importance and the pricing the doubles players have attracted during the recently concluded Premier Badminton League auctions.
Ponnappa believes doubles game is growing in India and there is awareness among the fans.
Top doubles player Ashwini Ponnappa, her partner N Sikki Reddy, and coach Tan Kim Her give us some pro tips to become a better doubles badminton player.
If badminton is rock music, doubles badminton is heavy metal.
Faster, sharper, more chaotic, more emphatic beats per second; the doubles game feels like someone has turned up the volume and energy levels on a badminton court. It’s busy and breathless calling for action and reaction every second.
Unlike doubles in racquet sports like tennis and squash, doubles badminton is a specialist art. Players are meant to be groomed from a young age for doubles badminton. It is rare to see a badminton player compete in both singles and doubles.
To understand exactly what it takes to be a top-level doubles player, we spoke with Ponnappa, N Sikki Reddy and doubles coach Tan Kim Her. Here is what they had to say.
Delight in doubles
Even though doubles is usually seen as a fall back choice in India, it is treated on par with singles around the world. Players are selected when they are 15-16 years of age to be specifically groomed for doubles. India’s doubles coach Tan Kim Her believes that the first step for the country towards becoming an all-round badminton powerhouse is giving doubles badminton the same respect and importance as singles.
“Doubles is also an Olympic event,” says Malaysia’s Tan, who was appointed the doubles coach in 2016. “People don’t understand that if you win an Olympic medal in doubles, it’s still an Olympic medal. We need to change that mindset. And for that to happen, players, coaches and parents all need to sit down and decide to take up doubles at an early age.”
Get out of your comfort zone
The norm around the world is that coaches pair up doubles players. Going against that trend, Indian players usually choose their partners based on whom they are comfortable with rather than who complements them most on the court. While understanding between partners is absolutely critical, players may not be in the best position to objectively pick the right partner for themselves.
“In India, we have grown up thinking, ‘Oh no, I don’t like her. I don’t want to play with her!’” says N Sikki Reddy. Involvement of parents has also been a factor at times. “But for the betterment of the game, I think coaches should pair up players by seeing potential,” adds Reddy.
Serve, receive
In doubles, the first two shots can prove critical. The whole aim of doubles is to keep the shuttle as low as possible. Playing a shot high into the air is a cardinal sin. With doubles being a quick-paced game, the placement of the serve and return can immediately decide if your team wins the point or not. The quicker you force your opponent into a weaker shot, the greater chance you have to attack and win the point.
“I was very good at serving and receiving – which are very important in doubles,” Jwala Gutta had said in 2017. “If you observe all my matches, I used to make sure that I finish it. I could take advantage of my partner’s smash or my partner’s placing. Or I used to place it in such a way that my partner had an advantage.”
For youngsters, according to doubles coach Akshay Dewalkar, the first three strokes make up the bulk of their basic training. “How to serve, where to move, where to play the shuttle, that’s very important,” adds Dewalkar.
Trust and understanding
Trust yourself, trust your partner. That is the foundation of any partnership.
In doubles badminton, the roles of the two players are usually very well defined. While the attacking player hangs back to smash and finish off points, the defensive player stays at the net, controlling the pace and pattern of the rally. Do your job, and trust your partner to do hers.
“I would say focus on your game and what you could bring to your partnership,” says Ponnappa. “Don’t focus on what your partner isn’t doing – look at the positives. Watch and learn from top doubles players. Learn to understand what sort of game you like playing, what sort of game your partner plays. Which is your strong point? It’s very important to understand doubles. There’s a lot of information online on various doubles drills and techniques. In case you don’t have a specialised doubles coach, sit with your coach and watch a few videos and see what drills you could incorporate to improve your doubles game.”
Read between the moves
The coaching manual of the Badminton World Federation counts ‘open skills’ as a pre-requisite for the game. These open skills are defined as: “being able to adapt to the different challenges presented by their opponent’s strokes.” This ability to pick on playing patterns, strengths, and weaknesses quickly is decisive in doubles, since it gives the competitors little breathing space.
Moreover, doubles is a game of power and strength; one that is more suited to the lean, athletic East Asian body structure. That is the reason European and Indian players have often relied on movement and tactics when playing against more adept opponents.
“We are smart on the court,” says Ponnappa. “Strength and speed are important factors – and what a lot of players lack – which makes it difficult to match players from Asia. The Europeans are very good strategically. They play smart and to their advantage.”
Love thy labour
As important as the tweaks in training and tactics are to push you to become a good doubles player, none of it can sustain without absolute dedication to the craft. You have to be disciplined and diligent, push yourself in training and on the court to get the results.
However long it takes.
“Prepare for long rallies, have patience, be strong mentally,” says Sikki Reddy. “Love the game and your practice sessions, and always believe in yourself no matter what.”
Click here to read about Red Bull Shuttle Up – an exclusive women’s doubles-only badminton tournament.
To register to participate in Red Bull Shuttle Up, click here.
source: http://www.redbull.com / Redbull.com / Home / by Deepti Patwardhan
Rohan Bopanna-Divij Sharan clinch Gold in Asian Games Men’s Tennis Doubles
This is the fifth Gold medal for India in the Men‘s Doubles (Tennis) since the Asian Games started.
Indian doubles pair of Rohan Bopanna and Divij Sharan beat Kazakhstan‘s Aleksandr Bublik and Denis Yevseyev in the Men‘s Tennis Doubles on Friday to secure India‘s 6th Gold (22nd Overall) at the Asian Games.
The Indian doubles pair thrashed the Kazakhstan duo 6-3, 6-4 to win the Gold.
Earlier, Bopanna and Sharan got the better of Japan‘s Uesugi K and Shimabukuro S 4-6, 6-3, 10-8 on Thursday after a nervy tie-breaker to reach the finals.
This is the fifth Gold medal for India in the Men‘s Doubles (Tennis) since the Asian Games started.
Previously, the team that won gold for India in Men‘s Doubles (Tennis) were – Gaurav Natekar/Leander Paes (1994, Hiroshima), Mahesh Bhupathi/Leander Paes (2002 Busan), Mahesh Bhupathi, Leander Paes (2006, Doha), and Somdev Devvarman, Sanam Singh (2010, Guangzhou).
On Thursday, Prajnesh Gunneswaran ensured another podium finish for India when he beat Korea’s Soonwoo Kwon 6(2)-7, 6-4, 7-6(8) to enter the semifinals of Tennis Men’s Singles.
In Tennis, Ankita Raina had to settle for a Bronze medal on Thursday after she lost 4-6, 6(6)-7 after a tough tie-breaker against China’s Zhang Shuai.
source: http://www.hermannherald.com / Hermann Herald / Home / October 14th, 2018
Jyothy Institute of Technology organised ‘Run for Coorg’, a 5K run, near its college campus at Thataguni in Bengaluru on Saturday.
Bengaluru :
Jyothy Institute of Technology organised ‘Run for Coorg’, a 5K run, near its college campus at Thataguni in Bengaluru on Saturday. More than 2,000 people, including music director Gurukiran and actor Aniruddha Jatkar, participated.
People from various parts of the state, including Mysuru, Davangere, Dakshina Kannada and Uttara Kannada, participated. They have decided to rebuild a village in Kodagu that was devastated by the recent floods. The event was flagged off by Gurukiran and Aniruddha Jatkar.
The Institute along with Rotaract organised the event with an aim to reconstruct Kodagu and rehabilitate the affected people. They have planned to reconstruct a village in Kodagu and help people who lost their houses and other properties, said Rajesh K of the Institute.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Karnataka / by Express News Service / October 08th, 2018
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