Gaurav, Kriti champs

Hyderabad: Hyderabad’s Gaurav Kurva and Kriti Parikh were crowned champions in the boys’ and girls’ categories respectively at the all-India ranking Talent Series under-14 tennis tournament, played at the GMR Tennis Academy in Hyderabad.

Gaurav downed a fighting K. Ashish Anand 7-5, 6-4 in the boys final while Kriti defeated P. Lasya 6-4, 6-3 in the girls’ final. Gaurav and Ashish both hit the ground running in the summit clash. Both boys matched each other stroke for stroke. It took a special effort from Gaurav, when the scores were tied at 5-5 in the first set, to break his opponent’s serve.

He then served out to win the first set. In the second set, he effected an early break of serve and held on to his advantage to win 6-4 and with it, the match. Things went smoother for Kriti in the girls’ title round. After an initial fight, Lasya surrendered the first set 4-6 to Kriti, who rode on her momentum to quickly win the second set 6-3 and lift the trophy.

Earlier, in the semifinals, both Kriti and Lasya registered 6-3, 6-3 victories in their respective matches. While Kriti got the better of M. Sahithi Reddy, Lasya proved too good for Smriti Bhasin.
Among boys, Gaurav breezed past P. Koushik Venkat while Ashish struggled before scripting a comeback to defeat Nitin Nagaraju 1-6, 6-4 (10-1)

City kids shine at taekwondo

City kids shine at taekwondo
 

DC Correspondent
Hyderabad students put up a good show at the CBSE national taekwondo championships, organised by Meridian School at the Gachibowli Stadium in Hyderabad.

Puneet Singh of Meridian bagged a gold medal in the boys under-19 category while Habeeb and Sanchia Mehra, also from Meridian, clinched a bronze medal each. Over 360 students from five zones in India vied with each other for top honours at the tournament.

Loyola hoopsters in quarters

DC Correspondent

Loyola Academy cruised into the quarterfinals of the Nawab Shujath Ahmed Khan Memorial Basketball Championship in Hyderabad. In a high-quality pre-quarterfinal clash held at the City College basketball court, Loyola boys defeated RR Club 54-38.

Loyola troubled their opponents early on, with Chandrahas, Prithvi and Basha combining well to split the RR defence in half. The early onslaught took RR by surprise as they barely managed to win a single rebound.

Even a brief break at the end of the first quarter did no good for RR Club as they continued to be caught between a rock and a hard place as Loyola sacrificed their defensive organisation to attack relentlessly.

However, such was Loyola’s effectiveness while attacking that the loopholes at defence were hardly picked out. As the team headed for the drinks break at the end of the second quarter, Loyola had already managed an impressive 17-point lead.

RR Club, however, mustered some courage and attacked Loyola in the third quarter of the match, scoring a few two-pointers on the trot. But Loyola got back into their attacking best in the final quarter to wrap up the match.

Chess tournament in city on sunday

Chess tournament in city on sunday

DC Correspondent

The Magna Chess Academy, in association with the Hyderabad District Chess Association, is conducting a chess tournament in Hyderabad on January 5.

The tournament, scheduled to be played at Mahalaxmi Meadows, beside Central Court Hotel in Lakdikapul, will be played across three categories — for students up to Class IV, for students in Classes V, VI and VII and for students in Classes VIII and above.

For further details, contact Hussain on 9490315258 or Sree Krishna on 9247143456

OU rifle shooting trials on saturday

DC correspondent

Osmania University is conducting rifle shooting selection trials at the Victory Playground in Hyderabad from 8 am on January 4. All those interested must report — with their eligibility forms — to coach Raj Kumar or Ajay Kumar at the venue.

For further details, contact L.B. Laxmikanth Rathod at the Department of Physical Education, Osmania University.

Rapid chess meet in the city on Sunday

DC Correspondent

The Cyber Chess Academy will conduct the Zugmongers rapid chess tournament on January 5 in Hyderabad. There is a total purse of '10,000 up for grabs.
Those interested must contact Cyber Chess Academy on 9959988766 or 40131669 for further information.