Both will receive the Rs 20 lakh high cash incentive earlier announced by the late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa for sportspersons winning medals in international games.

Tamil Nadu government Saturday lauded state sportspersons Vikas Thakkar and Chengappa Ganapathy Kelapanda for winning the bronze medal in 49er men’s sailing event at the ongoing Asian Games in Indonesia.

Chief Minister K Palaniswami announced a high cash incentive of Rs 20 lakh each for their feat, in line with the government’s policy of promoting sporting talent from Tamil Nadu. In seperate letters to Thakkar and Kelapanda, the Chief Minister lauded them for their medal winning performance and said they had made the state and the country proud.

Both will receive the Rs 20 lakh high cash incentive earlier announced by the late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa for sportspersons winning medals in international games, he said. “On behalf of the people and Government of Tamil Nadu, I once again extend my warm greetings to you and all those who supported you in this achievement and wish you bring more laurels to the country and the state in future,” he told them.

Further, the Chief Minister announced an additional Rs 20 lakh for paddler A Sharath Kamal, for winning a second bronze medal in the ongoing Asiad. “I am happy to hear that you have won your second medal in the ongoing 18th Asian Games, 2018 a Bronze Medal in Table Tennis mixed doubles event,” Palaniswami said.

The Chief Minister said Kamal was now eligible to receive a high cash incentive of Rs 20 lakhs, apart from a similar amount announced by him on August 29.

source: http://www.indianexpress.com / The Indian Express / Home> Sports> Asian Games / by PTI, Chennai / September 01st, 2018

MR Poovamma, spearhead and senior most member of the Asian Games gold medal winning Indian 4×400 Women’s relay team (which included Hima Das, Saritaben Gayakwad and VK Vismaya), explains the future implications of the victory in Jakarta, and reveals details behind the bold strategy that helped them upstage Salwa Naser-led Bahrain.

A gold medal is special under any circumstance, no doubt. But, when the top prize at the Asian Games — at any competition for that matter — comes after an athlete manages to upstage the best in the world, the medal attains a deeper meaning. Its significance transcends the podium, going much beyond the fervour or emotions the celebrating athletes, the fluttering flag, and the national anthem conjure up. The gold medal gets an additional gleam from a promise for the future, while dreams and aspirations of the athlete involved find new horizons.

When Hima Das, MR Poovamma, Saritaben Gayakwad and VK Vismaya climbed onto the top rung of the podium to celebrate the country’s final gold (in the women’s 4x400m relay) from athletics in Jakarta, on the last day of track and field competitions at Gelora Bung Karno (GBK) Stadium on August 30, they stood tall with a realisation that could, in the coming years, take them to higher pedestals.

source:http://www.newsclick.in / News Click / Home> Sports> India / by Leslie Xavier / August 31st, 2018

Hailing from a poor family in 2nd Monnangeri — which was destroyed in a landslide — Tashma had a flair for throwball since childhood.

Madikeri :

The recent floods in Kodagu have altered numerous lives. Like that of Tashma Muthappa’s. Tashma (23), an international-level throwball player from Kodagu, is now staying at a relief centre after her house was washed away in the floods. And she lost her medals and trophies too. But thanks to the power of social media, help has been pouring in for her. After her story was circulated on the social media platforms, there has been a ray of hope. “I received help from 2nd Monnangeri activist Dhanjay and People for Kodagu Organisation,” Tashma said.

On Wednesday, MLC Veena Achaiah and her son Vishwas Achaiah visited Tashma and offered her help. “Vishwas Achaiah and his friends have offered to pay one year’s rent for our house and have promised to look after other expenses,” she added.

Hailing from a poor family in 2nd Monnangeri — which was destroyed in a landslide — Tashma had a flair for throwball since childhood. She has taken part in many throwball events, including those in Sri Lanka and Malaysia. She was part of the Indian throwball team that won an international championship in Bengaluru recently. However, she gave up her sporting career owing to financial constraints. Tashma, who completed her PU from Alva’s College, Mangaluru, now works as a data operator at Kodagu Medical College. Her parents Muthappa and Girija work at a homestay.

Life suddenly turned upside down for her on August 17. “At around 10 am that day, we started fleeing our homes after we noticed numerous cracks in the earth. We climbed uphill as roads were blocked owing to landslides. Walking through forests, we reached a relief centre at Cherambane at 9 pm,” she said recalling the horror. The family was later moved to a relief camp in Madikeri, where her story was learnt by many well-wishers and was circulated on social media.

Tashma hopes that the government offers her a permanent job. Though her immediate goal is to get a job and support her family, Tashma is ready to enter the throwball field and prove her mettle again … if she gets more support.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Karnataka / by Express News Service / August 31st, 2018

Rohan Bopanna and Divij Sharan won 6-3, 6-4 to become the fifth men’s doubles pairing to win gold at the Asian Games.

Top seeded men’s doubles pairing of Rohan Bopanna and Divij Sharan won India’s second medal in tennis – after bronze for Ankita Raina in women’s singles – at Palembang in the Asian Games. The duo produced clinical display of attacking tennis to beat the Kazakhstan pairing of Aleksander Bublik and Denis Yevseyev 6-3, 6-4 in 52 minutes.

In under 20 minutes, Bopanna-Sharan had taken a 4-1 lead in the opening set with two breaks of serves under their command. Soon enough, Bopanna got the job done to wrap up the opening set thanks to his booming serves and Divij’s confident play at the net. Kazakhs did have their moments but were undone by erratic and inconsistent play – a brilliant cross-court backhand winner one moment was followed up by a powerless return buried in the net the very next minute.

Bopanna who played mostly from the back of the court was formidable in his returns. He pulled off some tough winners helped by his sheer force.

Second set was a more evenly contested affair with Bublik and Yevseyev connecting better but they couldn’t keep their unforced error count low to put pressure on the Indian pairing. At 3-3, Bopanna and Sharan clinched the all-important break to go up and despite being pushed a bit in the very next game, the top seeds held serve to grab a 5-3 lead. Kazakhs held their serve to put the onus on Bopanna to hold for the gold medal – which he did so by serving it out to love.

India have claimed the men’s doubles gold on four occasions at the Asian Games, the last pair being Somdev Devvarman and Sanam Singh in the 2010 Guangzhou edition. Mahesh Bhupathi and Leander Paes remain the most successful Indian men’s doubles pair in the Asian Games history, having claimed back-to-back gold medals in the 2002 and 2006 Games.

Paes, however, had stunned the Indian team this time by pulling out on the eve of the Games after complaining of not getting a specialist partner of his choice.

In 2014, Saketh Myneni and Sanam had ended with a silver medal.

(With PTI inputs)

source: http://www.indianexpress.com / The Indian Express / Home> Sports> Asian Games 2018 / by Sports Desk / August 24th, 2018