Monthly Archives: February 2011

BAI President Verma arrested

Posted on February 23, 2011 by

New Delhi, Feb 23: Lalit Bhanot and VK Verma, two close aides of Commonwealth Games (CWG) chief organiser Suresh Kalmadi, were arrested Wednesday for irregularities to the tune of Rs.1.07 billion ($23 million) in a contract with a Swiss company for time-keeping equipment during the Oct 3-14, 2010 event, officials said. Continue reading →

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National Games: Arundhati, Guru Sai win gold

Posted on February 21, 2011 by

Ranchi: Promising youngster Arundhati Pantawante and rising star Guru Sai Dutt clinched the singles titles as the badminton competition concluded at the 34th National Games on Monday. The Nagpur girl came from behind to oust Kerala’s PC Thulasi for the title. Continue reading →

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Pune pioneers IPL-style badminton league

Posted on February 8, 2011 by

Bangalore, Feb 4: After plenty of talk of replicating the IPL model in other sports, a taluk badminton association in Maharashtra has taken the initiative of organizing an inter-club league beginning in May this year. The Haveli Taluka Badminton Association, founded in 2008, has finalized a league based on the IPL model, and an auction date of February 20 has been set. Uday Sane, an international referee and Jt Secretary of the Pune District Badminton Association, is the man behind the initiative. The league will comprise of six teams based in Maharashtra, and will include only players hailing from the state. Continue reading →

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Author of new circuit, now a forgotten figure

Posted on February 8, 2011 by

Punch Gunalan looks tired. Perhaps it’s the heart operation he’d had, or perhaps it’s just age — he will soon be 67 — but the man who once ruled badminton looks careworn and able to speak only in a near-whisper. “Let God decide if I have to come back into badminton,” he says, but you sense he doesn’t have it in him to fight any more. Continue reading →

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Some interesting results

Posted on February 4, 2011 by

Atul (Gujarat), Feb 4: Sourabh Verma beat India’s best emerging player, Sai Praneeth, in the final of the All India Senior Ranking Tournament on Friday. Verma won 11-21 21-15 21-19; a surprise result, for Praneeth has been in fine form recently. Continue reading →

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Former prodigy watches old friend from the sidelines

Posted on February 2, 2011 by

Recollecting an old story I’d written: “Six years after Abhishek Bakshi gave up badminton — on the cusp of becoming P Gopichand’s successor and the game’s most charismatic figure in India since Prakash Padukone — he returned to watch childhood friend Anup Sridhar reach the quarterfinals of the world championships…” Continue reading →

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