National Games: Sandeep stuns Diwakar in lightweight boxing

JAMSHEDPUR: Olympian Diwakar Prasad's campaign in the 34th National Games came to an end as the Jharkhand boxer was beaten by Haryana's Sandeep at the JRD Tata Sports Complex on Monday.

The young pugilist exhibited good skills and delivered accurate punches to surge ahead in the first round. He maintained his good form in the subsequent rounds before wrapping up the bout 2-0 to move into the semifinal of the lightweight (60 kgs) men's bout.

V Durga Rao of Karnataka, Neeraj Goyal of Tripura and Kerala's Kulwinder also moved into the semis after they defeated Amit Roy of West Bengal, Akshay Kumar of Delhi and Ankit Thakur of Himachal Pradesh.

Results:

Women (Bantam 54 kgs): Priyanka Khandeparkar of Goa bt Mamta Kumari Panda (Orissa); Sushma Kumari (Jharkhand) bt Ph Sony Chanu (Manipur).

Feather (57kgs): Mandakini Chann (Jharkhand) bt Kavita Bhatt (Uttar Pradesh); Priyanka Chaudhary ( Uttarakhand) bt Dorothy Lalchhanhimi (Mizoram); Pavitra (Haryana) bt Hemam Chaoba Devi (Manipur); Pwilao Basumatary (Assam) bt Rinky Singh (Andhra Pradesh).

Light (60 kgs): Meena Rani (Uttar Pradesh) bt Sangeeta Kumari (Uttarakhand); Sagar Tokas (Delhi) bt Meena (Jharkhand).

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National Games: Crowd cheers Dhoni

HOTWAR, RANCHI: All security arrangements at the venue of National Games in Hotwar near Ranchi went haywire once Team India skipper M S Dhoni arrived at the mega sports complex on Sunday.

Hundreds of cricket fans came down from the gallery of different stadiums to meet the local hero and laid a siege to the gate of the main athletics stadium.

Security personnel had a tough time managing the crowd to give safe passage for Mahi's exit.

Record Sunday crowd: The mammoth crowd that Mega Sports Complex at Hotwar witnessed on Sunday surpassed all previous records of mammoth gathering at one place. A stadium complex with 13 stadiums with different sitting capacities ranging from 2,000 to over 8,000 people and one main athletics stadium with sitting capacity of 35,000 were full to their capacities. The open arenas, too, remained crowded Sunday being holiday for most of the people. Sports lovers from neighbouring districts and other states also arrived on reserved buses.

Once more drizzle relief: Cool breeze followed by cloudy climate and drizzling on Sunday showcased actual climate of the host city to thousands of players and officials coming from other states. For, many had known Ranchi to be a hill station and thanks to the perfectly timed climate change that helped visitors walk comfortably across stadiums and players in demonstrating their skills to the fullest. However, a few athletes complained of muscle cramps and hamstring injuries while some others also complained of cold and cough.

Parking well organized : Even as arrangement hiccups remained order of the day, a disciplined parking lot before the Mega Sports Complex was a welcome scene for all the visitors. A huge queues of bicycles, two-wheelers, cars and big buses all lined up in order grabbed attention of every onlooker. However, information lapses to the security personnel managing the gates once again added to confusion of VIPs about their entry and parking lots. Health department principal secretary A K Sirkar was stopped by guards at a gate and it was difficult for him to convince the men in uniform that he holds a dignified post in the state bureaucracy.

TOI