Monthly Archives: April 2017

Monte Carlo Masters: Rohan Bopanna and Pablo Cuevas clinch first ATP title as doubles team

Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Records, All, Sports, World Opinion

Monte Carlo:

India’s Rohan Bopanna and his Uruguayan partner Pablo Cuevas lifted their first ATP World Tour title together when they downed seventh-seeds Feliciano Lopez and Marc Lopez in a three-set battle in the final of the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters on Sunday.

The unseeded Indo-Uruguayan pair outwitted the Spanish team in the Match tie breaker for a 6-3 3-6 10-4 win in 74 minutes.

Rohan Bopanna and his partner Pablo Cuevas with the men's doubles trophy. Getty
Rohan Bopanna and his partner Pablo Cuevas with the men’s doubles trophy. Getty

It was the second title of the season for Bopanna having won the the season-opening Chennai Open crown with compatriot Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan.

“I’m really happy to win our first title together. I have come to Monte-Carlo so many years, it’s such a historic tournament. We had a tough start to the season, but it s great to have won. We came through some close Match tie-breaks this week and it s a good start to the clay season. I m looking forward to the rest of the tournaments,” said Bopanna.

Cuevas said, “I am really happy, as I didn t started the season well. I’m happy to win with my partner in the first tournament on European clay and I hope for a good run through to Paris.”

Bopanna is now 16-24 in doubles finals and 4-4 in Masters’ summit clashes. It was Cuves’ second Masters trophy, adding to the 2015 Rome Masters triumph with David Marrero.

Marc Lopez, one-half of the Rio Olympic champion team, came under pressure in his first service game at 1-2, 30-40, when Bopanna feinted a switch at the net off a long rally to strike a forehand volley winner into space.

Bopanna and Cuevas held onto the break and wrapped up a 28-minute set when Feliciano Lopez mistimed a forehand wide on Bopanna’s serve at 40-15.

In the first game of the second set, Feliciano did well to hold as he recovered from 30-40, including two break points. At 1-2, 30-40, Cuevas over-hit a lob long to gift the Spaniards their first service break and it proved to be enough for Feliciano, serving at 5-3, to strike two straight aces for a hold to 30.

The greater weight of groundstroke by Bopanna and Cuevas was felt in the Match tie-break as the pair took a 6-0 lead, largely targeting the volleys of Marc.

Although Team Lopez recovered to 4-8, Cuevas sealed the first match point opportunity with a forehand down the line that Feliciano could not return cleanly.

They were trying to become the third Spanish team to win the Monte-Carlo title in the Open Era (since April 1968), joining Sergio Casal and Emilio Sanchez in 1988 and Rafael Nadal and Tommy Robredo in 2008.

source: http://www.firstpost.com / Firstpost.com / Home> Latest News> Sports News / by PTI / April 24th, 2017

Indian coffee needs branding push: Minister

Agriculture, Business & Economy, Coffee News, Coffee, Kodagu (Coorg), Leaders, World Opinion
Fresh brew Union Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman at the launch of the Coffee Board’s soil health cards and web portal, in Bengaluru on Friday. To her right are GV Krishna Rau, Advisor -Agricultural Marketing & Tribal Welfare, Government of Andhra Pradesh, and Arati Dewan Gupta, Director of Finance, Coffee Board
Fresh brew Union Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman at the launch of the Coffee Board’s soil health cards and web portal, in Bengaluru on Friday. To her right are GV Krishna Rau, Advisor -Agricultural Marketing & Tribal Welfare, Government of Andhra Pradesh, and Arati Dewan Gupta, Director of Finance, Coffee Board

Bengaluru :

Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Nirmala Sitharaman exhorted the Coffee Board on Friday to take up aggressive branding and promotion of Indian coffees.

“It’s the age of branding. You need to brand everything. You need to have high profile marketing for everything to reach even the lower end of the pyramid,” she said.

The Minister was speaking at an event where she distributed soil health cards to growers and launched a web portal — a Coffee Board initiative towards soil fertility appraisal and soil health monitoring in traditional growing regions.

Citing the recent example of Araku Valley coffee making its presence felt in Paris with the support of industry, Sitharaman called upon the Board to “break the usual trodden path” in branding and marketing of Indian coffee. “If Araku on its own can go to Paris, Coffee Board should have pushed itself and said — I will market Coorg coffee. We should brand it,” she said. Branding ensures the market is sustained, she added.

Noting that countries such as Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos and even Myanmar have made long strides in packaging, value addition, presenting and marketing of coffee, the Commerce Minister said: “The Coffee Board obviously is now going to have to be on its toes.”

Sitharaman further said newer areas such as Uttarakhand and Himachal are attempting to grow arabica coffee. “The new growing areas have a great deal of enthusiasm and the energy they have is fantastic,” she remarked while expressing confidence that there will be expansion in area under coffee.

The Commerce Minister also indicated that the ambit of the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana will be expanded to even small coffee growers, who have been facing the brunt of erratic rainfall pattern in recent years.

About 98 per cent of India’s coffee holdings are less than 10 hectares and held by small growers.

The Central Coffee Research Institute (CCRI), in collaboration with the National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Policy, has started creating a database on the soil health in major growing regions and rendering site specific nutrient recommendations through soil health cards.

“The card is designed to present information on soil health indicators like pH, electrical conductivity, organic carbon and micro nutrient content, among others. It will enable judicious use of fertilisers and correct nutrient deficiencies,” said Y Raghuramulu, Director, CCRI.

Coffee flavoured stamp
After coming out with sandalwood, rose and jasmine flavoured stamps, the Postal Department will launch a stamp that will have coffee flavour.

Telecom Minister Manoj Sinha will be releasing the stamp in Bengaluru on Sunday that will be a collector’s version, Sitharaman said. The coffee flavoured stamp will be priced at ₹100. “There is a lot of interest in Government of India in promotion of coffee. The coffee flavoured stamp is going to induce a lot of people to taste coffee,” she added.

source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com / Business Line / Home> Markets> Commodities / by The Hindu Bureau / April 21st, 2017

Karnataka hockey stadium gets new turf, new name

Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Leaders, Records, All, Sports

Bengaluru :

The Karnataka State Hockey Association stadium will now be known as the Field Marshal KM Cariappa stadium. It was renamed on Thursday during the inauguration of the newly-laid blue hockey turf by the Department of Youth Empowerment & Sports (DYES).

The grand ceremony, however, was marred by controversy after Hockey Bengaluru (formerly KSHA) – which holds the rights over the stadium land after having signed a 99-year lease with BBMP decades ago – slammed the DYES for ignoring them and not following due procedure.

“It is wrong on the part of the DYES to change the name of the ground without taking us into confidence. We are not objecting to the developments but they could have consulted us as the BBMP has leased the land to us. It’s a clear violation of the agreement,” fumed Hockey Bengaluru secretary K Krishnamurthy.

Krishnamurthy explained that the stadium cannot be renamed without a resolution passed by BBMP. “We are not aware whether DYES sought an approval from BBMP,” he said.

“The agreement signed in 1977 is in the name of KSHA. Although KSHA has been renamed Hockey Bengaluru, KSHA still exists as a trade name with an aim to promote hockey,” he said. “DYES came to an understanding with us during the 1997 National Games to develop the infrastructure and share the facility. The department has no rights over the land.”

Revealing that Hockey Bengaluru was invited only an hour before the inaugural ceremony, Krishnamurthy said: “Field Marshal Cariappa is a hero for all of us. They have put his name on a flex board instead casting it in stone. This is not the way to honour a national hero. We were not even informed about their plans to change the name.”

Blaming the DYES, he said: “Ever since the new director has taken charge we have been given raw deal. We were not informed when DYES called for tenders to upgrade the stadium.”

Krishnamurthy said they will take up the matter with the sports minister after consulting MLA NA Haris, the patron of the club.

Meanwhile, the DYES director Anupam Agrawal countered Krishnamurthy’s allegations saying they have followed the protocol. “We have an approval from the state sports minister to change the name of the stadium. We have not consulted KSHA because legally they don’t exist,” he said. “We wanted to rename the ground to Field Marshal Cariappa ground to honour his contributions,” he said.

Stadium will be upgraded: Agrawal

DYES director Anupam Agrawal said his department will upgrade the Field Marshal KM Cariappa stadium gallery and refurbish the hostel which is home to Sports Authority of India trainees.

“We have sought an additional Rs 1.5 crore to upgrade the gallery and the hostel. We will also upgrade the toilets and dressing rooms according to FIH standards.

We are in the process of installing a hockey turf at Somwarpet and upgrading the existing facility at Ponnampet as Kodagu district is the cradle of hockey,” he added.

source: http:/www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> Sports> Hockey> Top Stories / by Sunil Subbaiah / TNN / April 21st, 2017

Philatelic delight: India Post launches coffee flavored stamps to push the branding of Indian coffee

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Coffee News
Philatelic delight: India Post launches coffee flavored stamps to push the branding of Indian coffee
Philatelic delight: India Post launches coffee flavored stamps to push the branding of Indian coffee

Indian Postal department, in collaboration with the Coffee Board, has launched its new coffee scented stamps in order to give a branding push to Indian coffee.

Telecom minister Manoj Sinha released the stamp in the presence of commerce and industry minister Nirmala Sitharaman, which are a collector’s version and are priced at Rs 100.

Sitharaman, said: “Today is an age of branding, we need to brand everything, we need to sell everything, we need to have high profile marketing for everything to even reach the lower end of the pyramid.”

She further added, “promotion of Coffee, branding of different coffee should go with a lot more hype. There is a lot of creativity we need to (put) into taking coffee further.

Noting that countries like Cambodia, Vietnam and Myanmar have done, and are doing, a lot of things in packaging, value addition, presenting and marketing of the coffee, she said: “the Coffee Board obviously is now going to have to be on its toes.”

Stamp lovers were quite happy with the news as this innovative campaign trended on Twitter as #CoffeeFlavouredStamp. Also, many retweeted and congratulated the coffee board and Nirmala Sitharaman for their efforts.

source: http://www.thedrum.com / The Drum / Home> News / by Taruka Srivastav / April 23rd, 2017

Robin Uthappa Once Again Shows How Deadly He Is In The T20 Format, Takes Gujarat To The Cleaners

Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Sports

Robin Uthappa was yet again the star of the show for Kolkata Knight Riders when they took on Gujarat Lions in Kolkata.

He was in exceptional touch from the word go and after Sunil Narine’s initial burst, took the bowlers apart piece by piece.

The death overs went for plenty as KKR piled on the runs.

Uthappa ended with 72 runs to his name in 48 balls. He slammed 8 fours and 2 sixes.

By the time he fell, KKR certainly had the base to push for a big total. They finished with 187/5.

source: http://www.indiatimes.com / IndiaTimes.com / Home> Sports / by Somak Adhikari / April 21st, 2017

Playing for pride and family

Sports
A file photo of a match during the 2012 edition of the hockey tournament
A file photo of a match during the 2012 edition of the hockey tournament

306 teams taking part in hockey tournament in Kodagu that begins today

The stage is set for what is arguably the world’s largest hockey tournament, in terms of the number of teams participating in it, to be staged in Kodagu from Monday.

With as many as 306 teams participating in the tournament this is also unique in the annals of sporting events as it is hosted by different families or clans every year and is known as Biddatanda Hockey Namme 2017 this year, as it is hosted by the Biddatanda family.

Sequestered amidst the rolling hills the picturesque district of Kodagu is better known for coffee but Kodavas also have a fervour for hockey which is evident in the successful staging of this unique event which draws nearly 1.5 lakh to 2 lakh spectators every year.

The matches will be played at the Gen. K.S. Thimayya Sports Stadium at Napoklu and the local Government PU College grounds and the tournament will be stretched for nearly a month. The organising cost of the tournament is expected to be nearly ₹1.5 crore and funds were also released by the local elected representatives.

While Pratap Simha, MP, has contributed ₹20 lakh, Veena Achaiah, MLC, has chipped in with ₹ 5 lakh. Similar contributions are in offing from the government.

The stadium has been spruced up for hosting the tournament, the grounds prepared for staging the games and the main venue has a seating capacity to accommodate nearly 20,000 people.

The genesis of the tournament could be traced to the passion for hockey of Pandananda Kuttappa who conceived the tournament in 1997 to bring the Kodava families together and he decided to harness the latent passion for hockey among the community members.

The tournament since then has gone bigger with each passing year and a record 306 teams are participating in the event this year.

Both the inauguration and the valedictory has the stamp of the colourful Kodava culture.

Olympian A.B. Subbiah will inaugurate the tournament on Monday at 10.30 a.m. and the founder of the tournament Mr. Kuttappa will be the chief guest.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Karnataka / by Special Correspondent / Mysuru – April 16th, 2017

Host Biddatanda goes down fighting against Nayakanda

Sports

The host Biddatanda team went down fighting against Nayakanda in a league tie in Kodava family hockey tournament at General K S Thimmayya Stadium here on Sunday.

Nayakanda prevailed over the crowd favourite Biddatanda 6-5 in a tie-breaker.

Three-time champions Kullettira registered a thumping 4-0 victory against Palekanda to advance into next round. Subam and Nachappa netted two goals apiece for the winners.

In the other match played at Thimayya Stadium, Ballanda rode on a goal each from Mandanna and Poonacha to see off Telapanda 2-0.

Manavatteera recorded a clincial 3-0 win against Kanjithanda. Ayyappa, Somanna, and Gagan Cariappa sounded the board for Manavatteera. Pemmanda and Chandoora teams had easy outings on Sunday Pemmanda thrashed Kannambira 5-0 while Chandoora trounced Ponnachanda 6-1.

Other results
Hanchetira beat Kalachanda 4-0; Beppudiyanda beat Nambudumaanda 3-1; Sannuvanda beat Chindamada 2-0; Konganda beat Puttichanda 4-2; Kundyolanda beat Maruvanda 3-0; Shantheyanda beat Jammada 2-1; Aithichanda beat Appaccheera 2-1.

source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> District / Napoklu, Deccan Herald News Service / April 24th, 2017

Rohan Bopanna Says India Has No Top Singles Players Due to Lack of Federation Support

Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Sports

Tennis – Bopanna says enough changes in doubles already; no further required

Tennis – Indian doubles tennis specialist Rohan Bopanna says that Indians do better in doubles as compared to singles due to lack of supoort from the Indian tennis federation. Bopanna analyzed, “The main reason for the lack of singles players is the federation: we do not have support, when players decide to turning pro, and travel, they have no sponsor. The federation does not support us, we make a lot more effort to emerge because it is not easy, indeed it is almost impossible to keep up with the Challengers through which you’re forced to start: a player gets to 26, 27 years without having enough experience, and then switches over to doubles if he still has the passion and desire for tennis. When this situation will change we will see the results. This is another of the reasons why I opened the academy, I would begin to cultivate the players the basics, because we have a system with which they can grow. We also have no tournaments: if you exclude Chennai which is part of the main tour, there are maybe two Challenger and a couple of Futures, and gaining experience in India is very difficult. In Spain, France, Italy, there are smaller tournaments every week, so it is easier to gain experience without having to travel too.”

Bopanna is also not happy with the changes introduced in doubles in order to quicken the game. “I think they have already introduced enough. Even just the super tie-break in the deciding set was a major change. The format is already fairly rapid, the matches are shorter, with the exception of Slams. It’s fun to introduce new concepts, but the format is already so fast. Personally I would prefer to play three sets normal, but as players we are required to adapt to what is being proposed.”

The Banglorean, who was picked by Davis Cup captain Mahesh Bhupathi over Leander Paes, says Bhupathi has been instrumental in his growth as a player. “Certainly playing with Mahesh Bhupathi helped me a lot: having a companion of my own nationality was good. I did well at the beginning of my career with Qureshi, we obtained excellent results (final at the US Open in 2010), but playing with Mahesh taught me a lot. He had a lot of experience, played twice at the highest level for many years gave me a great hand to understand my game, understand how to position myself well on the field and deal with new situations for me. The fact that it was the Indian was a great part, get along off the field helps to perform better in the game.”

The 37-year-old will partner with Pablo Cuevas for the Monte Carlo Masters starting tomorrow and is currently ranked 24th in the ATP Doubles Rankings.

source: http://www.tennisworldusa.org / Tennis World / Tennis World Magazine / Home> News> Indian Tennis / by Prakash / April 17th, 2017

Docu showcases decline of Kodagu

About Kodagu / Coorg, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Green Initiatives / Environment, Nature

KodaguKF25apr2017

Coorg: The Untold Story blames mushrooming resorts for district’s garbage pile-up

A six-and-half minute documentary shot by a group of environmentalists highlights the environmental degradation of Kodagu district.

The documentary titled Coorg: The Untold Story was shot by Clean Coorg Initiative in association with Surfing Swami Foundation and Mantra Surf Club. Shot in Madikeri and other parts of Kodagu district, it highlights the garbage pile up due to the mushrooming of resorts across the district.

It further went on to state that illegal land conversion, encroachment and sand mafia were turning out to be a nightmare for the district and how the garbage pile up on the banks of the river Cauvery is a threat not just for the residents of the district but for people living in Bengaluru and other cities.

Blaming the government and tourists, environmentalists have accused authorities of going soft on the resorts.

The activists fear that Kodagu district is not far from becoming the Mandur landfill where Bengaluru’s garbage is dumped.

Speaking on the crises, Col Muthanna from the Coorg Wildlife Society said, “Kodagu has an overall population of 5.5 lakh people whereas the number of tourists who visited the district last year was 13 lakh. In fact, the density of population in Kodagu is just 135 per sq/km, which is one of the lowest in the country.

“There are many resorts which have been constructed near the banks of Cauvery river, which release their bio-waste into the river. The government should never allow the expansion of resorts as it may also lead to the landslides and other disasters. We are not against the resorts but against their expansion,” he added.

Another environment activist Sundar Muthanna said that Kodagu which is known as the Scotland of India was fast becoming the Garbage Dump of Karnataka. He said that all resorts must mandatorily have sewage and garbage processing units in the resorts.

He warned that the district was turning into an urban jungle which will not just impact the people of the district but also people residing in Bengaluru and other parts of the state as the main source of drinking water is from the district.

The untold story

* The documentary titled Coorg: The Untold Story was shot by Clean Coorg Initiative in association with Surfing Swami Foundation and Mantra Surf Club.

* Shot in Madikeri and other parts of Kodagu district, it highlights the garbage pile up due to the mushrooming of resorts across the district.

* It further went on to state that illegal land conversion, encroachment and sand mafia were turning out to be a nightmare for the district and how the garbage pile up on the banks of the river Cauvery is a threat not just for the residents of the district but for people living in Bengaluru and other cities.

* Blaming the government and tourists, environmentalists have accused authorities of going soft on the resorts.

source: http://www.bangaloremirror.indiatimes.com / Bangalore Mirror / Home> News> State / Bangalore Mirror Bureau / April 21st, 2017

Kodagu Gowda families’ cricket tournament from tomorrow

Sports

Preparations are in full swing for organising Kodagu Gowda families’ cricket tournament, at General Thimmaiah Stadium in Madikeri from April 21.

The tournament is organised jointly by Kodagu Gowda Yuva Vedike and Paikera family. It will commence on April 21, with a qualifying round till May 4. The quarter-final and semi-final will be held on May 6 and the final will be held on May 7.

Kodagu Gowda Yuva Vedike publicity committee president Kudekal Santhosh said that 180 families had taken part last year. This year, 210 families have registered for the tournament.

The organisers will also hold a free eye camp and diabetes screening camp on April 29. “A flood-lit kabaddi tournament will be organised on April 30, with women’s teams taking part – out of 32 teams registered, eight are women teams. Even a throwball tournament, for women too, will be held,” said Santhosh.

“A torchlight rally to mark the beginning of sporting events will be taken from Omakareshwara Temple to Guddemane Appayya Gowda statue and then to district stadium by the athletes, who have made their names in national and international competitions,” said sports committee president Baladi Manoj. He said that it was Kodagu Gowda Samskrithika Academy which started the cricket tournament 18 years ago. The youth wing has been shouldering the responsibility of the tournament for the last five years.

A sum of Rs 74 lakh would be spent on organising the tournament. The inauguration of the tournament will be attended by Adichunchanagiri Mutt seer Shambhunath Swami, Union Minister D V Sadananda Gowda and former chief minister H D Kumaraswamy.

source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> District / DHNS News Service / Madikeri – April 20th, 2017