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The
Kid who Wants to Rule the World
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He
is only six years of age but Kevin Lalrinmawia
is already India's youngest kickboxing titleholder.
Armed with a black belt, this power-packed
champion has a dream - to dominate the world
ring. Born in a middle class family in the
northeastern state of Mizoram, Kevin grew
up with an obsession for stunts. His father
Joseph encouraged him but mother Lalrinawmi
was not so thrilled. Despite being a bright
student, his teachers at Gospel Centenary
School feel his natural skills should not
hamper his studies. He is a Class 2 student.
Coached by Lalkhuma Colney, Kevin became
a national sensation by winning three gold
medals - the youngest to do so - in the
18th national kickboxing championship held
in Orissa earlier this month. In July 2005,
he became the youngest kickboxer to be awarded
a "dan black belt" by the Indian Association
of Kickboxing Organisation. Kevin has won
a gold, a silver and a bronze medal at the
15th and 16th National Kickboxing Championships
in Jammu and Kashmir (2004) and Tamil Nadu
(2005). This apart, he has won 10 gold medals
in state-level competitions. Kevin says
he wants to derive fame and fortune from
this fragile sport. Although kickboxing
has struggled to obtain a prominent place
in the country's sporting landscape, Kevin
does not want to abandon his dream of becoming
the youngest world champion one day. "I've
really been looking forward to step into
the world kickboxing ring. I've trained
hard and I want to win," Kevin, looking
very shy, told IANS. He has been preparing
hard for the world championship to be held
at Hungary next month and another tournament
at Croatia in December. However, his dream
of becoming an international champion has
hit a roadblock, with the World Association
of Kickboxing Organisation's decision to
stop children of tender age from competing
in this highly dangerous sport. Coach Colney
seems to be undeterred by it. "I'll continue
training Kevin so that he finds his way
to the world championship some day," says
the coach.
Courtesy:
www.hindustantimes.com, October 24, 2006
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Gandhi,
Right Arm Over the Wicket
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Mahatma
Gandhi, when asked for an autograph, "played
with a straight bat", quite forgetting he
was engaged in a mighty and bloodless revolution
with the British, and became a member of
an official England team (Gandhi, A Second
Coming Sep - 11). Few perhaps know this
side of the man: he was not only a cricket
enthusiast but also wielded the willow.
But among the treasured possessions of the
Marylebone Cricket Club at Lord's is an
autograph book, wherein Gandhi put his signature
as the 17th player of the MCC team led by
Douglas Jardine in 1933-34. How he was chosen,
perhaps even the MCC selectors can't have
explained. But Gandhi ended up playing for
a team of British origin against, a team
of Indian origin at London, scored 21 runs
with 3 boundaries. He took a wicket too.
R.G. Mehta, a boyhood friend and schoolmate,
wrote, "It is not commonly known that Gandhiji
was a dashing cricketer and evinced keen
interest in the game. Once we were ding-dong
battles between Rajkot city vs Rajkot Sardar
(camp area). At a crucial moment, as if
by intuition, Gandhiji said a particular
player would be out and hey presto the batsman
was really out.
Courtesy:
OutLook, October 23, 2006
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Eight
Indians in Last Eight
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Eight
Indians reached the quarterfinals in the
individual elimination round of the ninth
junior and third cadet World outdoor archery
championships at Merida, Mexico. Prabhat
Kandir (recurve junior men), Pratima Bora
and Pranitha Vardhineni (both recurve cadet
women), Palton Hansda and Santosh Tamang
(compound junior men), Sweety Kumari (compound
junior women) and Renso Purty (compound
cadet men) advanced with facile wins. Kandir
will meet Sungwoo Shin of Korea, Pratima
will take on Dellie Threesyadinda of Indonesia,
Pranitha will clash with Beverley Stevens
of the UK; Palton Hansda will play Nathan
Cameron of Canada, Tamang will come up against
Patrick Laursen of Denmark, Sweety will
lock horns with Danielle Brown of the UK
and Renso Purty will challenge Paris de
Lara Goico of Dominican Republic.
Courtesy:
www.hindu.com, October 20, 2006
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Chopra
Finishes Career-Best 2nd
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Aniel
Chopra registered his career-best result
on US PGA tour with a tied second finish
after coming within a whisker of maiden
PGA tour title at the Frys.Com Open. The
Stockholm-born golfer, born of an Indian
father, failed to get a birdie from 18-feet
to force a play-off, and Troy Matteson (69)
calmly two-putted from eight feet to take
his first tour title at 22-under 266. Chopra's
final round was a six-under 66 after a eight-under
64 in the third round and he finished 21-under
267. Chopra, who started playing in Delhi,
picked up the biggest cheque of his career
- USD 352,000 - to take his season's earnings
to USD 1,514,812 and moved up to the 48th
position on the money list. Arjun Atwal
played a final round of one-over 73 and
finished in a tie for 44th place that still
kept him 138th on the money list and his
fate for next season still hangs in balance
as only the top-125 get full card for 2007.
Chopra had birdies on first, third and ninth
and turned in three-under. His only bogey
came on 11th and then he Birdied the 13th
and eagled the 16th to shoot into contention.
A birdie on the 17th added to the drama
but his par on 18th kept him one shot short
in tied second.
Courtesy:
www.hindustantimes.com, October 16, 2006
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Now,
Wonder Boy 2 on the Run in Patna
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After
Budhia of Orrisa, now comes a five-year-old
wonder boy from Patna. Born without properly
formed hands and toes, Pawan mesmerised
everybody with a non-stop run covering a
distance of 5 km on Patna streets on Sunday.
Pawan who sprinted between Kargil Chowk
and Saheed Smarak, covering the 5 km distance
in around 55 minutes, now wants to take
on no other than Budhia. "Someday, I will
challenge him (Budhia). I can do anything
for that. For me it would be like proving
that physical handicap has nothing to do
with talent," says Pawan. A native of Jehanabad
district, Pawan is a student of Nav Rasna
Academy in Phulwari Sharif and hopes to
travel from Kashmir to Kanyakumari on foot
- certainly a lofty dream considering his
physical handicap. Ranjit Singh Suman of
Disabled Sports and Welfare Academy (DSWA),
an organisation that organised the program
in association with Tapeswar Singh Smriti
Sansthan (TSSS), has some other plans for
this wonder boy. He wants to train Pawan
for a non-stop 100 km run. "That would be
very soon. We will manage everything for
that," he claims. TSSS secretary, Dr Ajay
Kumar Singh, has announced to bear the expenditure
that would be incurred on Pawan's education.
There was an entourage of young school students
numbering more than 300, social activists,
and fans, when Pawan started his run on
the Kargil Chowk.
Courtesy:
www.asianage.com, October 10, 2006
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