St. Mary's Academy triumphs

St. Mary's Hockey Academy which won the State level tournament in Chennai.-

In a well-contested final amidst a festive ambience on August 22, St. Mary's Hockey Academy clung on to the solitary goal scored by Nandini against PKR, Gobichettipalayam.

For a private club to continuously host a competition for over a decade and half is an achievement in itself. The Winning XI Hockey Club has this distinction in Chennai, hosting a State-level event with a touch of professionalism.

The challenges of organising the event and hosting a large number of teams from the districts are well met by the unit, for which the secretary, Mothi Singh, deserves full appreciation.

With active support of the Patron, S. R. Baaskaran, who sponsors the prize money to the tune of Rs. 80,000 plus mementos, the tournament attracts quite a large number of teams from the district centres. The response from units outside the city of Chennai perhaps underscores the popularity of hockey, and exposes the myth that the sport among women is an urban phenomenon.

Of the 18 teams that entered the fray for the 2010 competition, 10 units — Madurai, Tiruchengode, Gobichettipalayam, Pudukottai, Salem, Thiruvannamalai, Myladurai, Tirunelveli, Tiruvallur and Neyveli — were from the districts.

The dominance of the districts cannot be better exemplified than by the triumph of St. Mary's Hockey Academy from Salem. In a well-contested final amidst a festive ambience on August 22, St. Mary's clung on to the solitary goal scored by Nandini against PKR, Gobichettipalayam.

The match-winner by Nandini, who was also declared the Player of the Tournament, fetched the girls the top cash prize of Rs. 40,000, while the loser picked a purse of Rs. 30,000. Vivekananda Arts and Science College, Tiruchengode, won the third prize of Rs.10,000 after the 2-0 victory over Gymkhana Club, Chennai.

R. Nataraj, DGP, Fire and Rescue Services, presided and gave away the prizes in the presence of Gautam Bohra, General Manager, Reserve Bank of India.

S. Thyagarajan* * *Indian archers win gold

The Indian men's archery team won gold in the World Cup archery stage IV meet in Shanghai. The Indians also picked up one silver and a bronze medal.

The men's recurve team, consisting of Jayanta Talukdar, Tarundeep Rai and Rahul Banerjee, won the gold medal defeating Japan 224-220.

Teenager Deepika Kumari, however, failed to make history succumbing to the intense pressure of playing her maiden senior final and lost to Korea's Bo Bae Ki, to settle for silver.

Talukdar gave India the men's individual recurve bronze medal. Deepika and Talukdar also ensured qualification for the Edinburgh World Cup finals on September 18 and 19.

* * *Moto2 GP driver dies after crash

Japanese rider Shoya Tomizawa died from injuries sustained in a crash in the San Marino Moto2 Grand Prix on September 5. The 19-year-old Technomag-CIP rider came off his Suter bike when under pressure from the fast charging Italian Alex de Angelis. Neither de Angelis nor British rider Scott Redding were able to avoid hitting Tomizawa, who was propelled over 40 metres off the track into the gravel.

Tomizawa was taken to hospital 30 kilometres away in Riccione but was later pronounced dead. He had suffered serious injuries to his skull, chest and abdomen, according to the race organisers.