Category Archives: Sports

Youth makes it to national shooting championship after three-month training by father

Bengaluru, KARNATAKA :

Mohammed Rayan Baig, an engineering graduate qualified for this national event as he won a gold medal in the (A-01) Small Bore Free Rifle Prone (NR) Championship 50M Men Individual event.]

Mohammed Rayan Baig with his father/trainer MN Baig
Mohammed Rayan Baig with his father/trainer MN Baig. (Photo | EPS)

Bengaluru:

Trained by his father in just three months, Mohammed Rayan Baig has made it big in a national-level shooting championship by bagging a gold medal.

Now, all eyes are set on the young engineering graduate, who will be representing the state in the All India shooting event, held by the National Rifle Association of India from the first week of November at Thiruvananthapuram.

Baig qualified for this national event as he won a gold medal in the (A-01) Small Bore Free Rifle Prone (NR) Championship 50M Men Individual event at the 31 All India GV Mavalankar Shooting Championship in Asansol at West Bengal in the second week of this month.

He secured 581 out of 600 points in the event.  

What is interesting is that Baig who resides in Frazer Town was trained by his father, MN Baig for three months to qualify for the event held in West Bengal.

His father is into agriculture and business and his mother, Shehnaz Baig is a housewife.

“My dad has been shooting for the last 7-8 years. In the 300 metres big bore competition, he has got a renowned shot certificate five times. I have been watching him, waiting for my studies to get over.”

“After I completed engineering, I started to practice at Karnataka State Rifle Association Range and simulation at home,” said Baig, who completed his B-Tech in Mechanical Engineering with 8th Rank with a Cumulative Grade Point Average of 9.04 out of 10) at PES University in the city this year.

“I dedicated myself to studies. Once I finished my engineering with a good rank, my next goal was to excel in shooting. I set my goal and got a gold medal in the All India GV Mavalankar Shooting Championship. If I set a goal, I want to achieve it. I have natural talent and was trained by my father and no professional coaching,” Baig told The New Indian Express.  
 
Sharing his views on shooting, he said “I can say that this sport requires a lot of dedication and concentration. But if one spends time practicing, honing their skills, refining their techniques, they can even reach the Olympics.”

“My next target is the event to be held from November 20 to December 6, 2022, at Tiruvananthapuram, where all big shooters will be participating,” he concludes. 

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Sports> Others / by Yathiraju, Express News Service / October 31st, 2022

UAE: Meet the Indian who is travelling from Kerala to London on a bicycle

KERALA :

Fayis Ashraf Ali, who is currently in the Emirates for a pit stop, says one of his biggest dreams is to meet his hero Sheikh Hamdan

Thirty-four-year-old Fayis Ashraf Ali, a hard-core adventurer, has embarked on a big solo mission: To travel around 35 countries in 450 days — on a bicycle.

From the south Indian state of Kerala, Ali is biking his way to London to cover 30,000km. After departing Thiruvananthapuram on August 15 — where state Education Minister V Sivankutty flagged off his journey — he arrived in the UAE via Oman on September 27.

Speaking to Khaleej Times, Ali said he entered the UAE through Ras Al Khaimah and cycled through Khor Fakkan and Fujairah to arrive in Ajman.

“I will cycle to Sharjah, spend some time there attending events and then head on to Dubai and Abu Dhabi before crossing into Saudi Arabia,” he said.

The cyclist plans to spend 24 days in the Emirates, the third destination on his list. Here’s a photo of him in Khor Fakkan:

Hoping to meet his hero Sheikh Hamdan

In the UAE, Ali has only one hope – to meet the Dubai Crown Prince, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

“He is my hero. I draw so much inspiration from his adventurous personality. I sincerely hope to meet him before I depart for Saudi Arabia,” he said.

After his UAE pit stop, he will be moving to Saudi Arabia, where he will cycle across the country for two months.

“I hope to go to the holy cities of Makkah and Medina, and visit every place in Saudi Arabia, where I worked for four years with Wipro before leaving my job,” said Ali, an electrical engineer who has kept aside his professional goal to cycle worldwide.

From Saudi Arabia, he will travel to Qatar, and Bahrain, return to Saudi Arabia then head to Kuwait.

“From there. I will go to Iraq, Iran, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey and enter Europe through Greece. I plan to ride across 22 countries in Europe and hope to reach London in 2023,” he said.

This is not Ali’s first long journey on his bicycle. In 2019, he cycled from Kozhikode to Singapore in 104 days, covering more than 8,000km. He pedalled through Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, Thailand and Malaysia during that time.

No support crew, no hotel bookings

Going on this adventure — without any support crew — is not a spur-of-the-moment decision for the cyclist. In fact, it took him over a year and a half to plan the solo journey.

“I am travelling alone as this is being done on a budget. I am staying with people I meet during my travels. I have not booked rooms in hotels or lodges,” said Ali.

For example, in Khor Fakkan, Ali stayed with some cafeteria workers across the police station.

“I coincidentally went into the cafeteria to eat some food and told them about my journey. They invited me to stay with them for the night,” he said. “Since I am a Rotary Club member, I stayed in some of the club locations in India. I am hoping to find similar support in Europe. If not, I will sleep in a tent, a mosque, or whichever place that will have me for the night,” he said.

The Rotary Club, Norka-Roots, Malayalam Mission, Kerala Tourism and the Kerala Hearts Foundation are supporting the endeavour.

He rides on a Surly Disk Trucker Cycle, sponsored by UAE-based travel and luggage accessories company ParaJohn. Dubai- based Emirates First is also lending some financial assistance to him.

On his bicycle, he carries four bags filled with clothes, a battery pack, dried fruits, tools, and a GPS tracker. He rides only in the mornings.

What inspired Ali to take up this adventure?

Ali left his job as a networking engineer in 2016 to take care of his father who was suffering from a cardiac ailment.

“I got into the habit of cycling around that time. I got my cycle when my father was in the ICU. Unfortunately, a week later, my father died,” said Ali. He believes cycling would strengthen one’s heart.

Ali is cycling to raise awareness about heart health, world peace, health care, zero carbon emission and zero drugs. He is married to dentist Dr Asmin Fayis and a father to two boys, Fahzin Omar and Izin Nahel.

“My wife supports me in every way possible. She is the one who plans my itinerary and posts on social media. She helps me immensely with the paperwork needed for such a journey. She does all this while taking care of our kids and is an assistant professor at the Coorg Institute for Dental Sciences. She is a superwoman,” he said.

Ali says that to make extraordinary achievements, one has to make several sacrifices. “I do not want to go back to work, and I want to achieve something extraordinary before I depart from this world,” he stated.

source: http://www.khaleejtimes.com / Khaleej Times / Home> World> UAE / by Dhanusha Gokulam / September 29th, 2022

Excels In Wrestling

Mysuru, KARNATAKA :

City’s Saqlin Mushtaq has bagged 1st prize in wrestling (86 kg) contest in the Mysuru Division level Dasara Sports Meet 2022-23 held at Mangaluru recently.

He had also bagged second place in the District-level Dasara CM Cup Sports Meet (2022-23) wrestling (Men).

He is the son of Khaleel Qureshi, who is also a wrestler and a resident of Usmania Block, Ghousia Nagar, Udayagiri.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Photo News / October 19th, 2022

Muslim woman from Kerala drives to Qatar to watch the football FIFA World CupK

Kannur, KERALA :

Naaji Noushi

New Delhi :

A Muslim woman from Kerala, Naaji Noushi’s decision to travel solo in her four-wheel car to watch the FIFA World Cup in Qatar shows her craziness towards the game of football and of course her madness towards travelling behind the wheel on hitherto uncharted routes.

As the World Cup fever is slowly gripping people and football fans, Noushi, an avid traveller, YouTuber and vlogger, commenced her journey to Qatar by driving a Mahindra Thar from Kannur, Kerala the other day.

Transport Minister Antony Raju flagged off the trip in the presence of village panchayat authorities, reports PTI. It was a dream come true for this soccer crazy woman who has always loved to take adventurous trips.

After reaching Mumbai via Coimbatore, she and her Thar, which is fondly named “olu” (means woman in local parlance), would land in Oman by ship. From there, she would travel via road and would cover Arab countries including UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia before reaching Qatar, which plays host to the FIFA World Cup this time.

Noushi said it may be for the first time that a woman from Kerala was undertaking an overlanding trip to the GCC nations and that too to watch the football world cup. “My plan is to enter Qatar by December 10 and watch the finale.

I am so excited about this trip. I am a hardcore Argentina fan and Lionel Messi…really want to see my favourite team lifting the cup,” she said. She will continue her stay in Qatar till December 31, according to the report.

Noushi said the trip was expected to be a complete van-life experience as all essential cooking articles were stocked in the vehicle. It is also planned to park the vehicle near toll plazas and petrol pumps and stay within it during nights.

She said she has an Oman driving licence, which has already been converted into an international one.

“I am a person who has been dreaming to see an Indian team playing the FIFA World Cup. Through this innovative trip, I am trying to be a part of the gala by reaching there in an Indian-made vehicle,” she said.

Noushi, who has completed her Plus-Two, married Noushad, an NRI, at a young age and became a mother at the age of 19. Describing the family as the pillar of support, she said her husband and children were her actual cheerleaders and were encouraging her to travel more.

Noushi has already completed four travel series including an all-India trip to Ladakh and shared the photos and videos through her social media pages. Noushi said her youngest child is just two years old but her mother is taking care of her children when children when she is away for travel.

“If a woman like me- a homemaker, a wife and a mother of five- can realise my dreams, any ordinary woman in Kerala can chase her dreams confidently,” she said. — PTI

source: http://www.muslimmirror.com / Muslim Mirror / Home> Indian Muslim> Women / by PTI / October 20th, 2022

Shotgun Shooting World C’ship: Muffadal Deesawala, Bhavtegh Gill win junior skeet mixed team bronze

Hyderabad, INDIA /Osijek,CROATIA :

The Indian duo beat the American pair of Aidin Burns and Mikena Grace Fulton 5-1 in the second bronze medal match.

Muffadal Zahra Deesawala & Bhavtegh Singh Gill | ISSF YouTube

Muffadal Zahra Deesawala and Bhavtegh Singh Gill won India’s third medal of the International Shooting Sport Federation Shotgun World Championship in Osijek, Croatia. The duo picked up a bronze in the Skeet Mixed Team Junior event here at the Olympic Shooting Range ‘Pampas’ on Tuesday.

They beat the American pair of Aidin Burns and Mikena Grace Fulton 5-1 in the second bronze medal match. They were declared winners by Golden Hit after Bhavteg and Mufaddal shot seven out of eight targets in the last series, enough to ensure that the Americans cannot win the series after Burns missed one out of his four targets.

The first pair to six points usually wins the match but the Indians were up 5-1 already and a tied last series would have given the Indians the point needed to win.

Deesawala and Gill finished sixth in the qualifiers shooting a combined 132 out of 150 targets. Deesawala shot 62 out of 75 and Gill shot 72 out of 75 shots to secure the last position for the bronze medal matches.

The British pairing of Mitchell Brooker Smith and Sophie Herrmann won the Gold in the event beating Haolei Zhao and Dan Wang of China 6-4.

Areeba Khan, on Tuesday, had won India’s second medal of the World Championship after the Junior Men’s Trap Team had won a gold. 

Bhowneesh Mendiratta had also won a Paris Olympic quota, India’s first for the 2024 Games, earlier in the championship. He finished fourth in the event.

source: http://www.scroll.in / Scroll.in / Home> The Field> Shooting World Championships / by Scroll Staff / October 04th, 2022

Shotgun WC: India’s Areeba Khan wins silver in junior skeet

Aligarh, UTTAR PRADESH:

Areeba Khan

Osijek (Croatia):

At the 2022 International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) Shotgun World Championship, which was held on Monday in Osijek, Croatia, Indian shooter Areeba Khan took home the silver medal in the individual women’s junior skeet event.

Areeba Khan hit 29 of her 40 shots in the final, missing her final attempt, while Sophie Herrmann of Great Britain scored 30 shots to win the gold.

Raveca-Maria Islai of Romania took home the bronze medal after striking 20 shots, while Muffaddal Zahra Deesawala of India placed fourth after hitting 12 targets.

After Shapath Bharadwaj, Shardul Vihan, and Arya Tyagi won gold in the junior trap men’s team competition, this is India’s second medal in the shotgun competition.

After a shoot-off, Areeba Khan came in third place in the qualifying round. She then won her ranking match to advance to the final.

The 19-year-old Indian shooter competed for India’s junior women’s skeet squad in 2021, which won a gold medal.

No Indian shooter qualified for the ranking matches in the junior men’s individual skeet later in the day.

In qualifying, Bhavtegh Singh Gill, Abhay Singh Sekhon, and Ritu Raj Bundela came in at positions 32, 33, and 36, respectively. The ranking matches are limited to the top eight competitors. 

source: http://www.awazthevoice.in / Awaz The Voice / Home> Sports / Ocotber 05th, 2022

Cyclist Tanveer Hussain defied parents’ to create record

Goalpura District, ASSAM :

Tanveer Firdous Hussain
Tanveer Firdous Hussain

Albert Einstein once said, “Life is like riding a bicycle, you just have to keep moving to keep the balance.” This has been proved right by cyclist Tanveer Firdous Hussain, a resident of the Goalpara district of Assam. He has crossed several hurdles to ink his name in the Assam Book of Records and the India Book of Records for cycling.

“I love sports and cycling. I started cycling when I was seven years old. I had a dream of setting a record by cycling. But my mother and father did not support me. Like other parents, they insisted that I pay more attention to my studies. My parents didn’t like me playing sports. They wanted me to study and have a good career,” Tanveer has told Awaz-The Voice.

Tanveer, son of Sabibor Hussain and Laila Muskura Begum, was interested in athletics from his very childhood. While in school, he won a prize for finishing 100 meters in 11:35 minutes in a State-level competition. However, Tanveer failed in the district-level race competition. This harmed Tanveer’s studies. Tanveer got another opportunity from Khelo India but lost it due to a lack of support from his father.

Tanveer Fidous Hussain planting trees during his cycling expedition

“My father admitted me to a hostel to focus on my studies. But I left the hostel after staying there for a few days. Then, my father was very angry and completely stopped me from leaving home to play sports. One day I thought of setting a new record by cycling, but I didn’t tell my parents about it.

One fine morning in 2021, I left home alone on my bicycle and started riding from Alsalam Hospital in Goalpara at 5 am and reached my destination at Solace Nursing Home premises at 6.55 am. I cycled 3.92 km in about 1 hour 55 minutes for which I could include my name in the Assam Book of Records,” Tanveer said.

In the same year, Tanveer also inked his name in the India Book of Records for cycling. “In November 2021, I started my cycling journey from Naranarayan Setu (bridge) in Goalpara at 4 am and crossed 129 km to Barpeta in 6 hours and 10 minutes without holding the handlebars. That journey helped me enter my name in the India Book of Records,” he said.

Tanveer Hussain with Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma

After winning the Assam Book of Records and India Book of Records titles, Tanveer has been cycling and studying well.

Recently, Tanveer started a tireless journey by cycling under the banner of ‘pedal for exigency’ to protect the green environment and protect the earth.

“I started my cycling journey under the banner of ‘pedal for exigency’ to protect the environment and the earth. I cycled for 60 consecutive days. I cycled 15 km daily and planted one tree. I planted more than 200 trees in different districts. I want to encourage people to do their daily activities by using cycle,” Tanveer said. 

Tanveer Hussain receiving the certificate for his record

Nowadays, the use of bicycles has declined. People go out with petrol and diesel-powered two-wheelers and four-wheelers for any purpose. This causes massive pollution, which threatens the environment, he added.

“I am trying to convince people to maintain cleanliness and balance in the environment by using bicycles instead of petrol-diesel vehicles. If petrol or diesel vehicles get caught in a traffic snarl, carbon monoxide is released from such cars which causes a risk of cancer in our bodies. On the other hand, cycling increases blood circulation in our body, increases IQ level, and boosts our immune system,” Tanveer said.

source: http://www.awazthevoice.in / Awaz The Voice / Home> Sports / by Munni Begum , Guwahati / October 10th, 2022

Girl from Lakshadweep clinches historic silver in Asian youth athletics

Minicoy Islands,Lakshadweep, INDIA :

Mubssina Mohammed

Mubssina Mohammed, a 16-year-old from Lakshadweep, has won India a silver medal in the girls’ Long Jump event at the 4th Asian U18 Athletics Championships that began Thursday in Kuwait.

It is the first-ever Asian-level athletics medal won by an athlete from Lakshadweep.

Mubssina jumped 5.91m to finish second behind Uzbekistan’s Sharifa Davronova (6.06m) and ahead of Hong Kong’s Wai Yin Jia (5.81m).

Last month, the talented athlete from the Minicoy islands created history by winning Lakshadweep’s first-ever national-level medal in athletics.

She had clinched gold in Long Jump (5.90m) at the Youth National Championships held in Bhopal.

Mubssina is coached by Ahmed Jawad Hassan, who discovered her at a local sports festival.

India also clinched a pair of gold medals and a bronze on the opening day.

In boys’ shot put, Akash Yadav (19.37m) took gold while his teammate Siddharth Choudhary (19.00m) claimed silver.

In boys’ 1500m, Amit Chaudhry of India was placed first after clocking 4:04.59.

source: http://www.onmanorama.com / OnManorama / Home> Sports / by Onmanorama Staff / October 14th, 2022

Hero Dirt Biking Challenge in Mangaluru sees enthusiastic participation

Benjanapadavu (Mangaluru), KARNATAKA :

More than 60 motorcycle enthusiasts participated in the Hero Dirt Biking Challenge (HDBC) at Benjanapadavu near Mangaluru, held on September 24-25, 2022.

Hero MotoCorp introduced the Hero Dirt Biking Challenge (HDBC) to serve as a platform for aspiring riders and enthusiasts to showcase their talent.

More than 60 passionate motorcycle enthusiasts from Mangaluru, Goa, Mysuru, Chikkamagaluru and Shivamogga participated in the Hero Dirt Biking Challenge (HDBC) held on September 24 and 25 at Benjanapadavu near Mangaluru while five were selected for the next round.

Hero MotoCorp introduced the HDBC to serve as a platform for aspiring riders and enthusiasts to showcase their talent. The country’s best amateur off-road riders are chosen from 45 cities. Hero MotoCorp will be awarding a Hero Xpulse 200 4V motorcycle and sponsorship contracts worth ₹20 lakh to the winner and the two runners-up. State 3 of the event was held at Kodman Motopark in Benjanapadavu.

The HDBC event was hosted by Shoeb Khan from Mysuru, a certified FIA (Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile) official and a professional rally racer.

The two-day action packed event included a variety of challenges that the riders had to face. Participants had to go through jumps, a sidewall, whoops and finally park at the stop box with the fastest time, said a release.

Five winners will participate in the next round to be held in Bengaluru. Asad Khan from Chikkamagaluru won the first place while Ishan Chandra from Mangaluru won the second, Samson from Mysuru came third, Suhail Ahmed from Mangaluru the fourth and Safwan Hussain from Mangaluru came in fifth position.

The top 100 chosen riders Nationwide will attend a 5-day regional boot camp following the preliminary rounds.

Ross Branch and Joachim Rodriguez, from the rally team of Hero Motosports, will work with the best competitors and offer their advice. The final event of the boot camp will be a race, and the winners will advance to the finals.

Kodman Motopark proprietor Christon D’souza said, “I was truly contented seeing the number of participants at Kodman. This is a great initiative taken by Hero MotoCorp to give opportunity to the motoenthusiasts.”

KodmanMotopark has an off-road track for bikes and 4 wheelers where motorsport enthusiasts can train and hone their off-roading skills.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Mangaluru / by The Hindu Bureau / Mangaluru – September 30th, 2022

India’s Mumtaz Khan named FIH Rising Star of the Year 2021-22

ODISHA, INDIA / Lausanne, SWITZERLAND :

Mumtaz Khan was India’s top scorer in the 2022 women’s junior hockey World Cup and at the FIH Hockey5s Lausanne.

India’s Mumtaz Khan named FIH Rising Star of the Year 2021-22
Picture by Hockey India

Teenager Mumtaz Khan was named the FIH Rising Star of the Year 2021-22 in the women’s category, the international hockey federation (FIH) announced on Tuesday.

Mumtaz Khan scored eight goals, including a hat-trick against Malaysia in the group stages, as the Indian hockey team finished fourth in the 2022 women’s junior hockey World Cup in South Africa. She was India’s top scorer in the tournament and the third-highest scorer overall.

The 19-year-old Mumtaz was also the leading goal scorer for the Indian women’s hockey team that played in the FIH Hockey5s Lausanne 2022. She netted five goals in four games, including a hat-trick against hosts Switzerland.

“I cannot believe that I have won this award. It is the hard work of our entire team over the year that has paid off, and I dedicate the win to my team,” Mumtaz Khan said.

“I feel the award is a sign that the hard work that I have put over the past year on the training grounds has helped me improve a lot as a player. But this is just the beginning of my career. I wish to continue the learning process and will continue the hard work to improve upon my game.”

Mumtaz Khan won 32.9 points in the final standings for the FIH Rising Star of the Year award, edging out Belgium’s Charlotte Englebert, who finished with 29.9 points.

Mumtaz Khan is the third Indian woman to win the award after Lalremsiami in 2019 and Sharmila Devi in 2020-21. In the men’s category, Vivek Sagar Prasad has won the honour in both 2019 and 2020-21.

France’s Timothée Clément was named the FIH Rising Star of the Year 2021-22 in the men’s category.

source: http://www.olympics.com / Olympics.com / Home> English> News / by Rahul Venkat / October 04th, 2022