Indian Sports on Pitara Kids Network

Viswanathan Anand – The Lightning Kid

Tue, 04 Jan 2000 05:52:26 +0000

Whenever advertisers want a brainy sportstar to talk about their product, very often they think of one name – Viswanathan Anand. A world-class chess champion who was given the name of Lightning Kid because of the speed with which he played.

But how are world class champions like Vishy born? For that, ask his mother Sushila. In 1974, when he was five, she first opened a chessboard and taught him the game. She was also his first opponent in the game. Anand was her youngest child.

Assam's Boys Shine in Asian Cricket

Sat, 21 Jul 2001 10:22:08 +0000

July 22: Two young boys have done the impossible in Assam. They have pushed politicians and the continuing violence, out of the media spotlight. Both boys are stars of the Indian under-15 cricket team.

One of them, Palash Jyot Das, is the son of a bank employee. The other, Mrigen Talukdar comes from a poor family. There’s nothing remarkable about their backgrounds. Much is remarkable about their achievements, though. While Palash is Asia’s best batsman, Mrigen is Asia’s best bowler.

Punch and Spar: Way to go, Mary!

Mon, 01 Jan 2007 10:24:30 +0000

Where: north-eastern state of Manipur, India

September 12, 2007 : Mary who? Twenty-five-year-old M.C Mary Kom from Manipur has won the world women’s boxing championship not once, not twice but thrice in the 46 kilogram category. (Boxers of similar body weight compete in a category.)

Mary won the three titles consecutively or in three straight years. She won her titles in Turkey in 2004, in Russia in 2005 and in Delhi in 2007. How many of us know of the achievements of this powerhouse of punches who comes from a remote village in the northeastern state of Manipur?

Hockey Heroines

Mon, 26 Mar 2007 11:03:03 +0000

Where: India

September 12, 2007 : I must confess that I got interested in the Indian women’s hockey team after watching the film Chak De! India . But unlike many friends who kept talking about the bright actors in the film thinking they were actually discussing the game of hockey, I did some reading up on the hockey team. To tell you the truth it was as captivating, if not more, than the film.

Since this is a news item, let me give you the ‘hard’ news first. The Indian women’s team played in the Sixth Asia Cup hockey championship in Hong Kong early this month. This tournament is held once every four years and the Indian women had won it in 2003. But several players who had been in the team for a long time have bowed out. This is a young team. they played well but had to be content with the fourth spot.

Street Cricket in Calcutta: Out, Caught!

Tue, 21 Dec 1999 08:21:39 +0000

July 1: Calcutta. A city without playgrounds. But still, a city that has learnt to have fun with what there is – the streets. And street or ‘para’ cricket is one of those inventions. Cricket during the day, under the sun, and cricket under streetlights and floodlights once the sun is down. Cricket played to the cheers of the neighbourhood — the family, the pet, the neighbours, their domestic helps — in short, all.

This is nothing unusual for Indians who have always spent a large part of their lives outdoors, sitting on a ‘charpai’ or stringed cot under a tree or playing games according to the season, be it ‘gulli danda’ in summer or throw a stick in mud and let it hold, during the rain. And cricket has become the king of all street games. The street is where most of our cricketing legends started, including Calcutta’s very own ‘Bengal ka gaurav, Saurav’ (the pride of Bengal – Saurav (Ganguly).

Testing Times for Indian Sports

Thu, 13 May 2004 20:35:03 +0000

August 6: It was the sort of news that makes everyone sit up and take notice. No wonder the Indian newspapers have been full of it. Some time ago, sportswoman Sunita Godhera submitted an explosive petition to the Delhi High Court. In it were the names of 144 sportspersons who, she says, have been found to be taking banned drugs to boost their performances. These tests were carried out at the laboratory of the Sports Authority of India (SAI) in New Delhi.

IPL Cricket Out of India in Second Season

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 14:26:44 +0000

Where: New Delhi, India

March 24, 2009 : The second season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) will now be held in South Africa. IPL is a creation of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). It is a Twenty20 cricket competition, in which each team plays just 20 overs in a game, and each innings takes around 75 minutes to play. The second season was to have been held at different locations in India, just like the first, hugely successful one last year.

Four Nation Hockey Tournament in Chandigarh

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 19:43:41 +0000

Where: Chandigarh, India

February 10, 2009 : The Punjab Gold Cup, a four nation hockey tournament, was organized by the state government of Punjab in Chandigarh. Hosts India, captained by Sandeep Singh, got a chance to test their skills against New Zealand, European champions Holland, and world-cum-Olympic champions Germany. The final match went to Holland, who defeated the home team 2-1. This didn’t dampen the spectators’ enthusiasm, though.

The myth that only cricket can pull crowds in India was busted. The hockey arena in Chandigarh’s Sector 42 drew over 15,000 people each day, and 25,000 spectators on the final night, when India took on Holland. Thousands of people came into Chandigarh from cities like Amritsar and Jalandhar to watch the matches. There is talk of a similar four-nation hockey tournament for women coming up in Chandigarh in the future.

Somdev Devvarman Shines at Davis Cup Matches

Thu, 03 Jan 2008 16:02:57 +0000

Where: Kaohsiung, Chinese Taipei

March 8, 2009 : India’s top tennis singles player Somdev Devvarman beat world number 59 Lu Yen-Hsun from Chinese Taipei in the second round Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Group I fixture. Devvarman made short work of his opponent, defeating him in straight sets, 6-1, 6-2, 6-3. The victory took India to the third and final round of the Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Group I competition, defeating Chinese Taipei 3-2.

On Saturday, India had won the doubles match against Chinese Taipei with Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi defeating Yang and Chu-Huan Yi. Devvarman won both the singles matches he played, while teammate Rohan Bopanna lost both his singles matches.