CHENNAI: Riding on goals from Armaan Qureshi, Affan Yousuf and Gurjinder Singh, favourites IOCL edged past Indian Army 3-2 in a group match of the All-India MCC Murugappa Gold Cup hockey on Saturday. Saturday’s results: Punjab National Bank 2-1 Indian Air Force, Indian Railways 1-1 Punjab and Sind Bank, IOCL 3-2 Indian Army. Sunday’s fixtures: Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu vs Central Secretariat, Indian Army vs Bengaluru Hockey Association, Indian Navy vs PSB.
Bhaskaran felicitated
S Bhaskaran was felicitated by Indian Body Builders Federation (IBBF) and Tamil Nadu Amateur Body Building Association (TNABBA) for winning the Arjuna Award. “We take immense pride in this achievement. The award is testimony to the hard work of Bhaskaran over two decades,” said IBBF secretary general Cheten M Pathare. Bhaskaran, who works with ICF, was elated. “More than me, I am happy that the sport has been recognised. I thank the national body, state association and RSPB.”
Junior Super Kings tourney
The sixth edition of Junior Super Kings inter-school T20 tournament will begin from next Monday. The event is sponsored by Muthoot Group and supported by Tamil Nadu Cricket Association. Eighty eight schools from the state will take part in the first phase, which will be held in Chennai and 13 other districts. The final phase for the winners from the first stage will be held in Tirunelveli. There is no entry fee. “The tournament gives an opportunity for boys from districts to play competitive cricket,” said Chennai Super Kings CEO Kasi Viswanathan. All matches till the semifinals of the second phase will be shown as highlights on Star Sports (Tamil). The final will be telecast live with delay.
Preyesh bags title
S Preyesh of CPS beat K Navaneeth of Schram in the sub-junior boys’ final of IOC-Tamil Nadu state table tennis championship. Results: Sub-junior: Boys: S Preyesh (CPS) bt K Navaneeth (Schram) 7-11, 11-6, 11-7, 11-3, 10-12, 8-11, 11-7. Girls: B KavyaShree (Jawahar) bt VS Nehal (Madurai) 11-8, 11-7, 8-11, 11-7, 11-3. Youth: Boys: S Karthikeyan (RTTA) bt R Santhosh Kumar (Jawahar) 11-6, 11-4, 11-8, 4-11, 3-11, 9-11, 12-10. Girls: S Yashini (Jawahar) bt N Deepika (AKG) 11-3, 10-12, 13-15, 11-3, 9-11, 14-12, 11-3.
Nirmal shines for Districts Off-spinner P Nirmal Kumar’s 5/77 helped Combined Districts beat City by 91 runs in the City vs Combined Districts U-19 match played in Coimbatore. Brief scores: Combined Districts 183 & 440 in 109.5 ovs (RS Mokit Hariharan 131 n.o, R Ram Arvindh 88, M Boopathi Vaishnakumar 66, ND Harishankar 53; P Vidyuth 3/94) bt City 337 & 195 in 51.2 ovs (C Saffin 82 n.o; P Nirmal Kumar 5/77).