Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday lauded athlete Hima Das and para-athletes Ekta Bhyan, Yogesh Kathuniya and Sundar Singh Gurjar during his monthly radio show “Mann Ki Baat”.

“Just a few days ago, in the Junior Under-20 World Athletics Championship in Finland, India’s brave daughter and a farmer’s daughter Hima Das made history by winning the gold medal in the 400 m race event,” Modi said during the 46th episode of the show.

“Bhyan, another daughter of the country, has brought glory to the nation. Ekta, we all are proud of you. Ekta has won the gold and bronze medals in World Para Athletics Grand Prix 2018 held in Tunisia. Her achievement is all the more special because she has made the imposing challenges in her life the key to her success,” he added.

Bhyan in 2003 met with an accident after which half of her lower body became paralyzed.

“But this daughter did not lose courage and made herself all the more stronger to perform this grand feat,” Modi said.

He also lauded para-athletes Yogesh Kathuniya and Sundar Singh Gurjar.

Kathuniya won the gold medal in discus throw in Para Athletics Grand Prix in Berlin and in the process bettered the world record.

Gurjar also won the gold medal in the javelin.

“I salute Ekta Bhyanji, Yogesh Qathuniaji and Sundar Singh Ji, all of you for your fortitude and passion and congratulate you! May you go further than these successes, keep on playing and keep on blooming,” Modi said.

Having broken new ground by becoming the first Indian to participate in the Thailand Superbike Championship, Sandesh Prasannakumar is now focussed on finishing on the podium in the remaining two phases of the competition. The Bengaluru racer made it a memorable debut by finishing second in the first phase of the competition.

“It was one of the toughest race of my career. In fact, I was badly dehydrated in the few last minutes and it was really difficult to stay strong and fight for the title. But trust me, to be on that podium was the best feeling I have ever experienced. It was worth the effort and had something very positive about it,” Sandesh told IANS.

“This was a long-awaited podium and the journey to reach here has demanded a lot from me. I had to struggle hard to start from the scratch and get back in the form. As of now, I need to focus on winning the next two rounds.”

Sandesh, who had made elaborate preparations before flying off to Thailand, said the tournament offers a lot of lessons for Indian racers.

“I have been doing a lot of supermoto practice before I head to race in Thailand. Keeping myself fit in the gym as well.

Thailand track luckily suits my riding style as well and I have got a really good bike and setup to ride there. So everything is syncing in well,” the 27-year-old said.

“Lot of learning to be done in Thailand. The way the country works for motorcycle racing and how riders are fast and how they give their 100 percent. This championship is a big learning curve for anyone from India.

“I’m the first Indian to participate in Thailand Superbike Championship. It wasn’t an added pressure I would say, but I was nervous so was my team because it was all new from both the sides. But once on the bike it all turns off and I focus only on my riding and following faster riders to learn more. I wish to get more practice there and win more races,” he added.

The achievement is all the more laudable since Sandesh is making a comeback from a long injury lay-off. He had broken his collar bone in January last year and was only able to return to competitive racing earlier this year.
“I crashed in January 2017 which broke my collar bone in two pieces and I have a rod and nine screws fit in to my Clavicle. I thought it would be easy to get back in to form after this as I have seen all Moto GP riders coming back from injuries very easily and stronger. But that was not the same for me,” he said.

“I was mentally not strong to go 100 percent on the bike as even my bike had damaged in the crash and superbike racing required utmost precision for a rider to go 1000 percent and be confident on the bike which also depends on rider to rider. It took me a good one and a half year to gain that confidence back and get back my form. Hopefully this stays for a long time and I’ll work hard for it.”

Apart from his formidable battles with form and injury, Sandesh also had to overcome personal tragedy as one of his friends had committed suicide a few days before the tournament.

In his friend’s honour, Sandesh had participated in the race with a sticker on his helmet which read ‘say no to suicide’.

“I was disheartened to know about a very good friend named Varna, who committed suicide two weeks before the race. All I wanted to do was to raise awareness about the same. I dedicate this victory and the podium to her,” he said.

Sourabh Verma stood out with his top-of-podium finish performance in the men singles event even as the young mixed doubles duo of Rohan Kapoor and Kuhoo Garg finished with the silver medal in the Russia Open Tours Super 100 badminton tournament here.

Sunday’s triumph comes close on the heels of Lakshya Sen’s gold medal-winning performance at the Asian Juniors in Jakarta, just a fortnight ago.

The Indian shuttlers continued to put up a stellar display and it was capped by the sixth-seeded Sourabh who scripted a come-from-behind win to triumph over Japan’s Koki Watanabe in the summit clash. He beat the Japanese 18-21, 21-12, 21-17 to clinch his first title of the season in a thriller that lasted exactly an hour.

In the first game, Sourabh had a lackluster beginning as he was trailing 5-11 even though Watanabe managed only a slender lead initially. Yet, the Indian showed great character and leveled at 18-18 before the Japanese ran through to finish strongly.

Sourabh, obviously eager to keep himself in the hunt, looked much more composed and with his effective half-court smashes and an equally strong net play, maintained the lead to take the game 21-12.

Watanabe looked resolute to not let his guard down in the decider, surging with an early lead of 9-3. But Sourav staged a fine recovery from nowhere and exhibiting his prowess at rallies, pulled himself upfront, thanks to some clinical baseline smashes and decisive drops.

In his anxiety to catch up with Sourabh, the Japanese made several unforced errors which only helped the Indian’s cause as the Japanese wilted under pressure. Sourabh romped home winners with the game and match at 21-17.

Earlier, Kuhoo Garg and Rohan Kapoor, who had won the silver at the Lagos International last week, continued their sublime form to repeat the success at the Russian Open. They put up a valiant effort but succumbed 19-21, 17-21 to the Japanese-Russian combine of Vladimir Ivanon and Min Kyung Kim in the final.

India’s Neeraj Chopra won gold in the men’s javelin event at the Savo Games here on Sunday.

Neeraj achieved a throw of 85.69 metres to finish at the top of the standings.

Chao-Tsun Cheng of Chinese Taipei took silver with an attempt of 82.52m.

After a valiant start to their women’s hockey World Cup campaign, Rani Rampal-led India will take on Ireland in a must-win second Pool B match here on Thursday.

India had enjoyed an excellent start to their campaign, holding World No.2 England to a 1-1 draw on Saturday.

The Indians could have stunned the Olympic Champions as they had taken the lead in the second quarter. They maintained the lead for most of the second half before the hosts scored a late equaliser.

Though India settled for a draw, skipper Rani is happy with her team’s performance as they held their own in front of a packed stadium cheering for the home team.

“I think it was a great match, a good start for us. There are so many positives that we can draw from that match which will help us in the upcoming matches in the tournament. I don’t think we are surprised with our performance because we have done well against England in the past and this time we went for a win,” Rani said.

Rani further added that the team watched the videos from their opening match and are better-prepared for the next challenge against Ireland.

“The entire team including support staff sat down for a meeting after the match to discuss our performance. We also discussed the goal we conceded and how we could have averted it. Our team feels we can do better than what we played against England and the aim is to improve match by match,” the striker added.

The Indians — who are placed 10th in the world rankings — will need to produce a similar performance against Ireland as a defeat or a draw will complicate things for them. In such a scenario, the Indians will have to beat the US by a healthy margin and hope for a favourable result from the clash between England and Ireland.

World No.16 Ireland, on the other hand, will be coming into their second match after a 3-1 win against a much higher-ranked US who are placed No.7 in the World rankings.

Ireland are currently leading Pool B and will want to carry on that momentum into the game against India.

“Yes, we have watched videos from Ireland’s match against USA and credit goes to them for a good start and good defending to hold their lead till the end,” Rani said.

“In the three days rest that we have had, we played a few practice matches among ourselves to try out different methods in goal scoring and keep up the momentum. We need to make a good start against Ireland and keep up the pressure on them. We are confident and ready for the next challenge,” she added.

Former India cricket captain Sourav Ganguly says he has a lot of hope from India skipper Virat Kohli.

Ganguly shared his hopes from Kohli on the “Breakfast with Champions” show hosted by Gaurav Kapur, a statement said.

“When Virat Kohli plays, wherever you are you will come and watch that because he is playing. That is his impact. When you look at him, you will get to know that this Man has a mission of making his team the best,” Ganguly said.

Ganguly says he and the nation believes in Kohli, who tied the knot with Bollywood actress Anushka Sharma in an intimate affair in Tuscany, Italy, last December.

“There is fitness and yo -yo test. People criticize it but there is a reason behind these tests. You have to be mentally tough. Now cricket is fitness oriented and sports has changed over the years. I have lot of hopes on Virat Kohli and nation believes in him,” he added.

This year’s finalists Czech Republic and the United States will begin their campaigns for the 2019 Fed Cup on home soil against Romania and Australia respectively.

The top two seeds for Tuesday’s draw were guaranteed the right to host their first round ties on Feb. 9-10 by virtue of reaching this year’s final, reports Xinhua news agency.

The Czechs will face Romania for a third time, having won both of their previous encounters in 1980 and 2016, while the US will take on Australia for the 15th time, but only the second time since 1985.

The two other World Group ties will see a repeat of last year’s first round contests, with Belgium looking to avenge their 3-2 defeat to France, this time on home soil, and Belarus looking to win against Germany in an away competition.

The Czechs will be going for their sixth crown in eight years when they host the U.S. in the final to be held in November.

India’s track record in football is a long, sorry saga of official ineptitude, corruption and neglect despite the game being hugely popular with a lot of hidden talent across the country. But Anuj Gupta and Vijay Hakari, the business owners of Sudeva Moonlight FC, a city-based club which plays in the second division I-League, are doing their bit to bring about some much needed change — with Spanish help.

Having bought an 85 percent stake in Spanish third division club CD Olímpic de Xàtiva, the Sudeva Moonlight FC owners have embarked on an ambitious project to develop upcoming Indian players. They have brought former Real Madrid player Oscar Rubio — who is now a coach — to select young boys from around the country and give them a chance to train and play in Spain.

“We are the first ever Indian club to buy a club in Spain. I have appointed Oscar to come to India and find talent who can play for our club in Spain.

“Last year, we we opened a company in Switzerland which acquired the Spanish club. We are looking at different options. We visited different parts of Spain — places like Malaga, Madrid, Murcia and Valencia,” Gupta told IANS.

“We found this club which seems to be perfect because the climate is quite mild throughout the year because it is near the sea. It seemed perfect because there the climate is around 23 degrees centigrade throughout the year and it is very close to Valencia which is a big city and a hub of Spanish football,” he added.

“From every aspect it seemed that Indians will be able to adjust to the climate culture, food. Prior to that, I had gone to Germany and Belgium as well. But I thought Spain will be the best option for Indian kids.”

As one of the first steps toward their ambitious project, Sudeva Moonlight FC conducted a countrywide talent search from July 14-20 in the age groups of U-13, U-15, U-18 and U-23.

Conducted in Delhi, Mumbai and Bangaluru, the trials shortlisted a total of 48 kids. While 225 attended the trials in Delhi, 120 budding players attended in Mumbai and 140 turned up in Bengaluru.

“We have a residential academy in Delhi as well. At the moment we are only focussed on getting kids from India. But our plan is to get kids from all over the world. They will train twice a day… and if they are less than 18 years of age they will be studying in schools. If they know Spanish they will study in public schools, if they don’t know Spanish they will study in a multi-lingual school,” Gupta informed.

“For those over 18, we have tied up with an university which is one of the most well-known sports universities. Where they have a curriculum in English related to sports. They will be giving BSC in sports science and masters degree in sports management,” he added.

“I want my footballers to study something related to sports as, when they are playing, they learn about the science of sports as well.”

While the kids came to know about this particular project through social media, Gupta also wants to search out budding players from rural regions.

“I have also gone to the tribal belt of Orissa and selected five tribal boys from there. My partner Vijay Hazari also travels to different places in India to spot talent. We have already visited 25 cities and towns this year,” Gupta said.

“I am currently training a boy from Howrah (West Bengal) named Subho Pal. He is my best trainee right now. He is probably the best player in the U-13 age group in India. He comes from a very poor family. He came to know about Sudeva and came for a trial,” he added.

“He is with us for the last one-and-a-half years. Before that, he was trained by former Mohun Bagan and East Bengal (Nigerian) star Chima Okorie for five years.”

Gupta, however, feels that boys from rural backgrounds should be first given a taste of urban lifestyle in India before sending them to foreign countries.

“Boys from rural backgrounds should first train here and polish up their skills before going abroad. Otherwise they will not be able to adjust in Spain. We cannot send them directly. Boys from the cities have a better chance of adjusting in foreign countries,” he said.

“Oscar has selected two tribal boys from the Orissa trials. But I know that I cannot send them directly to Spain. First they need to get used to the Delhi environment.”

Gupta has high expectations from this venture. But he is apprehensive that finances may prove to be a hurdle in the long run.

“In the first year, I want to take at least 10 kids to the Xàtiva academy. The younger the kids, the better. Let us hope and see,” he said.

“But his programme has to be funded by a corporate group in the long term. Unfortunately, the most talented kids do not come from financially strong backgrounds. There is a cost of training these kids, we also have to give them food and accommodation. It is difficult for us. I am trying to convince some corporates to use their CSR funds to train and sponsor them for a couple of years,” Gupta added.

The road ahead might be difficult, but Gupta is dreaming big.

“I want to make Xàtiva as a hub of Indian football. It is a small town, I want to make it a hub. I have the right to give any kid I want the opportunity to play there,” he said.

“I is very important to bridge the gap between European football and Indian football.”

India’s star shuttlers P.V. Sindhu and Saina Nehwal retained their positions in women’s singles in the latest Badminton World Federation (BWF) rankings released on Thursday.

While Saina skipped last week’s Thailand Open, Sindhu made it to the final before losing to reigning World Champion Nozomi Okuhara, who climbed up two spots to 6th.

Despite her runner-up finish, Sindhu is still placed at No.3 while her compatriot Saina remained on 10th.

Meanwhile, 16-year-old Vaishnavi Jakka Reddy climbed up four spots to break into the World top-50 for the first time, achieving a career-best ranking of 50.

Ruthvika Shivani Gadde, who returned to action this week in Singapore, also climbed up two places to 90th. Sai Uttejitha Rao, who hogged the limelight at the All India senior ranking tournament in Bengaluru recently, was one of the biggest movers as she climbed up 13 places to 115.

In men’s singles, Kidambi Srikanth and H.S.Prannoy stayed put to their No.5 and No.11 spots, while Sameer Verma and B.Sai Praneeth dropped one place each to 19th and 25th respectively.

Parupalli Kashyap, who reached the pre-quarters of Thailand Open last week, found his way back into the World top-50 as he climbed six spots to 48th.

Among the others, Subhankar Dey dropped three places to 67th while Lakshya Sen faltered five places to 76th.

In men’s doubles, Commonwealth Games silver medallists Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty dropped to 22nd while Manu Attri and B.Sumeeth Reddy climbed one place to 28th.

Women’s doubles pair of Ashwini Ponnappa and N.Sikki Reddy dropped one place to 28th. In mixed doubles, Satwik and Ponnappa climbed up nine spots to be ranked 47th.

The fourth leg of the 3×3 Basketball League (3BL) will be held here on July 21 and 22.

The fourth leg will see the addition of Canada’s Bikramjit Gill, joining the Indian and international basketball players in 3BL including Leandro Souza de Lima, Inderbir Singh Gill and Kiran Shastri who will be putting on their best show.

The Chennai round will witness a very tough and intriguing competition between Delhi Hoopers and Ahmedabad Wingers, the top two teams post the third round.

Mumbai Hustlers and Chennai Icons will also come strong in the second half of the league to possibly secure a top rank position.

The fourth round could be a game changer for Chennai Icons as well as for Mumbai Hustlers.