SUNDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2019 (PAGE-2) J&K sports shows progress in 2019 RAJESH DHAR events including the most gruelling and the oldest ultra marathon in the world name- Jagdev represents gold medal winning ly 'Comrades Marathon' for four consecutive years earlier, besides marathon at Thai- Sports in Jammu and Kashmir was on the path of Indian Kho-Kho team land in Indonesia and prestigious Ironman Championship held at Rio de Janeiro, the Capital of Brazil, has sparkled and kept his State's/Country's Flag high by doing mir- progression in the year 2019. The year, apart from acles in all mega events. He has also the distinction of dazzling in Athletics at Auck- witnessing extraordinary individual performances land in New Zealand. from a galaxy of ace sportspersons and good show Chain Singh strikes gold by a few teams, also witnessed augmentation of J&Ks ace shooter Chain Singh won gold in the recently held South Asian Games at sports infrastructure in almost every district of the Kathmandu in Nepal. Hailing from Bhaderwah in Doda, Army man Chain Union Territory. Moreover, what was great to Singh, once again kept his country's flag observe this year was that a good number of veteran high at the International scene. sportspersons of J&K represented the country in J&K's sports experts represent country as various capacities viz Chef de Mission, Managers, technical officials, managers Coaches and National Selectors. Young sportspersons made Jammu and Kashmir proud by blossoming at the National and International scene, J&K's Jagdev Singh represented Indian men's Kh-Kho team which won gold Cricketer Abdul Samad, Gymnast Bhavleen Kaur, medal in 13th South Asian Games held at Kathmandu in Nepal recently. After inclusion of Kho-Kho in the South Asian Games for the first time in 2016, spiker Saqleen Tariq and Chess star Soham Kamotra the defending champions clinched gold medal this time also at Kathmandu. are a few outstanding sportspersons to name. The Team: Balasaheb Pokarde (Captain), Raju Buchannagari, Sagar Potdar, Shreyas Raul, Akshay Ganpule, Sudarshan, Deepak Madhav, Abhinandan Patil, Experts in the field of sports from Jammu and Kashmir represented the country Satyajit Singh, Suresh Sawant, Muneerbasha Ahamadjohn, Dhanwin Khopkar, Sib- as top brass technical officials and managers. Leading from the front was SSP Abdul Samad makes IPL cut in Mailankil, Jagdev Singh and Tapan Paul. Dushyant Sharma, former International Wrestler who was the Chef de Mission of J&K's talented middle-order batsman, Abdul Indian contingent in recently held South Asian Games at Kathmandu in Nepal, while Samad, who has the ability to bowl his leg breaks also, Hiteshwar Singh dazzles Aman Sharma was appointed National Selector by the Basketball Federation of has been picked by Sunrisers Hyderabad for IPL-2020 Playing his 2nd World Cup, Hiteshwar Singh of India. Rajan Sharma accompanied the Indian Boxing team as coach, while Dr SM in the prestigious auction held at Kolkata, recently.The Jammu and Kashmir emerged as the highest goal scor- Bali and Inspector Rashid also made it to the tours with Indian squads during 2019. explosive swashbuckler, Samad got the Franchisee' er for the gold medal winner Indian Rollball team in Though, the sports and games in general were on the path of progression in 2019, nod for his consistent performances in this season's 5th Rollball World Cup held at Chennai in India. yet there were some stumbling-blocks which hampered the promotion of specific Syed Mushtaq Ali T20, Vijay Hazare Trophy and in Defending Champion India lead by Adtiya Ganesh- sports disciplines. However, the progressive graph of many sports disciplines the ongoing Ranji Trophy Tournament. He hit impres- wade of Maharahtra defeated Kenya in the final by remained unchanged in 2019. sive 78 runs, studded with 10 fours and 3 sixes in the eight goals to four (8-4), while in the semifinal, India Ranji Trophy match against Maharashtra at Pune defeated strong Bangladesh by two goals to one (2:1) Secretary YSS, DG Sports establish Khel today. after trailing by (0-1) at the half time. Enroute to semi- Gaon as sporting hub Samad has the distinction of producing splendid final, India defeated Egypt, Senegal, Belarus, New performances consistently in J&K's big wins at the Under-19 and the Senior Level. Zealand, England, Vietnam and Maldives in the league In one of the matches this season against formidable Gujarat, Samad impressed all stages. with his explosiveness by sending the bowlers like Piyush Chawla, Axar Patel and Madhu Sharma, mentor of Jammu and Kashmir Rollball players was heading the likes on a leather-hunt. technical panel in this 5th Rollball World Cup. The patronage of Irfan Pathan, mentor J&K Ranji Trophy Team and skipper The members of Rollball Association of Jammu and Kashmir have congratulat- Parvez Rasool served as a beacon light to guide and goad this gutsy young cricketer ed the players for this achievement. to climb the ladder of success and achieve heights. Samad is the trainee of MA Stadium Coaching Centre, and trains under Sports Soham Kamotra represents India in Council's Cricket Coach, Randhir Singh.He attributed his success to his parents, coaches and well wishers, besides his sheer-dint of hard work and dedication. He World Youth Chess C'ship said that he will leave no stone unturned in grabbing this opportunity with both hands to make Jammu and Kashmir proud. Saqlain represents India in Asian Volleyball C'ship International Volleyball Player Saqlain Tariq from border town of Poonch District represented India in 3rd Asian Men's U-23 Volleyball Championship held Secretary Youth Services and Sports J&K, Sarmad Hafeez and Director Gener- at Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar from August 3 to August al YS & Sports, Dr Saleem-ur-Rehman took a big initiative of establishing Khel 11, 2019. Tariq, who earlier played the Pro-Volleyball Gaon Nagrota as a sporting hub in Jammu. 65th National School Games in the dis- League, was called for the Senior and Junior Indian cipline of Volleyball Under-17 boys were organised by the Department of Youth Ser- Camps on the basis of his performance in national and vices and Sports J&K, under the banner of School Games Federation of India (SGFI) Pro-Volleyball League championships. at this venue recently, which was a big success. This sports facility can cater to the Saqlain Tariq, who belongs to District Poonch, has needs of thousands of sportspersons in the disciplines of Athletics, Volleyball, Bas- already represented India in 10th Asian Youth Volley- ketball, Handball, Kho-Kho and Shooting. Moreover, there is also an option of devel- ball Championship held at Colombo, Sri Lanka in Jammu and Kashmir's ace Chess player Soham Kamotra is a familiar name in oping a water sports facility at this venue. It is simply an asset to the Union Terri- 2014 as a Captain of the team and he also participated in BRICS Games at Johan- the World of Chess. The young and promising Under-16 player, apart from being a tory of Jammu and Kashmir. nesburg (South Africa) and won bronze medal in the year 2018. State champion from two consecutive years, has the honour of representing India in Munazah Gazi bags silver in Jr Asian Wushu C'ship World Youth Chess Championship held at Mumbai recently. Soham is the highest Real Kashmir down Chennai City at home Munazah Gazi of Jammu and Kashmir bagged silver medal in 60 kg category of rated player in J&K with FIDE rating 2189. He has urged the Government for pro- the 10th Junior Asian Wushu Championship at Brunei from August 17 to August 24, viding more financial support to outstanding sportspersons in the State and help them 2019. to represent J&K at the higher levels. Prior to this Championship, Wushu Association of India organised 60 days National Coaching Camp at Chandigarh University and 15 days National Coaching Para Archers of SMVDSB Sports Complex excel Camp at Patiala. The Union Minister for Sports Kren Rijuji congratulated Munazah Para Archers of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine and other members of Indian team for brilliant performance in the Championship. Board (SMVDSB) Sports Complex have made a mark Munazah Gazi, who hails from Srinagar and is studying at Presentation Convent at the International scene in the year 2019. For his out- School, Srinagar, was selected for the National Camp at SAI Bhopal and the final standing show, Rakesh Kumar has been picked to rep- selection trials were conducted at NS NIS Patiala. resent the Country in Tokyo Olympics-2020. Jyoti Gymnast Bhavleen steals show Balian won silver medal in the Asian Para Archery Championship held in Thailand during the year. Chief Coach Handoo's Indian Wushu team sparkles in World C'ship Under the guid- ance of Chief Coach of India, J&K's Kuldeep Handoo, Taking advantage of the home conditions, Real Kashmir scored their first vic- Indian team secured tory of the ongoing I League season with a shock 2-1 defeat of defending cham- 4 medals in the pions Chennai City as sporting action returned to the valley after four months. World Wushu Danish Farooq (22nd minute) and Ivory's Bazie Armand (27th) struck for the Championship held winners while Syed Suhail Pasha was the lone scorer for the visitors in the 48th at Shanghai this minute. Real Kashmir had drawn their matches against Kolkata giants East Ben- year. The Indian gal and Tiddim Road Athletic Union (TRAU) of Imphal before taking on the hold- Wushu team ers in front of a packed TRC Ground. The match was the first sports event in the secured 2nd consec- valley after the centre withdrew special status of Jammu and Kashmir and bifur- utive gold in this cated it into two union territories. Jammu and Kashmir gymnast Bavleen Kaur stole the limelight at the Khelo India Championship. Led Youth Games after she took home three gold and two silver medals. Bavleen (16) by Handoo, the Indian Wushu team emerged overall Champion 3rd time in a row in Record participation in Khelo India Games had bagged four medals at the Khelo India School Games in 2018. Bavleen, a trainee South Asian Games. of Krupali Patel Singh and SP Singh, says she the secret behind her performances are her coaches. Bhavleen has a lot many achievements in her kitty in this discipline Fencer Vansh makes it big of sports. Young fencer, Vansh Cyclist Bilal dons India colours Mahajan made it big by par- ticipating in the World Uni- versity Games held at Napoli in Italy from July 3 to 14, 2019. He has earlier represented the country in Junior Cadet Common- wealth Fencing Champi- onship at Cape Town, South Africa, Junior World Cup at Russia and Junior World Championship in Italy, Navy open Fencing Cham- pionship at Bangkok, Junior Fencing Championship at Singapore, Thailand Open Fencing Championship at Thailand. Vansh is a recipient of Sher-e-Kashmir Sports Award and Rangil Singh Sports Excellency Award presented by the J&K Olympic Association. Javed Ahmed was another fencer to participate in World University Jammu and Kashmir witnessed a record participation in Khelo India Games for Games. second consecutive year. Over 1, 60, 000 sportspersons took part in these Games to Fencer Shreya emerged medal winner in Jr Asian Fencing Championship, while With international medals boosting his confidence, Jammu and Kashmir cyclist vie for the top honours. The data entries of all the players have been made to make another fencer Vishal Thappa claimed medal in Commonwealth Fencing Champi- Bilal Ahmad Dar dreams of representing the country in the Olympics one day. a pool of talented sportspersons in order to help Jammu and Kashmir carve a space onship. Hailing from Kawoosa village in Budgam district, the 18-year-old Dar is the first on the country's sports map. A big number of sportspersons have made a mark in cyclist from Jammu and Kashmir to represent the country. His family cultivates fruits Ace athlete Kapil's book these Games. and vegetables and he was spotted during a talent hunt in Srinagar. Dar won two medals -- a silver in the 3km individual pursuit and a bronze in the becomes best seller Bilquis continues to produce International stuff 4km team pursuit -- at the Asian Junior Championships held in Jakarata earlier this Ace athlete of the State, 45-year old Jam- Ace Water Sports Coach of J&K, rather chief year. "I was selected through trials in Jammu and Kashmir. I was the first among all coach of India, Bilquis Mir, who has the reputa- the athletes," Dar said. mu man Kapil Arora's book 5 Management Secrets of Ultra successful people have tion of producing International stuff from Jam- Cycling is not very popular in the Valley but his father and fellow villagers mu and Kashmir, continued her brilliance this inspired Dar to take up the sport. become a best seller and the author has achieved a sobriquet 'Amazon Best Selling year also. She has the honour of receiving a "My father used to ride a cycle and then there were a lot of people in my village galaxy of prestigious awards for her contribution cycling around that's how I got the inspiration to ride," he said. Author'. Kapil after blossoming in South Africa, many a time, in various adventurous in the field of Water Sports.