Super6, Author at The Sportz Planet

After an eventful Junior Artistic Gymnastics National Championship, Odisha set to host star-studded Senior Nationals

Bhubaneswar, 01 January 2024: After successfully conducting the Junior Artistic Gymnastics National Championship, the Sports and Youth Services Department, Government of Odisha, is geared up to host the Senior Artistic Gymnastics National Championships for the 2023-24, at the Gymnastics Centre, Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneswar. Under the aegis of the Odisha Gymnastics Association and the Gymnastics Federation of India, the championship will be held from 2-4 January 2024 in the state capital and will feature Olympians Pranati Nayak and Dipa Karmakar as well as other national gymnasts like Yogeshwar Singh, Rakesh Patra, Tapan Mohanty, Saif Tamboli, Gaurav Kumar and others. Speaking ahead of the event, Ashok Mishra, Head Coach, Odisha AM/NS India Gymnastics High Performance Centre said, “The Junior Artistic Gymnastics National Championship was conducted smoothly and was a huge success. We are now excited to host the Senior National Championship. We will see a lot of national athletes like Dipa, Pranati Nayak, Yogeshwar Singh, Rakesh, Tapan, Gaurav and various others taking part. The stakes are high, and it will surely be a very interesting tournament.“ Dipa’s coach Bishweshwar Nandi stated, “It feels great to be here, the venue and apparatus are of Olympic standards. Dipa is taking part in the National Championship after almost eight years. There will be Pranati Das, Pranati Nayak, Aruna Reddy and various other senior athletes taking part as well, so it’s a good thing. I couldn’t come to the Junior Nationals, but I would like to see the junior athletes compete against these senior athletes. I liked the Gymnastics Centre here, and I really wish that it produces a strong contingent in the next two years for the Asian Games, Commonwealth Games and Olympics.” Pranati, who trains at the Odisha AM/NS India Gymnastics High Performance Centre expressed her excitement on taking part at the National Championship. She said, “I will be representing Indian Railways and I am really excited about the fact that the Senior Gymnastics National Championship is going to be held at the same place where I train.” As many as 300 participants from across the country are expected to take part in what will be a grand spectacle of gymnastics.

Pardeep Narwal’s efforts in vain as Patna Pirates register a victory against UP Yoddhas

NOIDA, 1st January 2024: The Patna Pirates continued their winning form with another victory as they beat home side UP Yoddhas 48-41 in their Pro Kabaddi League Season 10 clash at the Noida Indoor Stadium on Monday. The plaudits fell to the lap of raider Sachin and his brilliant SUPER 10 (in addition to his two tackle points), as well as their skipper Neeraj Kumar’s HIGH 5, which was enough to take his team to victory despite a fighting season-best 21 points from league legend and UP Yoddhas skipper Pardeep Narwal against his former team. The home side were pegged back by the Patna Pirates early in the game as the team from Bihar got the UP Yoddhas ALL OUT in the first 10 minutes of the match. This gave them an eight-point lead after the Pirates took advantage of multiple unsuccessful raids by the side from Uttar Pradesh. All eyes were on leading PKL raider Pardeep Narwal, with the fan favourite starting the match on a positive note, getting a couple of successful raids as well. For the Patna-based side, it was their raider Sachin fetching a majority of the points and racing to eight raid points in the first half. But his run was stopped beautifully by the UP Yoddhas’ defenders who were slowly clawing their way back into the game after a SUPER TACKLE from substitute Shivam Chaudhary. This was not enough to hold back the Pirates, who had a comfortable 12-point lead heading into half-time after a late ALL OUT against the Yoddhas, their second of the match in the first half. The second half started with a bang for the home team as Pardeep displayed why he is one of the best raiders in the league. He eliminated three of the opponent’s defenders — Ankit, Manish and Sudhakar M — to complete an exhilarating SUPER RAID, as well as his SUPER 10 with one swift move. The Pirates, led by veteran defender Neeraj Kumar who bagged a HIGH 5 for himself, were off guard in the first five minutes of the second half. They found their feet in the game after Neeraj got Pardeep to win a SUPER TACKLE, and then Manjeet joined the party in a DO-OR-DIE raid, with Nitesh Kumar, Vijay Malik, and Sumit finding themselves off the mat. Manjeet struck once again soon after, as the Yoddhas were caught ALL OUT for the third time in the match and the Pirates began taking an unassailable lead in the game. This did not stop the rampage created by Sachin during the match, with his all-round performance taking all the attention by the end of the match. The Yoddhas getting the Pirates ALL OUT in the final two minutes of the clash did not do much, with the Patna-based team eventually securing a seven-point victory over their rivals.

Exclusive: GAMMA India President Jitendra Khare speaks about the challenges faced by MMA fighters in India and much more

The sport of MMA has taken over the world by storm. Once considered to be brutal and unwatchable, MMA has grown beyond means and is consumed by people from various nations. While Americans, Brazilians, and Russians dominate the sport, several other countries are giving it their best to become a superpower in MMA. One such country which is working hard towards building a future in this discipline is India. Over the last few years, several fighters and associations have been giving their best to grow MMA in the country. One such association is GAMMA India, led by Jitendra Khare. With a pan-India presence, GAMMA India looks to shape the future of Indian MMA by conducting a safe and fair environment for MMA in India. Recently, Varun Anand Bhat, Editor-in-Chief of The Sportz Planet, caught up with GAMMA India President Jitendra Khare. In a detailed chat, Khare spoke about the challenges faced by Indian MMA fighters, and how he and his association are dealing with such challenges. He also gave valuable tips to youngsters looking to pursue a career in this sport. You can find the detailed interview below: How did your journey with GAMMA INDIA begin, and how has it been until now? Jitendra Khare: GAMMA Worldwide was formed in 2019, and fortunately, I had the honor of interacting with the Global President, Mr Alexander Engelhart, and heard his plans for the future of amateur MMA. I kind of aligned with his vision and co-founded GAMMA INDIA with like-minded individuals in 2019. Post formation and registration of the body, we also participated in the first GAMMA World Championships that took place in Singapore, and India ranked 3rd in the overall medal tally in that particular event. That was the beginning of the journey for me and GAMMA INDIA under the leadership of GAMMA. What are some of the challenges MMA fighters face at a grassroots level? Jitendra Khare: I think the biggest challenge that fighters face globally is being able to make a living and also securing their future both financially and health wise. Any combat sports come with its own set of risks and injuries. Most fighters need to train full-time to be able to make it to the top. Currently, the state of the sport in the country is such that only a handful of the athletes are able to make a decent amount of living from competing and thus have to work as trainers and fitness coaches to make ends meet. Since the sport isn’t recognised by the government, there isn’t any job security that comes along with sports recognised otherwise. How is GAMMA INDIA facing these challenges? Jitendra Khare: We have plans to work towards achieving sports status and recognition for the sport in 2024. I feel that there is a lot of work required at entry level like schools and colleges to be able to reach a point where the sport could be linked with relevant government authorities and then we will be able to offer job security and other benefits, to our athletes, that are available within other combat sports in our country MMA is brutal sport. Tell us more about what is GAMMA India doing to ensure the safety of fighters. Jitendra Khare: As I have stated earlier any combat sports come with its own set of risks and injuries. Actually, I could even take it a step further and say that sports and injuries go hand in hand. But having said that we cannot simply brush off the risks involved in MMA. As GAMMA INDIA, we are privileged to learn and adapt the rule sets that are laid out by GAMMA. GAMMA is the world’s apex body in the sport of MMA and has created its rules and regulations keeping in mind not just the global safety concerns but also various cultural sensitivities. Their athlete-first approach fits perfectly with the values of GAMMA INDIA. Also, any event that is organized by us or receives our sanction is conducted with strict adherence to our safety protocols and we have been known to be unapologetic in ensuring compliance to the same. We have very strict pre and post-fight protocols that need to be strictly adhered to and only if the athletes meet the required standards do we let them step into the competition arena. We also hand out relevant medical suspensions to athletes we deem at risk of suffering any damages due to CTE. We at GAMMA INDIA have also understood that one of the most important steps in ensuring athletes’ safety is having properly trained officials and medical staff present and on hand at any event. We as an association do not compromise at all on the quality of officials or in training medical teams at our events. Refereeing and Judging in MMA has come under the scanner on multiple occasions. How does GAMMA India train its officials to do better? View this post on Instagram A post shared by LockerRoom India (@lockerroom_in) Jitendra Khare: Being in a position of decision-making is always difficult. Often someone is unhappy with the decisions you make being in that position. I think the same applies to referees and judges in MMA. In today’s day and age, everyone is an expert and is entitled to an opinion on social media, and that makes the job of officials in the sport that much more difficult. We at GAMMA INDIA take the role of an official very seriously. All our officials are thoroughly briefed before every event and we frequently conduct Official training workshops for the new aspirants and also refresher workshops for the experienced officials. These workshops are mandatory for all active GAMMA INDIA officials to attend to keep their licenses active and to be able to officiate at our events. Our Chief Official is not just an active referee and judge with GAMMA Worldwide but also frequently conducts training with the GAMMA Technical team at various international events. This helps us carry back the up-to-date knowledge