ATHLETES of Hanuman Vyayam Prasarak Mandal (HVPM) Athletics Club did the institution proud by getting selected for the athletics meet which is going to be held at Nepal. Four athletes from the club have been picked for the Asian Athletics Championship which gets under way on Thursday. Jagruti Gajanan Shingare, Varsha Hari Kanpure, Priyanka Sunil Pawar and Om Hirpurkar will be participating in the Pacific Asian Athletic Championship. At the National Pacific Sports Meet held at Rajasthan, Jagruti ..

WITH the daily figures of rising positive patients and deaths due to coronavirus in the city as well as in the whole of Maharashtra State, the organisers have postponed the district as well as senior athletics championship. The district tourney was scheduled to be organised from April 15 has been postponed and no fresh dates have been announced. Likewise, the state championship that was scheduled to be held at Pune during the month end has also been postponed. Both events were important as far ..

NAGPUR Municipal Corporation (NMC) has announced to develop six grounds at six MLA constituencies of the city. In that regard, NMC Sports Committee Chairman Pramod Tabhane inspected Guru Govindsingh Stadium in North Nagpur the other day. Nagpur Mayor Dayashankar Tiwari, in a recent visit to the stadium, had asked the officials to level the ground and make it playable with all basic facilities...

A NEW multi-sports facility – FOICER – has come up in East Nagpur. It boasts of one the city’s biggest artificial turf grounds, according to the owners of the facility. The FIFA certified CC+ artificial turf (55 mm thick) can cater to football, cricket, volleyball and rugby as well. Players of these sports can use the facility even in floodlights. Raja Ram Goyal, a dal mill owner, is the brain behind this new sports facility. He owns a vacant piece of land of over 6000 sq ft adjacent to his mill. ..

EVEN as the authorities are contemplating another complete lockdown in the entire state of Maharashtra, Nagpur Gym Association (NGA) has come up with a request to consider opening fitness industries on priority that is shut since 2020. Terming themselves as “Health Workers”, an NGA press release issued by Kuldeep Chikane, Rohit Shahu and Dr Kevin Agrawal states that they work under the banner of Fit India and that they not only build strength and immunity but also we help in overcoming people suffering ..

MARTIN Nagar defeated DCP Dharampeth XI by six runs to clinch the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena organised cricket tournament at Zingabai Takli the other day. Around 64 teams participated in the tournament which carried a winner’s purse of Rs 21,111. Batting first, Martin Nagar scored 83 runs. In reply, DCP Dharampeth XI were all out for 77 runs thus losing the match by five runs. Martin Nagar won a glittering trophy along with cash prize. Dharampeth XI took home a trophy and a cash prize of Rs 11,111. ..

UPCOMING city shuttler Ritika Thaker, along with her Mumbai partner Simran Singhi, have got entry in India Open 2021 to be played at New Delhi from May 11. This is an HSBC BWF World Tour Super 500 level tournament. It will be more than a year that twenty-year-old Ritika will be playing competitive badminton. Due to covid restrictions, there would be no qualifying rounds...

Nagpur city (may be entire India and even the world) witnessed a protest of this magnitude involving only sports on Friday.Over 150 coaches, an equal number of physical training instructors (PTIs) and scores of sportspersons representing different sports associations and organisations came together with one common motto of saving sports in these tough times. They peacefully protested at over hundred venues in the city against lockdown urging Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) to save sports and ..

MAHARASHTRA Sports Minister Sunil Kedar recently felicitated Nagpur Thaiboxing players for winning several medals in the 7th National Thaiboxing Federation Cup, Pro Night Fight 2021 organised by Telangana Thaiboxing Association at KK Garden Hall. Players from Nagpur T h a i b o x i n g Association, Women’s College Nandanvan Nagpur, succeeded in winning two gold, two silver and two bronze medals. Shagun Sathe (gold), Spandan Goswami (gold), Riya Ugle (silver), Anandi Diwan (silver), Sparsh Goswami ..

FORMER Vidarbha Under-15 skipper Kunal Shirish Lonkar passed away on Wednesday. The former all-rounder was just 33 years old. He was not feeling well since last week and had tested COVID positive on March 30. Lonkar, a resident of Dabha, is survived by his wife and a five-year-old son. It is said that Lonkar could not get a bed in any hospital on time. Lonkar had represented Vidarbha in the Under-15 and Under-17 age category in the BCCI tournaments. He was a right-handed middle-order batsman and part-time ..

CITY’S noted hockey personality Dr Yagya Thakur left for heavenly abode at a very young age on Wednesday. She was 48 years old and leaves behind daughter Sanskriti, son Sanskar, mother, brother and relatives. She was COVID negative. The last rites will be held on Thursday...

SHRI Hanuman Vyayam Prasarak Mandal Amravati’s athletes are doing their institution proud by getting selected in various national teams. Recently Rahul Ugale, a student of MA Yoga course of Degree College of Physical Education has been selected for the national shooting championship which is going to be held at Delhi...

MOVING forward with its aim to give opportunities to poor and needy people to grow and develop themselves with the help of sports and arts, Slum Soccer is celebrating International Day of Sport for Development and Peace (IDSDP) at its Bokhara Centre in Koradi. The International Day of Sport for Development and Peace is celebrated on April 4-6 and it presents an opportunity to recognise the role that sport and physical activity plays in communities and in people’s lives across the world. A football ..

AMMA Football Club, Nagpur slumped to their second straight defeat in the ongoing Western India Football Association (WIFA) Women’s Football League at the Cooperage ground on Monday. The league is a qualifying tournament for the AIFF Indian Women’s League (IWL). Now, the tournament has been put on hold due to lockdown in State. The loss hampered Amma FC’s chances of qualifying for the semi-finals...

NAGPUR’S Gurpreet Batra, a tennis ball cricketer and umpire, has been appointed as official for the Indo-Nepal International Tennis Ball Cricket Tournament which is going to be held at Pokhra in Nepal from April 7. In the recently held 31st Senior National Tennis Ball Cricket Championship at Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu, Gurpreet performed well while officiating in several matches...

VIDARBHA all-rounder Darshan Nalkande has started practising with Punjab Kings’, who have changed their name this season from the old Kings XI Punjab, for the 14th edition of Indian Premier League that gets under way on April nine. Nalkande is just second player from the region apart from India player Umesh Yadav, to be a part of this year’s Indian Premier League...

CITY’S international umpire and former Vidarbha Ranji Trophy player Ulhas Gandhe has been appointed as match official for the forthcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021. The popular league is scheduled to be held from April 9 at different venues of the country. Gandhe has left for Chennai on March 31. He will have to undergo COVID tests followed by quarantine period. This is Gandhe’s fourth successive stint as an IPL official. Last year also Gandhe officiated in IPL which was held in United Arab ..

HONOURABLE Governor of Tamil Nadu Banwarilal Purohit felicitated city’s young adventure swimmer Jayant Jaiprakash Duble at Rajbhavan, Chennai on Thursday for becoming the second fastest swimmer to cross Palk Strait. The finishing point of Duble Palk Strait Swimming Expedition was at Arichalmunai, Dhanushkodi in Tamil Nadu. He swam between Talaimannar, Sri Lanka to Arichalmunai covering a total distance of 29 km with the timing of 9 hours and 20 minutes on March 26, 2021...

THEY have been running pillar to post to get some space for themselves for long. Their unity and perseverance was rewarded when the officials at Divisional Sports Complex, Mankapur finally handed divyang cricketers of the city four acres of land and a huge hall for their exclusive use on the premises recently. Avinash Pund, Deputy Director, Sports handed Uttam Mishra, President of Maharashtra Cricket Association for Disabled, the said piece of land and an existing structure for the use for divyang ..

DR AMIT Samarth, one of India’s finest ultra cyclists, who recently completed Ride Across India covering the Golden Quadrilateral (Mumbai — Chennai — Kolkata — Delhi and back to Mumbai) has urged the donors to contribute for the betterment of Lok Biradari Prakalp...

AN IN-FORM Vidarbha will take on an unbeaten Andhra in their maiden quarter-finals of the Women’s One-Day Tournament at Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Rajkot on Tuesday. It is for the first time that Vidarbha eves have made it to the knock-out stage in the 50-over format of the national tournament. With a thrilling four-run win over Karnataka, Vidarbha made the cut in final league match and by virtue of their head-on result (though they had inferior net run rate), they topped the group ..

AMAN Amar Khiche has been selected in Senior Maharashtra State handball team for 49th Senior Men’s National Handball Championship to be held at Indore, Madhya Pradesh from march 30, informs Dr Sunil Bhotmange, Secretary, Nagpur District Handball Association (NDHA). Khiche is student of Sharirik Shikshan Mahavidyalaya, Koradi and a member of Nagpur District Handball Association...

CITY’S Dr Anand Babulal Yadav won gold medal in 21st National Sqay Martial Arts Championships that concluded at Jagannath University Indoor Stadium, Jaipur, Rajasthan, recently. The event was organised under the banner of Sqay Federation of India. Yadav’s top performance came in the khawank sqay kata category for 26 year age group players. As many as 650 players representing 27 states took part in the mega event...

CITY’S pride, young boxer Alfiya Pathan, who will be participating in the women’s +81kg category event in the AIBA Youth Men’s and Women’s World Boxing Championships to be held at Kielce, Poland from April 10 to 24, will leave for Poland on March 31 along with the entire 20-member Indian contingent. The strong team will be having a 10-day advanced preparatory camp in Wladyslawowo, Poland and following that it will be participating in the World Championships, which will see in action 487 boxers from ..

   Chhattisgarh men scripted history by winning gold for the seventh consecutive time in the senior national softball championship held at Bharatpur in Rajasthan from March 20 to 24. Chhattisgarh defeated Maharashtra 13-4 in grand final of the 42nd Senior National Softball Championship. On the other hand, Chhattisgargh women had to be satisfied with bronze medal as they shared medal with Madhya Pradesh. With this, women bagged a medal after a long gap. Manas, Ashish, Hitesh, ..

INCLUSION of yogasana in Khelo India Youth Games 2021 is a boost for the sport as it will bring the century-old Indian art that lay thrust on having a perfect balance between physical and mental health at par with other sports, feels Anil Mohagaonkar. President of the Nagpur District Yoga Association Mohagaonkar has been running yoga coaching classes in the city since decades in two sessions and has produced many international and yoga champions. Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju on Thursday said the government ..

NAGPUR’S Ananmay Jayaswal has been selected as net bowler for Chennai Super Kings for the upcoming 14th edition of Indian Premier League (IPL) that begins at Chennai’s MA Chidambram Stadium on April 9. The medium fast bowler from city will test among other batsmen none other than skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni. In fact, it was Dhoni who noticed Jayaswal’s skills while he was undergoing training with the Royal Cricket Academy...

AS MANY as four fencers from the city have made it to the Maharashtra State squad for the 22nd edition of National Sub-Junior Fencing Championships being held at Cuttak in Odisha. The players were selected according to the rankings and four players from Nagpur were selected, informs Mohd Shoeb, Secretary, Nagpur Fencing Association through a press release...

IF ALL goes as per plans, the Marartoli Football Ground in Ramnagar will get a facelift which will help budding footballers of the area to train in much better playing conditions. Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) has decided to develop and maintain several sports fields of the city. NMC’s Sports Committee Chairman Pramod Tabhane, on Wednesday, visited Marartoli ground which is famous for futsal (five-a-side) tournaments...

NAGPUR’S 18-year-old open water swimmer Jayant Jaiprakash Duble will attempt to cross Palk Strait between Sri Lanka (Talaimannar) to India (Dhanushkodi) on March 26. The solo swimming expedition is being jointly organised by JD Sports Youth Foundation and National Institute of Swimming. Through this expedition, Duble will spread the message of friendship between India and Sri Lanka, Fit India Movement and Drowning Prevention Awareness. Duble has participated successfully in various adventure sea swimming ..

CITY-BASED swimming coach Aayush Yadav was among those who helped Hyderabad’s entrepreneur Goli Syamala conquer the famous Palk Strait that separates India and Sri Lanka. Syamala made it to the record books as only second Indian woman after Bula Choudhury to achieve the feat swimming the 30 kms stretch in under 14 hours on Friday. Syamala dived into the sea waters from Sri Lanka at 4.15 am and reached the Indian shores in 13 hours and 43 seconds at Dhanushkodi in Tamil Nadu...

NAGPUR’S Sumit Navse has been selected to represent Maharashtra State in 43rd Junior Boys National Handball Championship to be held at New Delhi from March 23-27, 2021, informs Secretary, Nagpur District Handball Association (NDHA) Dr Sunil Bhotmange. Navse is student of Dhanwate National Junior College, Nagpur and is a member of Nagpur District Handball Association. He takes regular training at Yeshwant Stadium under the watchful eyes of Dr Bhotmange and Pankaj Kothari...

CITY’S para lifters Pratima Bonde and Roshani Rinke excelled in the 18th Senior & 13th Junior National Para Powerlifting Championships that concluded at Kanteerawa Stadium, Bengaluru on Sunday evening. In the three-day national event organised by Karnataka Sports Association of Physically Handicapped under the auspices of Paralympic Committee of India, Pratima bagged a gold and Roshani won a bronze medal. While Pratima’s gold came in 50kg class with a lift of 72 kgs, Roshani picked a bronze in 55kg ..

MAHARASHTRA, led by city lad Gurudas Raut, thumped Bihar by nine wickets to emerge champion in the National Ten10 Cricket Tournament for Physically Disabled organised by Physically Challenged Cricket Association of India (PCCAI) at Noida. This is for the 19th time that Maharashtra have won the national title in limited overs cricket. Making first use of the turf, Bihar made 73 runs losing eight wickets in the stipulated 10 overs. Amit Singh top scored with 26 whereas Pankaj Kumar contributed 10...

THE Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) decision to suspend all junior inter-state cricket tournaments has put a big question mark on the careers of age-group cricketers especially those in the Under-16 category. Due to increase in the COVID-19 cases, the BCCI has decided to put off all the age-group competitions especially Vijay Merchant, Vinoo Mankad and Cooch Behar Trophy at least till the end of IPL. BCCI secretary Jay Shah informed its affiliates about the decision through an email ..

CITY karatekas won gold medals at the invitational karate competition held recently in Telangana. Pawan Raut and Shraddha Iyer both bagged gold medals in their respective age categories in 3rd South India Invitational Karate Championship. MITSUYA-KAI Hayashi-ha Shito-ryu Karate-Do India's Maharashtra's seven members team participated in Shito-Ryu Japan Karate-Do India Honbu organised 3rd South India Invitational Karate Championship at Warangal, Telangana under the leadership of Dr Zakir S Khan...

IN AN attempt to provide medical assistance and produce fit and medal winning athletes, Nagpur District Athletics Association (NDAA), during its special general meeting, formed a medical committee which will look after the players’ fitness. NDAA president Gurudev Nagrale presided over the meeting. The committee headed by Dr Pinak Dande has Dr Ashish Agrawal (Sports Physiotherapist), Dr Shailesh Pangaonkar (Sports Psychologist), Dr Tejas Suryawanshi (Sports Dentistry) and Dr Meghna Kumbhare (Sports ..

Vidarbha’s India cap holder Bharti Fulmali has become the lynchpin of women’s team. After each passing game in the Women’s One Day Championship under way at Chennai, the one down batswoman has eked out superlative knocks which helped Vidarbha win the battles. On Wednesday, riding on Bharti’s half century, her third in as many games, Vidarbha managed to beat Himachal Pradesh by 25 runs in the Elite Group E encounter at the VB Nest Ground. Bharti scored 67 runs which helped Vidarbha post a competitive ..

Star Vidarbha kho-kho player Dilrajsing Sengar, who hails from Katol, expressed his excitement to be watched by people on TV and said broadcasting of the Ultimate Kho Kho will take the sport to larger audience. “I have been playing kho-kho since the last 14 years and I never thought that I would ever attend a camp with so many world class facilities. Now, I understand my body and game better,” said Sengar. Sengar who will be part of Ultimate Kho Kho, said the game will definitely rise once it is beemed ..

FROM next academic session (2021-22), the inter-college competitions organised by the Department of Physical Education and Sports, Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University, will be held at Divisional level. Five divisions will be created and colleges affiliated with RTMNU will play each other in their division before making it to the quarter-finals. From quarter-finals, matches will be played at Nagpur. Talking with ‘The Hitavada’, Dr Sharad Suryawanshi, Director, Department of Physical Education ..

TWO swimmers of Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University (RTMNU) Rutuja Talegaonkar and Rishika Bodele have been selected for the selection trials of World University Games which are going to be held at Chengdu in China in August...

India’s rising boxer and Asian junior champion Alfiya Akram Pathan has once again stamped her authority in country’s junior circuit when she was selected in the Indian youth boxing team which will take part in Youth World Boxing Championship at Poland from April 10 to 24. According to reports, Nagpur’s Alfiya thrashed Punjab’s mighty pugilist Komal Jora Singh hands down to emerge victorious in the selection trials at the National Boxing Academy in Rohtak in 81+ kgs weight category. A total of four ..

CITY’S Poonam Kadav has been named captain of Maharashtra State handball team which will take part in 49th Senior Women National Handball Championship to be held at Bareilly (UP) from March 17 to 21, informs Dr Sunil Bhotmange, Secretary, Nagpur District Handball Association...

HARD-HITTING batswoman Bharti Fulmali and opener Vaishnavi Khandkar slammed half centuries while Nupur Kohale spun the web with her slow left arm spin bowling as Vidarbha thrashed Meghalaya in their opening encounter of Women’s One-Day Cricket Tournament at VB Nest Ground, in Chennai on Saturday. In their Elite Group E opener Vidarbha drubbed Meghalaya by a whopping 146 runs to earn four full points. Winning the important toss and batting first, Vidarbha had a shaky start as they lost opener Sapna ..

City’s Ultra runner and ultra cyclist Rajendra Jaiswal successfully completed Dubai Ironman 70.3. The 70.3 Ironman has 1.9 km swimming, 89 km cycling and 21.1 km running. Jaiswal completed the distance in 8.19.58 hours in odd conditions and won an appreciation medal for the same...

   Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) Sports Committee Chairman Pramod Tabhane recently inaugurated RL Cricket Academy at Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Ground in Kukde Layout. The academy will train youngsters from the age group of five years to open category.Academy will also be participating in Vidarbha Cricket Association organised tournaments.On the occasion, Vandana Bhagat, Academy’s Rishi Lodhi, Kiran Bagde, Vandana Hirekhan, Vaidya, Naranje and others were also present...

THE Physical Education and Sports Department of Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University (RTMNU) recently felicitated women sportspersons and coaches, who excelled in their respective sports, on the occasion of International Women's Day. The function was held at the sports complex of RTMNU, Ravi Nagar. The sportspersons and coaches were felicitated by Urmila Dabir, Management Council Member. Dr Vishakha Joshi, Sports Council Member presided over the programme...

Nagpur’s international disabled cricketer Gurudas Raut and Vinay Yadav are leading the Maharashtra and Vidarbha teams for disabled in the Divyang T10 Cricket Tournament for Disabled which begun at Saheed Vijaysingh Pathik Sports Complex, Noida in UP. The tournament is being hosted by Physically Challenged Cricket Association of India. Raut, who works with Maintenance Command, Indian Air Force, will lead the Maharashtra team while Ravi Patil of Palghar is vice-captain. Vinay Yadav, who is employed ..

IN AN attempt to break the ice, Hockey Maharashtra Secretary Manoj Bhore met Vidarbha Hockey Association Administrator Triloki Nath Sidhra at VHA office on Tuesday afternoon. The informal meeting holds significance as VHA is contesting a case in the High Court against Hockey India’s decision to disaffiliate the hockey governing body of Vidarbha stating one-state-one-unit diktat of Indian Olympic Association. Hockey Maharashtra is also party to the case. The meeting between Bhore and Sidhra was held ..

FEMALE sportspersons from Nagpur have done the city proud on many occasions. They have kept city’s flag flying high at national and international levels. Time and again players like shuttlers Malvika Bansod, Nikkita Joseph, boxer Alfiya Pathan, athletes Jyoti Chavan, Prachi Godbole, yoga player Dhanashree Lekurwale, to name a few, have carved a niche for themselves. ‘The Hitavada’ remembers the golden performances of these lasses who have recently won accolades at national and international levels. ..