Mohammad Shams Aalam Shaikh won 6 gold medals at the Reykjavik International Games held at Laugardalslaug Iceland from 26-28 January 2024, whilst representing India.
Aalam has ranked no. 1 in men’s 100m butterfly stroke and men’s 50m breaststroke, according to World Para Swimming’s official world rankings for 2024.
In Iceland last month, Shams Alam won 6 medals, including one gold in 200m individual medley, one silver medal in 50m and 100m breaststroke and butterfly stroke, and three bronze medals in 50m and 100m backstroke and 100m butterfly stroke.
Aalam also broke Herojit Singh and Shreekant Desai’s time records in 100m butterfly and 100m backstroke, respectively.
In his interview with TOI, Alam seemed confident that he’d qualify for the Paris Paralympic Games 2024 by meeting the Paralympic time requirements soon enough. He will also be participating in the National Paralympic Games scheduled in March this year, in Gwalior.
“I am yet to reach the Paralympic qualification mark with my timings at Reykjavik but I am confident that I will get enough opportunities to secure a berth at the Paris Games. The National Games will be my next shot at the Paris quota,” Aalam said in his interview with the Times of India.
Mohammad Shams Aalam is a 37-year-old, paraplegic swimmer, who holds the world record in the longest open sea swimming by a paraplegic individual.
Born in Bihar, Alam was interested in sports as a child, particularly karate and swimming. However, after a spinal cord injury in 2010, Alam took up professional swimming and even went on to represent India at the Asia Para Games in 2018.
source: http://www.maktoobmedia.com / Maktoob Media / Home> East India / by Maktoob Staff / February 27th, 2024
The President, Shri Ram Nath Kovind presenting the Dhyan Chand Award, 2017 to Shri Syed Shahid Hakim for Football, in a glittering ceremony, at Rashtrapati Bhavan, in New Delhi on August 29, 2017. Photo: Wikipedia
The name of Syed Shahid Hakim is familiar to the entire football fraternity of India. He was one of the most accomplished personalities who graced Hyderabad and Indian football as a player, referee and coach. Indeed it would not be wrong to say that there were few people in India who could match his knowledge and acumen about the different aspects of football. Besides being a well known personality in football, he also served as an officer in the Indian Air Force.
Being one of the sons of the great coach S.A. Rahim, he grew up in a football related environment. Hakim belonged to that period when Hyderabad was at the zenith of Indian football. He played with the illustrious players of India. Among his teammates were the famous goalkeeper Peter Thangaraj, D. Kannan, S.A. Latif, Yousuf Khan, S. Narayanan, H H Hamed and others. All these players were from the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad.
As a player, Hakim’s talent bloomed at an early age. He was at his peak in the late 1950s. He was a member of the Hyderabad state team which won the Santosh Trophy in 1957. Due to his prodigious talent and his rising status in Indian football, he was selected to represent India in the Pre-Olympic tournaments in Jakarta, Singapore and Malaysia.
It was not a surprise when he was also selected in the Indian team for the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome. That was the last time that India qualified for the Olympic Games. Although India narrowly failed to enter the knockout stage of the tournament, the Games were a great learning opportunity for Hakim.
The close interaction that Hakim had with the world’s best players and coaches gave his keen intelligence some valuable insights into the tactics and training of European and South American players. These he later put into use when guiding his own trainees. This is where his education and learning proved to be a big asset. Having studied at All Saints HS, Nizam College and then Osmania University, his level of education was above many other footballers. This enabled him to interact easily with foreigners and learn from everything that he observed.
Later, after he joined the Indian Air Force, he played for the defence services team and went on to be appointed captain of the All India Services team.
After retiring from the game as a player, he continued to serve Indian football in various capacities. He became a well known referee who was among the best in India. Starting from 1970 he continued to serve as a referee for many years. In 1974 he was selected to be a member of the FIFA Referees panel which was a great honour for an Indian referee.
Thereafter, he officiated in 33 international matches and it is a record which is still not broken. No other Indian referee has officiated in 33 international matches.
But that was not the end of his distinguished career. Thereafter, Hakim became a reputed coach and coached the Indian team from 1980 to 1982 for the Merdeka Cup and Delhi Asian Games along with other coaches.
When he was 80, he fell prey to the rampaging COVID pandemic but recovered. However, despite winning the battle against the dreaded virus, his life did not last long thereafter. He suffered two strokes in rapid succession and passed away in Gulbarga where he had been admitted to a hospital in August 2021. His death left a void in Indian football which will perhaps never be fulfilled.
source: http://www.siasat.com / The Siasat Daily / Home> News> Hyderabad / by Abhijit Sen Gupta / December 09th, 2022
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
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
Gopalganj Village (Seoni District), MADHYA PRADESH :
Arshad with his team. | Picture by arrangement
Bhopal :
Ashfaq Khan (63) and his wife Aliya Khan (56), residents of Seoni district of Madhya Pradesh’s Gopalganj, were glued to the television set watching the Indian Premier League (IPL) auction as the league had put his youngest son Arshad Khan’s name in the auction list of IPL players. With the completion of every auction, the duo eagerly waits to hear the next name which might be of their son’s.
With dim hope, Ashfaq, a retired teacher-turn-farmer, who wants to see his son in the Indian cricket team, left home for the mosque to offer evening Namaz (Magrib), pondering on the future of his son. As he completed the Namaz, his eldest son Zakariya Khan whispered, “Arsad ko Mumbai Indians team ne kharid liya hai. Wo IPL khele ga.”
Elated with the news, “I thanked Allah and offered namaz of shukrana,” recalled Ashfaq.
The left-arm seamer and left-hand batsman, Mohd Arshad Khan has been picked up by Mumbai Indians worth Rs 20 lakh in the mega auction of the 15th season of IPL 2022 held in Bangalore recently. His consistent performance in the Under-23 VK Naidu tournament organised by BCCI in the year 2020, Vijay Hazare Trophy and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in the same year caught the eyeballs of the selectors.
In the VK Naidu tournament, Arshad took 36 wickets in 10 matches and also scored 400 runs. He shot into the limelight in 2019-20 when he took 5 wickets and scored a century, batting in the tail end. “The match was against Assam and my team had lost 7 wickets for 87 runs. I went in and scored 134 runs. That inning has been the best of my career,” said Arshad. He always punched above his weight, getting selected for under-14 when he was just 11-year-old.
It was an unforgettable moment for Ashfaq, who coached Arshad for almost eight years since he was eight-year-old. “He was born to be a cricketer. I saw a player in him when he performed well during a trial that took place in Chhindwara in 2008.”
With the selection in Mumbai Indians, Arshad became a superstar in his village as well as in the district. When an overwhelmed Ashfaq was rushing home, he was surrounded by the villagers who were rejoicing at Arshad’s selection. “It was like a village fair. Hundreds of people have gathered outside the home, crackers were burnt, drums have begun to beat and everyone is distributing sweets,” said Aliya, mother of Arshad.
Recalling the contribution of Arshad’s father, his mother Aliya said, “Cricket is an expensive game and there were occasions when his father purchased his cricket kit way more expensive than his month’s salary. Besides, the efforts of his coaches Abdul Kalam, from Seoni and his coaches in Indore — Shantanu Tripathi and Chandrakant Pandit —have polished his talent to become a good cricketer.”
Belonging to a humble background and youngest among the four siblings, Arshad and his family live in Gopalganj village, around 13-km from Seoni town. “Even Seoni didn’t have a proper turf, what to talk of my village when I began playing cricket,” said Arshad speaking over the phone. “I was in Gujarat when I got a phone call that you have been selected for Mumbai Indians.
“My phone was buzzing non-stop the day I got selected. I don’t even have time to speak with my father. It was the next morning when I spoke to him on a video call. He was blushing and smiling. It was an unforgettable smile which I have been waiting to see for years,” the budding cricketer Arshad giggled.
Talking about the struggle, Arsad said, “From 2017 to 2019, it was the years of despair. I had multiple injuries and have stopped playing cricket. But then my father encouraged me to restart afresh and boosted my morale. From that day to today, I never looked back.”
“The journey would have been much more difficult if my partner-in-dream; Ashfaq Khan, my father, did not stand beside me like a rock,” said Ashfaq adding that I want to live his dream and will play for the Indian cricket squad.
Madness for cricket has forced Arshad to quit education after matriculation. But, now, he is determined to resume his studies.
Just like Arshad, Kuldeep Sen, a son of saloon shop owner from Madhya Pradesh’s Rewa, was also auctioned in the the15th edition of IPL. Rajasthan Royals took him at a base price of Rs 20 lakh.
source: http://www.twocirlcles.net / TwoCircles.net / Home> Lead Story / by Kashif Kakvi, TwoCirlcles.net / Februrary 25th, 2022
Sakibul Gani scored 341 runs off just 405 balls with the help of 56 fours and 2 sixes. He maintained a strike rate of 84.20.
Bihar’s 22-year-old batter Sakibul Gani etched his name on the history books by breaking the record for the highest individual score by a cricketer on first-class debut. Becoming the first batter to score a triple hundred on first-class debut, Gani amassed 341 runs off just 405 balls with the help of 56 fours and 2 sixes in a Ranji Trophy Plate Group match against Mizoram at Jadavpur University Campus 2nd Ground in Kolkata on Friday. He maintained a strike rate of 84.20.
The previous highest on first-class debut also belonged to an Indian. Madhya Pradesh’s Ajay Rohera held the record for more than three years. He had scored an unbeaten 267 against Hyderabad in Indore in December 2018. The third on the list is former Mumbai captain Amol Mazumdar. He had scored 260 on debut way back in the 1993-94 season.
Sakibul, who has a decent List A record with 377 runs in 14 matches, came in to bat at No.5 when Bihar were 71 for 3. He then forged a mammoth 538-run stand for the fourth wicket with Babul Kumar, who was unbeaten on 229 when Bihari decided to declare their first innings at 686 for 5.
On Day 1 of the Ranji Trophy on Thursday, Ajinkya Rahane scored a century for Mumbai in the match against Saurashtra.
Delhi batter Yash Dhull also registered a ton on his first-class debut against Tamil Nadu in Guwahati.
The Ranji Trophy would be held in two phases and now it has been confirmed that the pre-Indian Premier League (IPL) phase would run from February 10 to March 15. The post-IPL-phase would run from May 30 to June 26. The Ranji Trophy this season would see 64 matches being played across 62 days.
There are eight Elite Groups and one Plate Group. There would be four teams in Elite Groups and six teams would make up the Plate Group. One team from each Elite Group will qualify for the quarterfinal stages. The lowest-ranked of the eight qualified teams will have to play a pre-quarterfinal with the top team from the Plate Group.
(With ANI inputs)
source: http://www.sports.ndtv.com / NDTV Sports / Sports Home> Cricket> News / by NDTV Sports Desk / February 18th, 2022
