SUNDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2013 (PAGE-2) State sportspersons played 2013 well Surmounting many hurdles, the state PROMISING SHUBAM MAKES NIKITA THAKUR WINS BRONZE STATE HANDBALL TEAM WINS GOLD Budding skater, Nikita Thakur was on a roll in this year’s Gutsy handball player, Neeraj represented India in sportspersons brought glory to the IT TO INDIA U-19 TEAM skating nationals as she claimed bronze medals more than After scoring over 700 runs with 3 International IHF Contingental Trophy and Pattle Cup once. Manvi Jaggi and Ishita Singh also blossomed in skat- International Championship held in Sweden in the year sports sector. Rajesh Dhar sums up the centuries and 4 half-centuries in Cooch ing Nationals organized by different agencies. Behar Under-19 boys Cricket Tourna- 2013. SM Bali, Chief Executive Officer, Handball Fed- achievement of these dedicated and ment last season, Shubam Pradeep ASHOK RECEIVES INDIAN TEAM’S eration of India was manager of the Indian team, while gritty sportspersons in the yearender. Khajuria was selected for India Under- ‘FAIR PLAY AWARD’ TROPHY handball coach Dev Raj was the coach of Indian 19 team for the tour of Sri Lanka and Former Deputy Director Youth Services women team. Moreover, J&K Handball team bagged Going down the memory lanes, one finds J&K strug- bronze medal in North Zone Championship and won Quadrangular Series in India. He per- and Sports, Director Sports SMVDSB and gling in the field of sports at almost all the levels, yet vice president School Games Federation of gold in All India Raizada Prehald Bali Federation Cup formed well in both the tours whenever hosted by the State in Jammu. SM Bali was also award- presence of top class individual performers had he got a chance. Presently, Shubam is India (SGFI), Ashok Kumar received presti- always been there in some or the other sports disci- gious Indian team’s ‘fair play award trophy’ ed Doctorate for his administrative achievements in busy with this season’s Cooch Behar handball in the current year. pline. Majeed Kakroo, Surinder Singh Bagal, Sonia Trophy, in which the talented cricketer has already scored bagged in ISF World Cup Basketball Under- 19 Boys Championship at Cyprus in Europe. Sharma, Arun Malhotra, Mehraj-ud-Din Wadoo and 540 runs including a double century (214), a big century (150) Mr Ashok was the manager of the Indian Ishfaq Ahmed are a few outstanding sportspersons to and couple of half-centuries. This performance has fetched team, sponsored by School Games Federation of India. name. However, in the year 2013, ace sportspersons him place in U-19 World Cup probables. of Jammu and Kashmir have not only blossomed at TALENTED RASOOL’S SELECTION J&K FENCERS’ BAG SABRE TEAM GOLD IN TEAM INDIA SQUAD the national level, but at the international arena as The fencers of Jammu and Kashmir claimed gold medal well. Leading from the front in this race are Parvez The year 2013 witnessed selec- tion of J&K’s all-rounder Parvez in sabre team event of the 24th Senior National Fencing Rasool Zargar, Atul Pangotra, Krupali Singh, Palak Championship held at Indoor Complex in MAStadium recent- Kour and Kuldeep Handoo etc. Apart from some Rasool Zargar’s selection in Team India, a historic moment for the ly. The participants in the event included Rashid Ahmed splendid individual performances, J&K witnessed State of Jammu and Kashmir as he Choudhary, Major Vikram Singh, Ujjawal Gupta and Vishal some extraordinary team performances, which became the first ever cricketer from Thappa. J&K bagged overall third place in the Championship, included good show by J&K Ranji trophy team, fenc- the State to get the nod of National besides winning two gold and one silver in the year 2013. ing team, handball team roll ball team and gymnas- selectors. After a marvelous Ranji tic team etc. Moreover, the year witnessed organiza- Trophy season in 2012-13, Parvez tion of high quality National Level Championships in was included in India-A squad to the disciplines of Under-17 boys’ football, Under-14 play a warm-up match against Eng- boys and girls volleyball, Senior National Badminton land on January 6, 2013. Thereafter, Rasool represent- Spikkers in action during volleyball match of 59th National School Games in Jammu Championship, Fencing Championship, Handball ed Board President’s XI to play against touring Australia, Championship and a good number of matches under wherein all-rounder wreaked havoc to take 7-wicket haul STATE HOSTS GALAXY OF NATIONALS and bowl-out them for a modest total of 241 runs. His the banner of Board of Control for Cricket in India. A series of high quality National Level Tournaments, scalps included top-order players like Ed Cowan, Math- organized by the two elite Sports Organisations of the ew Wade and Steve Smith. This performance fetched State namely Department of Youth Services and Sports him place in IPL team and later in Team India squad. and J&K State Sports Council, were hosted by the State ARJUNA AWARDEE KRUPALI BESTOWS J&K champion fencers posing alongwith coach. with great enthusiasm and pomp and show. The Tour- TIPS TO INDIAN GYMNASTS naments included Under-17 Boys Football Tournament REVIVAL OF SHER-E-KASHMIR SPORTS AWARD and Under-14 Boys and Girls Volleyball Tournament, J&K’s Krupali Singh, Arjuna The year 2013 witnessed revival of Sher-e-Kashmir organized by the DYSS in Srinagar and Jammu respec- Awardee bestowed tips to the Indian Sports Award for outstanding sportspersons and the glitter- tively, which witnessed a huge participation of teams gymnasts by accompanying the Indi- ing ceremony of award presentation was held at Zorawar drawn from across the Country; Senior National Bad- an team in World RG Championships Singh Auditorium, University of Jammu, wherein Chief Min- minton Championship, organized by J&K Badminton at Ukraine in August 2013. Krupali ister, Omar Abdullah was the chief guest and Minister for Association, under the banner of J&K State Sports also passed the International Gym- Sports, Taj Mohi-ud-Din was the guest of honour. State gym- Council, which had the distinction of witnessing partic- nastics Judges Course, organized by nasts led from the front in receiving this prestigious award ipation of ace national shuttlers including Purapalli International Gymnastics Federation and bagged 13 of them, followed by six awards clinched by Kashyap, Anoop Shridhar, Chetan Anand and Sourav at Singapore in November, 2013. ace footballers of the State. Verma.The State also hosted Handball Federation Cup. Coach SP Singh also accompanied the Indian Gymnastics Team as official in the 6th Asian HEENA, INAYAT SPARKLE IN TAEKWONDO NATIONALS RG Championships at Tashkent in Uzbekistan in June, J&K’s Heena Bali and Inayat Hussain sparkled in 59th 2013. National School Games in the discipline of Taekwondo GUTSY IAN SLAMS THUNDEROUS TON Under-17 years boys and girls Tournament held at Chhat- tisgarh recently. These players were part of J&K State con- Stylish Jammu and Kashmir bats- tingent, sponsored by the Department of Youth Services and man, Ian Dev Singh Chauhan slammed Sports, under the patronage of Navin Aggarwal, Director a power-packed ton (145) in the presti- General Youth Services of Sports and under the auspices Palak Kour in action during Asian Gymanastics C’ship at Tashkent. gious Duleep Trophy semifinal match of School Games Federation of India (SGFI). this season, eclipsing the century ACE GYMNAST PALAK REPRESENTS INDIA scored by former India Under-19 skip- per Unmukt Chand in this match. Gritty gymnast, Palak Kour represented India at the Inter- national Level in 6th Asian RG Champi- MANZOOR, KALRA GET BCCI NOD onship at Tashkent in Uzbakistan in the Apart from Dr. Farooq Abdullah, Kuldeep Handoo (left) with Indian Wushu team which Union Minster for New and Renewable month of June and in 32nd World RG excelled in Malaysia. Championships at Kiev in Ukrain in the Energy and president Jammu and month of August, 2013. Palak has the hon- Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA), HANDOO EXCELS AS NATIONAL COACH Manzoor wazir, treasurer JKCA, Ran- our of being the recipient of Sher-e-Kash- Kuldeep Handoo has the distinction of helping India jeet Kalra, chairman Media Committee Wushu team clinch medals at the International scene. mir Sports Award for outstanding JKCA and Mehboob Iqbal were induct- sportspersons. Apart from Palak’s excel- With Handoo as coach, the Indian Wushu team ed in BCCI sub committees in the year clinched silver medal in the World Games at Cali in lence, the State gymnasts sparkled in 12th 2013. Kalra was also nominated as Colombia and 6 medals in 12th World Wushu Cham- National Aerobic Gymnastics Champi- member, J and K State Sports Council and chairman pionship in Malasia. onships at Mumbai in the month of May, 2013. While the team Sports Advisory Board, Doda. of Jaskaran Singh, Inderdeep Singh, Parul Mehra, Honey J&K RANJI TEAM ALMOST CERTAIN TO Mehra, Tejpal Kour and Ravia Verma clinched bronze in this TAEKWONDO STAR ATUL PANGOTRA EXCELS championship, Manpreet Kour and Mayank Jain won gold Taekwondo star Atul Pangotra, who QUALIFY FOR KNOCKOUT STAGE was the only medalist from Jammu and and bronze medals in women and men individuals. In mix Registering outright victories over the formidable pair, the duo of Mayank Jain and Tejpal Kour bagged gold, Kashmir in Commonwealth Taekwondo teams of Goa, Andhra, Kerala and Assam, the Jam- while the trio of Parul Mehra, Tejpal Kour and Ravia Verma Championship in 2011-12, continued mu and Kashmir Ranji trophy team is all set to qualify claimed bronze. In junior men, Karanjyot Singh bagged sil- his brilliance and excelled at the Inter- for the knockout stage, under the captaincy of Parvez ver, while in sub junior, Mehak Chhetri and Gourav Chhetri national Level in 2013 also, besides Rasool, after a gap of 14 years as J&K had earlier qual- clinched women and men gold.