Bodyandstrength.com Weekly Times: 11th February to 17th February 2019

Sport Star Aces Awards Celebrated Sporting Excellence in a Befitting Ceremony

Sportstar ACES Awards, supported by the Qatar Supreme Committee for delivery and legacy for the 2022 Football World Cup and MRF, honoured sporting heroes in a star-studded evening here on Thursday. 

The awards, which ran from 1994 to 2003 in their first stint, were reinstituted as Sportstar celebrated its 40th birthday in 2018. 

In the Sportsman of the Year (Cricket) category, India captain Virat Kohli and fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah were declared joint winners. Kohli had an enviable 2018 in which he hit five hundreds and four fifties across 12 tests and amassed 1202 ODI runs at an average of 133.5. Bumrah, on the other hand, made his test debut in 2018 and since then has become the team's go-to man across all formats. His 22 scalps in 13 ODIs at an economy rate of 3.62 is the best in international cricket in 2018 for bowlers with 15-plus wickets.

Australian spin legend and Rajasthan Royals brand ambassador Shane Warne gave away the award to Kohli. "Virat is a very inspiring cricketer all around the world. He stands up for what he believes in and speaks his heart. He has got a lot of inbuilt skill and talent which is good competition and the will to complete the job. I congratulate him for this award and wish him more success," said Warne.

Kohli was excited to have received the award. "As a child, I used to buy Sportstar every month for the posters. So, getting this award from Sportstar is like reviving childhood memories. To receive the award from Warne is a dream comes true for me," Kohli said.

Smriti Mandhana took the honours of Sportswoman of the Year (Cricket) thanks to a splendid 2018 across the Big Bash league in Australia and the KIA Women's T20 league last year. She moved atop the ICC ODI batting rankings just a few days ago. Cheteshwar Pujara collected the Chairman's Choice Award for his stupendous performance in India's historic Test series win in Australia.

In racquet sports, Sharath Kamal pipped badminton player Sameer Verma and tennis player Rohan Bopanna to win the Sportsman of the Year. Winning medals of all three colours in different events at the 2018 Commonwealth Games and two bronze medals at the Asian Games, Sharath reached a career-high ranking of 30 in 2018.

P. V. Sindhu and Manika Batra were declared joint-winners of Sportswoman of the Year (Racquet Sports). Sindhu's BWF World Tour finals win was the highlight of 2018, which included silver medals across Commonwealth Games, World Championships and the Asian Games in singles, and gold at the team event in CWG. Manika rose to prominence in 2018 with terrific performances at the Commonwealth Games, winning four medals in a single edition including the individual gold, doubles silver, women's team gold and a mixed doubles bronze.

Gold at the Asian Games and the Commonwealth Games catapulted javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra to the Sportsman of the Year (track & field) award. Hima Das won the Sportswoman of the Year (track & field). Hima's 400m gold at the U20 World Championships was the first track title by any Indian at a world meet. Add the silver at the Asian games and Hima was the cynosure of all eyes. 

Sportsman of the Year (other team sport) award went to footballer Sunil Chhetri. Chhetri led the country to the AFC Asian Cup after an eight-year hiatus and also captained the side that won the Intercontinental Cup in June 2018.

Indian women's hockey team's ace drag-flicker Gurjit Kaur won the Sportswoman of the Year (other team sport) award. Her hat-trick in the opening match of the Asian Games against Indonesia and then a brace against Korea helped India reach the final.

Bajrang Punia's gold at the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games and a silver medal at the World Championship made him the world no. 1 in the 65kg category and the winner of Sportsman of the Year (olympic sport). M. C. Mary Kom and Vinesh Phogat were declared joint-winners for the Sportswoman of the Year (Olympic sport). Phogat won top honours at the CWG and the Asian Games, while Mary etched her name in history by winning the World Championships a record sixth time.

The awards jury consisted of sporting legends Sunil Gavaskar, M. M. Somaya, Anju Bobby George, Anjali Bhagwat, and N. Ram, Chairman of the Hindu Group publishing. Guided by fan votes, the jury recognised sporting achievements in the 2018 calendar year.

"It was a tremendous honour to be asked to chair the jury with such eminent sporting personalities like Anju Bobby George, Somaya, Anjali and of course the huge sports lover with a fund of knowledge of all sports, Mr. N. Ram," Gavaskar, the chairman of the panel, said.

Badminton legend Prakash Padukone won the Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to the sport. In a year where Indian Table Tennis achieved new heights, the man behind the rise, the then head coach, Massimo Costantini, was awarded the Coach of the Year award. Vidarbha's success in domestic cricket was recognised and it was adjudged the Team of the Year, ahead of Chennai Super Kings and Bengaluru FC.

Rising stars in shooting, Saurabh Chaudhary and Manu Bhaker, won the Best Young Athlete awards in the male and female categories. Suyash Yadav and Manoj Sarkar jointly won the Sportsman of the Year (para-athlete), while Deepa Malik won the Sportswoman of the Year in the same category.

For hosting a successful Hockey World Cup after the Asian Athletics Championships and the Hero Super Cup, Odisha won the Best State for Promotion of Sports award. The man behind Odisha's sporting success, chief minister Naveen Patnaik, received the award.

Among the guests at the event was Nasser Al Khatar, the assistant secretary general of Qatar's Supreme Committee for delivery and legacy for the 2022 Football World Cup. 

Sportstar ACES's endeavor is to provide encouragement to our athletes and their support systems. The awards aim to create a platform where stakeholders involved with Indian sports meet and share their vision for the growth of sports.

Awards Winner's List

POPULAR AWARDS

JURY AWARDS:

NOMINATED AWARDS

SPECIAL AWARDS

Results from Semi Finals of the 9th Hockey India Senior Women National Championship 2019 (A Division) 

~ Defending Champions Railway Sports Promotion Board defeat Hockey Haryana 8-0 in first Semi Final ~

~ Hockey Madhya Pradesh beat Hockey Maharashtra 2-1 in second Semi Final ~

The Semi Finals of the 9th Hockey India Senior Women National Championship 2019 (A Division) took place here on Sunday which saw Defending Champions Railway Sports Promotion Board defeat Hockey Haryana 8-0 to qualify for the Final, while Hockey Madhya Pradesh also beat Hockey Maharashtra 2-1 to set up an exciting Final encounter on Monday.

In the first Semi Final, it was Railway Sports Promotion Board who produced an emphatic performance against Hockey Haryana to register a 8-0 victory and secure their place in the Final of the competition. VandanaKatariya (6', 16', 38'), AnupaBarla (44', 44'), Navjot Kaur (18'), Deep Grace Ekka (48') and Neha (51') scored the goals for the Defending Champions in a match which saw them dominate throughout.

In the second Semi Final, Hockey Madhya Pradesh secured an outstanding result as they beat Hockey Maharashtra by a slim margin of 2-1. The match saw Hockey Madhya Pradesh score the first goal in the 34th minute as Pooja Rani scored off a Penalty Corner. Hockey Madhya Pradesh continued to impress and scored their second goal in the 47th minute as Narender Kaur scored with a fine finish. Hockey Maharashtra tried to make a comeback into the match, and scored a goal in the 53rd minute through H Lalruatfeli, but it was not enough for them, as Hockey Madhya Pradesh secured a 2-1 win to advance to the Final.

Results from Day 1 of the 9th Hockey India Junior Men National Championship 2019 (A Division) 

~ Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu, Hockey Chandigarh, Hockey Haryana, Hockey Jharkhand & Uttar Pradesh Hockey win their opening fixtures while Hockey Gangpur-Odisha, Delhi Hockey, Hockey Odisha and Steel Plant Sports Board drew their matches ~

The 9th Hockey India Junior Men National Championship 2019 (A Division) kick-started here at the Sports Authority of India Campus on Sunday, which saw Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu, Hockey Chandigarh, Hockey Haryana, Hockey Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh Hockey register victories in their respective opening Pool matches, whereas Hockey Gangpur-Odisha, Delhi Hockey, Hockey Odisha and Steel Plant Sports Board could only manage to draw their encounters.

In Pool A, Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu defeated Hockey Punjab 5-4 where the goals for them were scored by S Karthi (6', 10', 35', 50') and K Tiras (51'). Goals for Hockey Punjab were scored by Parteek Sharma (19', 51'), Captain Karajwinder Singh (17') and Sudarshan Singh (22').

In the other Pool A match, Hockey Chandigarh triumphed over Services Sports Control Board by a margin of 7-4. Goals for Hockey Chandigarh were scored by Sahibjeet Singh (8', 48', 60'), Captain Maninder Singh (45', 47'), Hashim (2') and Harpreet Singh (9'), while Umashankar (30', 40'), Manip Kerketta (24') and Du Mokshit (50') scored for Services Sports Control Board.

In Pool B, Hockey Haryana defeated Manipur Hockey by a fine margin of 7-0 in which goals for them were scored by Boby Singh Dhami (3', 45'), Captain Parmeet (3'), Pawan (15'), Ankush (36'), Rimanshu (44') and Pankaj (59').

In the other Pool B match, Hockey Jharkhand played out of their skill to defeat Madhya Pradesh Hockey Academy by a slim margin of 1-0. The only goal of the match came in the 45th minute when Hockey Jharkhand's Deepak Soreng scored a field-goal to give his team the break-through.

In Pool C, it was Hockey Gangpur-Odisha and Delhi Hockey who played out a 3-3 draw. Goals for Hockey Gangpur-Odisha were scored by Puran Kerketta (18'), Sibren Lakra (37') and Sudeep Chirmako (43'), while Captain Amit (19'), Chetan Sharma (34') and Sahil Kumar (36') scored for Delhi Hockey.

The other Pool C match saw Uttar Pradesh Hockey beat Hockey Maharashtra 7-1.  Goals for Uttar Pradesh Hockey were scored by Gopikumar Sonkar (3', 4', 34', 45', 52') and Ajay Yadav (33', 44'), while Hockey Maharashtra's only goal was scored by Aamid Khan (28').

Pool D's opening match also ended in a 1-1 draw as Hockey Odisha and Steel Plant Sports Board shared the points. It was Hockey Odisha who took the lead in the 42nd minute through Subas Barla, but Steel Plant Sports Board equalized in the 57th minute through Kingson Thokchom.

Mumbai Shree 2019: Most awaited bodybuilding event concluded on 16^th and 17^th February

The most awaited event of bodybuilding was held in Mumbai on 16^th and 17^th February.  The event was organized by Arogya Prathisthan  under Mumbai Suburban Bodybuilding and Fitness Association and Greater Bombay Bodybuilders Association. The winner was awarded with the prize money of 8 lakhs. The winners of the event were classified into two categories; winners in each of these categories shall be eligible to participate in the upcoming event ‘Mahrashtra Shree’ this year.

The country has been a rapid growth in the terms of fitness industry, the city Mumbai being the hub of the fitness and bodybuilding, this event might helped in encouraging several new entrants to join the industry and lead to boom in the fitness industry.

In the event the entrepreneurs, fitness trainers, supplement brands, gym equipments all the section was gathered under one roof.

The aim of the event was to bring the fitness industry together and made the fitness industry in Mumbai reach newer heights and upscale globally.

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