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Tamil Nadu’s Groms, Karnataka women dominate day 2 of Indian Open of Surfing

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Grom (U16) surfers from Tamil Nadu and women from Karnataka dominated the second day of competitions at the 3rd edition of the Indian Open of Surfing, here on Saturday.

Tempting waves welcomed surfers on a beautiful morning at the tranquil Panambur beach here with 16-year-old Sugar Banarse from Goa making it to the finals in both the women’s open and groms girls category. Sugar impressed all the judges with her surfing gathering the highest points among the women who made it to the finals scheduled for Sunday.

Karnataka’s Ishita Malviya (6.17) and Sinchana Gowda (7.30) along with Goa’s Sugar Banarse (11.27) and Tamil Nadu’s Srishthi Selvam (10.37) advanced to the final of the women’s open surf category. Sugar will also compete in the final of the Groms (16 & under) girls surf category on Sunday.

Speaking after booking her slot in the two finals, Sugar said, “I am happy to make it to the finals, but I am competing against experienced surfers and the defending champion Srishti Selvam. I know the challenge from my fellow finalists will be tough but I am looking forward to it and I hope to surf my best tomorrow. I would also like to thank the Surfing Federation of India for organising this tournament as this helps us get more competition time under our belt, which will be of immense help for future training and international competitions.”

The three-day premiere surfing competition of India is the official national championship of the Surfing Federation of India – the governing body for the sport of surfing and stand-up paddling.

In the Groms boys’ (U16) surf category semifinals on Saturday, it was a clean sweep by Tamil Nadu surfers, with Kishore Kumar leading the race by a huge margin.

Kishore, seemed more comfortable on Saturday and emerged with the highest marks in the competition. His score of 15.50 points from the judges was a testimony to the fact of his impressive surfing and maneuvers that also included a reverse flip, thereby helping him comfortably secure a spot in Sunday’s final. The others who have made it to the final are Tayin Arun (11.10), Naveenkumar R (10.17) and Jeevan S (6.46).

Speaking after booking his slot in the final, Kishore Kumar said, “I enjoyed my surf today and that’s what matters the most. I know, the final is a different ball game and the competition will be stiff, but I am looking forward to it and will try to do my best.”

The day began with the quarterfinal encounters in the men’s open surf category which were dominated by Tamil Nadu surfers while Karnataka’s Ramesh Budhial impressed everyone with his maneuvers and surfing, booking a spot in the semifinals with 14.33 points, the highest amongst all those that made the last-four stage in the men’s open surf category.

Tamil Nadu’s Srikanth D (9.93), Surya P (9.7), Satish Sarvanan (12), Ruban V (8.7), Ajeesh Ali (9.3), Manikandan M (8.34) & Sanjai Kumar S (9.17) also advanced to the semifinals in the men’s open surf category.

Due to bad weather and non-surfable conditions, the semifinals for the category that was earlier scheduled to be held on Saturday have been shifted to the final day of the Indian Open of Surfing 2022, on Sunday.

The final day of the 3rd edition of the Indian Open of Surfing will witness the semifinals and final of the men’s open surf category along with the finals of the Groms boys and girls (16 & under) finals and female open surf categories.

International

CT 2025: India to take on Pakistan on Feb 23, likely to play in Colombo or Dubai: Sources

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New Delhi, Dec 19: The much-awaited clash between arch-rivals India and Pakistan in the Champions Trophy 2025 will be played on February 23 with Colombo and Dubai front-runners to play host for India’s matches in the tournament being played in hybrid format. The development comes after the ICC Board said that “India and Pakistan matches hosted by either country at ICC Events during the 2024-2027 rights cycle will be played at a neutral venue.”

“India will take on Pakistan at a neutral venue on February 23, 2025. ICC looking at Colombo and Dubai to host their matches.”

The Champions Trophy is scheduled to be played in February and March 2025. Meanwhile, ICC said the schedule for the marquee tournament will be confirmed in the coming days.

Pakistan are the defending champions of the tournament, having defeated India by 180 runs in the final at The Oval in 2017. Both teams last played against each other in the T20 World Cup in New York earlier this year which India won by six runs and went on to claim their second silverware in the format.

Due to the strained political relations between the two neighbouring countries, India and Pakistan only play each other in international events including World Cups and Asia Cup. The last bilateral series between India and Pakistan was held in 2012-13 when the latter toured India for the five-match white-ball series.

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International

It’s OFFICIAL! All India vs Pakistan Matches At ICC Events To Be Played At Neutral Venue Till 2027

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India and Pakistan matches hosted by either country at ICC Events during the 2024-2027 rights cycle will be played at a neutral venue, the ICC Board confirmed on Thursday, 19 December. The schedule for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 is set to be confirmed soon, with Pakistan aiming to defend the title they won in 2017.

The eight-team event will feature Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, New Zealand, and South Africa, alongside hosts Pakistan.

This will apply to the upcoming ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025 (hosted by Pakistan), set to be played in February and March 2025, as well as the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 (hosted by India) and the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 (hosted by India and Sri Lanka).

It was also announced that the PCB has been awarded hosting rights of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in 2028, where neutral venue arrangements will also apply. Cricket Australia is set to host one of the senior ICC women’s events during the period 2029 to 2031.

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International

‘Our dream is getting fulfilled’: Coach Sumit Bhatia elated to see Kho Kho going global

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New Delhi, Dec 16: Coach Sumit Bhatia is all pumped up for the first edition of the Kho Kho World Cup scheduled to take place from January 13-19, 2025. Bhatia, who holds a distinct record of being the only head coach to have won the Asian Championship twice, believes that this historical step is an indication of the realisation of the dream to take the sport to the international level and help it gain global recognition.

Having been honoured with the best coach award by the Delhi government, Bhatia has been a part of various Indian teams’ success, including the 2016 and 2023 Asian Kho Kho Championship victories, and has trained players like Nasreen Shaikh and Sarika Sudhakar Kale. Both of them have been Arjuna Awardees.

Nasreen, who is also a part of the World Cup camp, is the only player who has played in two Asian Championships and won the gold. The coach-student duo is now gearing up for the global event.

Sharing how the journey of Kho Kho World Cup’s inception, the coach said, “We organised an international camp here before COVID happened, in 2020. Coaches and players from 16 countries came here and we gave them training. Now they will be coming here for the World Cup but this campaign started in that camp”.

He further said, “Around 30-35 countries were willing to play the tournament but we picked the best 20 teams for both men and women. Some countries have single teams while some have double teams but a total of 24 countries will be participating in the tournament. It was our dream to take Kho Kho to the international level and now we can see that our dream is getting fulfilled.”

He also lauded the launch of the Ultimate Kho Kho League and shared how the franchise-based model has helped the players and coaches gain recognition, while also bringing forward grassroot talent.

“When the Ultimate Kho Kho league started, I also joined Telegu Yodhas as their head coach and we also played the final. Players have gotten exposure through the league and it’s not just financial. Earlier we used to hesitate while admitting being a Kho Kho coach but today our players introduce us as their coach,” said Bhatia.

He added, “The league got so much coverage that wherever we go, the players are approached for autographs. So the platform of the league started a new world for both coaches and players and now not just India but the entire world knows us. Earlier we used to tell people about our game but now they know what is Kho Kho and Ultimate Kho Kho league and are also waiting for the third season.”

Bhatia also discussed the impact of sports science on Kho Kho and lauded the newly introduced technology and said, “We have benefitted a lot from it. Sometimes we don’t understand why a player is not performing well. But with the introduction of sports science, we now know about the details of the problem.

“For example, a player might be facing issues with his left leg while sitting and so, it gives us an opportunity to work on that weakness… Sports science has helped us in identifying the accuracy and weakness of a player. So it’s very beneficial for us.”

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