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Sreejesh, Savita voted FIH Men’s and Women’s Goalkeepers of Year

Sreejesh played in all six games at 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games where India won the silver medal

India’s P. R. Sreejesh and Savita Punia were on Wednesday voted FIH Men’s and Women’s Goalkeeper of the Year respectively for the second year running, on the back of their strong shows under the bar.

In his 16th year as a full international for India, Sreejesh once again showed his value to the team, playing in all 16 games in the FIH Hockey Pro League as India finished in the third position.

He also played in all six games at 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games where India won the silver medal.

“The longevity of P. R. Sreejesh’s career continues to defy logic as the 34-year-old Indian shot-stopper continues to raise his game as the years roll on,” the FIH said in a statement on Sreejesh, who had also won the award last year.

Sreejesh got 39.9 total points in the voting, followed by Belgium’s Loic van Doren (26.3 points) and Netherlands’ Primin Blaak (23.2 points). The votes were cast online by experts (40%), teams (20%), fans (20%) and media (20%).

Sreejesh is the third player to win back-to-back FIH Goalkeeper of the Year award. A similar feat was achieved in the past by David Harte (Ireland) who won the award in 2015 and 2016, and Vincent Vanasch (Belgium) who won it three consecutive times from 2017 to 2019.

During the course of the season, Sreejesh also completed 250 international appearances, becoming the eighth Indian and the only goalkeeper to achieve the feat.

“No doubt, this is a special award because the hockey fans are voting for us. This is a big honour for me and a testimony to all the hard work,” said Sreejesh who is currently at the SAI Centre, Bengaluru along with his teammates in the national camp for the upcoming FIH Hockey Pro League.

“Winning awards, no matter at what stage in your career you are at, is always a motivating factor. This award surely motivates me to further improve and do well in an all-important year where we will play the FIH Hockey Men’s World Cup Bhubaneswar-Rourkela 2023.” The 32-year-old Savita finished on top of the voting with 37.6 points. Argentina legend Belén Succi received second most points with 26.4, followed by Australia stalwart Jocelyn Bartam (16 points).

‘Big surprise’ for Savita

Savita is now only the third athlete to win the Goalkeeper of the Year (women) for consecutive years since the inception of the award in 2014.

“This surely is a big surprise and a very pleasant one. I am sure many Indian hockey fans voted for us and I thank each one of them,” said Savita who is currently playing for Haryana in the National Games in Gujarat.

Savita was instrumental in leading India to a podium finish in the FIH Hockey Pro League 2021-22, in their debut campaign, pulling off an astounding 57 saves in the 14 games she played.

Her form only improved at the FIH Hockey Women’s World Cup, as she pulled off some incredible saves as India held the eventual gold medallists England to a draw in the pool stages. She also had a remarkable game in the cross-over match against Spain, making seven saves that had the viewers rubbing their eyes in disbelief.

Savita then inspired the team to a bronze medal in the 2022 CWG in Birmingham, as India ended a 16-year podium drought at the Games. She had a stellar game in the bronze medal match against New Zealand, which included multiple match-winning saves in the shoot-out.

“Savita was magnificent in defense of the Indian goal, often astounding her opponents with her ability to pull off saves from impossible situations. It therefore comes as no surprise that she received nearly twice as many votes from her peers around the world, as anyone else nominated in the best goalkeeper category at the FIH Hockey Stars Awards,” the FIH said.

“Savita’s win comes from her goalkeeping heroics, but her impact on her team looms even larger, as not only is she the backbone of the Indian defense, but also plays a crucial role in leading the side, having taken over captaincy from the talismanic Rani Rampal, who missed large parts of the previous year due to injury.”

On Tuesday, India forward Mumtaz Khan was voted the FIH Women’s Rising Star of the Year on the back of her stellar role during the country’s campaign at the Junior World Cup in South Africa earlier this year.

Tel Aviv Open: Rohan Bopanna wins men’s doubles title with Matwe Middelkoop, his third of season

The 42-year-old Indian now breaks back into the top 20 rankings for the first time since August.

Rohan Bopanna partnered Matwe Middelkoop to win his third tour title of the year, when the pair beat third seeds Santiago Gonzalez and Andres Molteni 6-2, 6-4, in the ATP 250 Tel Aviv Open on Sunday.

With the doubles crown, the 42-year-old now breaks back into the top 20 rankings for the first time since August, currently placed 19. Earlier this year, he had partnered Ramkumar Ramanathan to win titles in Adelaide and Pune.

But this was the first title he won with his Dutch partner. The duo had reached the final at the Hamburg Open and semifinals at the French Open earlier this year. They also hold a 16-10 record this season.

The top seeds in Israel however, had to work their way back into each of the three matches they played before getting to the final.

They beat Hamad Medjedovic and Yshai Oliel 4-6, 7-6(4), 10-6 in the first round. In the quarterfinal they beat Denys Molchanov and Franko Skugor 4-6, 7-6(5), 10-5 before beating the all-French team of Sadio Doumbia and Fabien Reboul 4-6, 7-6(3), 10-8.

In the final though, they played their best tennis.

“I think those close matches, pulling through those you’re obviously having more court time, you’re trying to come through and fight some close battles,” Bopanna said to the ATP website.

“We were a couple of points or one point away from losing those matches, so sometimes those weeks make a huge difference for your confidence.”

This was Bopanna’s first event since the US Open. He was scheduled to compete for India in the Davis Cup World Group 1 tie against Norway, but pulled out because of a knee injury.

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Odia entrepreneur felicitated in British Parliament

UK-based Odia entrepreneur and co-founder of NesT Group Arun Kar has been honoured with ‘Mahatma Gandhi Samman’ at the House of Commons in British Parliament, London. He was felicitated ahead of the 153rd birth anniversary celebration of Mahatma Gandhi.

Kar, an NRI, has made a place for himself in innovations in various diversified fields like Information Technology and Environmental Sustainability.

He has been featured on Forbes, Fortune’s cover page and also been a winner of National Business awards in UK.

He is also a Guinness World Record holder and has been felicitated as Global Indian of the Year – 2021 by AsiaOne Magazine.

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World Cadets Chess: India’s Shubi Gupta, Charvi emerge champs in U-12 and U-8 section

India’s Shubi Gupta and A Charvi emerged winners in the girls under-12 and under-8 sections respectively in the FIDE World Cadets Chess Championship here on Tuesday

Shubhi Gupta, who hails from Ghaziabad, scored 8.5 points from 11 rounds to claim the top prize in the under-12 event. In the girls under-8 section, Charvi finished first with 9.5 points from 11 rounds.

Charvi was trailing Bodhana Sivanandan (England), who finished second for the last three rounds, but managed to catch and overtake her, thanks to a better tie-break score after both ended up with 9.5 points. Samhita Pungavanam finished 10th with 7.5 points.

In the under-10 category, India’s Hanya Shah took the eighth spot with 7.5 points while compatriots Aadya Ranganath (7 points) and V Tirupurambika (7 points) finished 14th and 19th respectively.

In the open events, India’s Ethan Vaz scored eight points to take the sixth spot in the under-12 category while the next best was Arjun Adireddy (7 points) in 20th place.

In the under-10 section, Vivaan Vishal Shah (8 points) settled for 9th place while France’s Lacan Rus David took the first prize scoring nine points.

India’s Safin Safarullakhan claimed a bronze medal in the under-8 category with nine points. The Kerala boy ended up half a point behind France’s Marc Llari and Russian Sav Shogdzhiev Roman, who finished first and second respectively after the tie-breaks.

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Dubai’s Kay Godkhindi creates history in all-female chair umpire team at Sofia Open

In a first, supervisor, tournament director, referee and chief of umpires are all women who have been assigned to an ATP tour event.

There’s a strong Dubai connection to the ongoing Sofia Open in Bulgaria run by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), the governing body of the men’s professional tennis circuits.

This is for the first time, an all-female chair umpire team, including the ATP supervisor, tournament director, referee and chief of umpires, was assigned to an ATP Tour event.

Tournament Director Kay Godkhindi, who is of Indian origin and holds an Australian passport, grew up in Dubai and went to college in the USA.

She told Khaleej Times from Sofia about the exciting aspect of the event.

“Truth be told, we had no clue about history being made in front of our eyes. At the end of the day, it’s a sport where gender is of little consequence. Besides, gender doesn’t define an individual’s capabilities. However, it’s a wonderful concept to have equal opportunity in both the ATP and the WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) and empowering women as and when possible is a step towards the right direction,” she said while lavishing praise on ATP for championing the gender cause.

Tennis has had several prominent female officials, including those officiating in men’s matches, for several decades.

Anne Lasserre, who is the ATP Supervisor for the ATP 250 in Sofia, is the gender-bender pioneer.

“I think it’s an honour as well to be the first female. I worked as a chair umpire for the ATP a long time ago,” Lasserre said.

“I think things and the situation are evolving, which I think is a good thing. It’s an honour, I’m proud of it…

“It’s good to think about the future and being able to break this glass ceiling and give this opportunity to other females to do the same job as we do in every sport,” she told atptour.com.

ATP Senior Director of Officiating Administration Ali Nili told atptour.com: “The ATP Officiating Department prioritises high performance and a diverse officiating team. The tournament in Sofia is an example of our successful efforts in that direction. While the road to progress is long, we are proud of the direction we are heading, and the future seems bright.

khaleejtimes.com

A new ball game for Malayali expatriates in Italy

Adlers Lombard, a Keralites-run football club, will become the first of its kind to compete in an Italian soccer league on Sunday

They moved from Kerala to Italy for higher studies, work and seeking better lives. But for these soccer maniacs, there was no better life without football. Moving from a football-crazy State to a country where soccer is almost a religion, they took their game to a new level.

Come Sunday, Adlers Lombard, a Keralites-run football club in Italy, will begin its journey in the Italian football system by competing in the CSI (Centro Sportivo Italiano) Regione Bergamo, a lower-division football league competition consisting of 12 teams. The club formed in 2019 plays the 7-a-side football format. It is the first of its kind, with 15 Keralites among its 20-member roster, to play in an Italian league. The CSI Regione Bergamo season lasts 10 months.

“Before moving to Italy from Kerala, one thing we all liked doing most was playing football. We came to Italy from different parts of Kerala at different times. But football has brought us together. After launching Adlers Lombard (Eagles from Lombardy), the team initially participated in some local tournaments. In the last 12 months or so, we have won five tournaments organised by the Kerala European Football Federation in Italy and Germany. The victories prompted the team management to register the club with the CSI and participate in the league,” says club vice-captain Mohammed Naseef C.P. who hails from Malappuram and works as a teacher in Italy. According to him, Adlers Lombard is the first ‘Indian Club’ to compete in an Italian football league.

The team is captained by Muhammed Abir P.T., also from Malappuram. The rest of the Keralite players are from Thrissur, Ernakulam, Thiruvananthapuram and so on. Two other Indians and a couple of Italian players are part of the team. The club has spent around €20,000 (approximately ₹15.84 lakhs) to prepare the team for competing in the league. They raised the money through sponsorships from several funders including an Italy-based automobile giant.

For Adlers Lombard, competing in CSI Regione Bergamo is just a start. “We are currently plying our trade in a lower division. But we are ambitious and have a long-term goal. Our aim is to play professional football in Italy in Serie D, Serie C, Serie B and Serie A and compete against top teams like Juventus, AC Milan and Inter Milan. We hope to recruit Indian players and provide them with a chance to play in the Italian league. It will help the growth of football in India,” says Smento Joseph, president, Adlers Lombard who hails from Angamaly in Kerala.

New memorial to Indian Army soldiers who died in Scotland unveiled

Nine soldiers from the Indian Army’s Force K6 died in the area after fighting with the British in World War I and II.

A memorial has been unveiled to commemorate a band of war heroes who served with the Indian Army and perished in the Scottish Highlands.

Nine soldiers were buried at a cemetery in Kingussie. The new monument stands prominently in the centre of the town.

People came from all corners of the UK for a pilgrimage to honour the men.

The Indian Army’s Force K6 was a transport unit that used mules to deliver vital supplies to frontline troops. It was despatched to various UK destinations.

The nine soldiers who died during training in the Cairngorms are remembered on the new stone-built tribute.

Among those attending the unveiling was 99-year-old Isobel Harling from Kingussie who had served in the Navy.

news.stv.tv /21.09.2022

Film on India’s role in Battle of Haifa in the works, will be shot in real locations across Israel

A feature film on Battle of Haifa, considered to be the “last great cavalry campaign in history”, is being developed by Indian production banners Golden Ratio Films (GRF), Yaelstar Films and Hundred Films.

The project was announced as part of Haifa Day, marked by the Indian Army every year to pay respect to the three Indian Cavalry Regiments – Mysore, Hyderabad and Jodhpur Lancers – that helped liberate the Israeli coastal city Haifa following cavalry action by the 15th Imperial Service Cavalry Brigade.

The film, billed as a fast-paced war drama, will be co-produced by GRF, a digital content production of Vistas Media Capital; Yaelstar and Hundred Films. The makers are planning to rope in a global team for the project.

Captain Aman Singh Bahadur and Dafadar Jor Singh were awarded the Indian Order of Merit (IOM) and Captain Anop Singh and 2nd Lt Sagat Singh were awarded the Military Cross (MC) as recognition for their bravery in this battle.

Major Dalpat Singh, widely popular as the Hero of Haifa, was awarded a military cross for his bravery.

Indian cavalry regiments armed with just spears and swords had displayed the highest tradition of valour and cleared the enemy from the rocky slopes of Mt. Carmel.

Addressing the gathering at the Indian cemetery in Haifa, India’s Ambassador to Israel, Sanjeev Singla, described the daring cavalry charge as probably one of the last classical cavalry actions before the battlefields were transformed fully by modern warfare .

Singla also highlighted that the Teen Murti Memorial erected to commemorate this historic deed was renamed the Teen Murti- Haifa Chowk in recognition of this battle and as an affirmation of the historical link between India and Israel .

This cemetery and the Indian soldiers who fell here are one of many historical connections that India has to this land… As time passes it is important that their tales, courage and sacrifice remain a living memory,” he said.

The Mayor of Haifa, Dr Einat Kalisch Rotem, recalled how brave Indian cavalry men stormed with spears and rifles a well fortified Turkish cannon positions and subdued them .

The story of the battle and it’s legacy constitute an important chapter in Haifa’s history. The Heroes of Haifa left us with a historical and heroic legacy and the residents of the city salute them for it , Rotem said.

Haifa municipality, along with the Indian mission in Israel, have been organising an event every year to pay tributes to the Indian soldiers since 2010.

The Indian film producers have been doing preliminary recce for the film in the country. They have met officials at various Israeli ministries who have “encouraged the production and invited them to shoot the film at actual locations in Israel, where the battle went down”.

The team released a poster of the proposed project in Haifa soon after attending a ceremony to pay respects to the Indian soldiers.

” Heroes of Haifa’ is a story about the courageous feat of Indian soldiers that the world needs to know. The heroic deed played a significant role in shaping the history of the region. It somehow has remained suppressed and not yet completely become the part of living memory it so well deserves , Piiyush Singh, the co-founder and group COO of Vistas Media Capital, told PTI.

We are honoured to make a film with such an exceptional storyline. After a lot of research on the minute details and considering the nuances of battle we are able to pin down this incredible narrative which the world should be aware of,” Atul Pandey, co-founder of Hundred Films, added.

Following the meeting with the movie producers, the Israel Foreign Ministry in a tweet said it was a fruitful discussion on Indo-Israel films and media collaborations.

“Joint projects like this will help strengthen the close ties between the 2 countries as we celebrate 30 years of diplomatic relations,” the post read.

The Mayor of Haifa assured the filmmakers of full support from the authorities.

“I’m positive that the movie will show proudly our beautiful city and its importance in the history of India. This large-scale production will showcase Haifa to millions of viewers, not only from India but from other countries, and will bring the city thousands of new tourists, she said.

About 900 Indian soldiers are interred in cemeteries across Israel in Jerusalem, Ramle and Haifa.

History textbooks in Haifa teach about the story of liberation of Haifa by Indian soldiers from class 3 to 5. The Haifa Historical Society has also been going around to schools in the city telling the story of liberation of Haifa to youngsters over the last decade.

In a symbolic gesture of friendship with Israel, India renamed the iconic Teen Murti Chowk, a war memorial, during the visit of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Delhi in January 2018 to Teen Murti Haifa Chowk.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the Haifa cemetery during his visit to Israel in July 2017 and unveiled a plaque commemorating Major Dalpat Singh for his critical role in the liberation of the city.

The Israel Post had issued a commemorative stamp in 2018 in appreciation of Indian soldiers’ role in liberating the city.

Maharashtra village school becomes a finalist at World’s Best School Prizes

PCMC English Medium School, Bopkhel, in Pune, will now progress to the public advisory vote round of the prize in the Community Collaboration category, with the winner to be awarded during World Education Week next month.

A village school in Maharashtra on Thursday was unveiled as one of the three finalists for the inaugural USD 250,000 World’s Best School Prizes, launched in the UK to celebrate schools worldwide for their contribution to society’s progress. The school has created a cultural dynamic centred on close ties within the community.

The school, in a remote village in Pune district, is run as a public private partnership between NGO Akanksha Foundation and local government, with most of its students from low-income families.

“PCMC English Medium School, Bopkhel also works with local doctors, grocers and religious leaders to help create programmes that help parents in financial need,” said T4 Education – the UK-headquartered digital media platform which founded the prize earlier this year.

“The school launched a programme of free medical check-ups in the community and ‘Master Chef’ style classes were launched that taught families about how to have a healthy and balanced diet. Students are also part of a daily fruit eating initiative that keeps them on track for healthy eating and every week they have a set meal plan. The impact has trickled into their home lives as parents have started to follow the same nutrition plan,” it added.

The prizes, founded in collaboration with Accenture, American Express, Yayasan Hasanah, Templeton World Charity Foundation, the Lemann Foundation, D2L, Mellby Gård, and Universidad Camilo José Cela, are aimed at sharing the best practices of schools that are transforming the lives of their students and making a real difference to their communities.

The five World’s Best School Prizes are designed across the categories of Community Collaboration, Environmental Action, Innovation, Overcoming Adversity, and Supporting Healthy Lives and the finalists have been whittled down from thousands of entries by a worldwide Judging Academy of distinguished leaders.

“Teachers everywhere will be inspired by the example of this outstanding Indian school,” said Vikas Pota, Founder of T4 Education and the World’s Best School Prizes.

“The World’s Best School Prizes surface the expertise of inspirational schools from every corner of the globe. It’s time for governments everywhere to listen to their voices,” he said.

If PCMC English Medium School, Bopkhel were to win the World’s Best School Prize for Community Collaboration, it has plans to donate some of the prize money to the Akanksha Foundation due to their contribution towards the management of the school. The funds would also be distributed towards other schools that work with the foundation.

Author-poet Meena Kandasamy wins the German PEN award

Born in 1984 in Chennai, Kandasamy is a feminist and anti-caste activist who has been vocal about the arrest of fellow writers like Varavara Rao and former Delhi University professor G.N Saibaba.

Indian author and poet Meena Kandasamy has been announced as this year’s recipient of the Hermann Kesten Prize by the PEN Centre in Germany’s Darmstadt. The Hermann Kesten Prize honours personalities who, in the spirit of the charter of the PEN association, stand up for the rights of persecuted authors and journalists.

Cornelia Zetzsche, Vice President of the German PEN Center, described Kandasamy as “a fearless fighter for democracy and human rights, for the free word and against the oppression of landless, minorities and Dalit in India; not a ‘Ms. Pleasant’, rather a ‘Ms. Militancy’,” referring to Kandasamy’s 2011 book of poems titled Ms Militancy.

Born in 1984 in Chennai, Kandasamy is a feminist and anti-caste activist whose work revolves around the issue of gender, caste, sexuality, patriarchy, and oppression by the Brahmanical system. Her novels have been shortlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction, the International Dylan Thomas Prize, the Jhalak Prize and the Hindu Lit Prize.

Kandasamy has been a vocal critic of the arrest of fellow writers like Varavara Rao and former Delhi University professor G N Saibaba.