Stating that the State Olympic Games will be a once in two-year affair henceforth, Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah declared the third edition of the event open here at the RN Shetty stadium on Friday.
“I have discussed with sports minister Pramod Madhwaraj and Karnataka Olympic Association president K Govindraj and we have decided to conduct the State Olympics after every two years,” said Siddaramaiah at the inauguration ceremony.
Apart from promising more money for sports in the next budget, the chief minister also gave his approval for building of a sports complex in Dharwad. “I have been receiving lot of requests for a sports complex here and keeping the interest of many talented sportspersons in mind, I accept the proposal,” he said.
In a colourful ceremony that showcased the rich culture and tradition of the State, India international basketball player Rajesh Uppar, seasoned marathoner Sidappa Shivanoor and wrestler Rafiq Holi carried the Games’ torch to the podium.
Injury-marred clash
The opening day of the Games witnessed an injury-marred hockey game in the men’s section between Kodagu and Kalaburagi Division.
In their Pool A encounter here at the Karnataka University ground, Coorg, who were the fancied side, staved off a stiff challenge from their opponents to win the tie 2-0 and collect three points. Sunil GA (14th) and Srikanth (23rd) were the scorers for Coorg.
After being at the receiving end in the first half, Gulbarga created chances after the break but failed to convert them. They also received twin blows when they lost midfielders Harish Vasam and Ramu Badigum to inuries.
Early into the second half, Ramu, who injured his right shoulder after he was brought down by a Coorg player, was helped off the field by the doctors. In the 57th minute, Harish was hit hard on his chin by Coorg striker Robin inside the D. The Gulbarga player was bleeding badly and was immediately rushed to the hospital in an ambulance.
Barring this tie, the rest of the matches turned out to be lop-sided affairs. Hassan women’s side, who routed Belagavi 11-0, were the biggest winners of the day.
Gold for Gururaja
In weightlifting, India international Gururaja Poojary, representing SDM Sports Club, Ujire, emerged champion in the 56 kg category.
Gururaja, who won the gold in the South Asian Games held in Guwahati last year, lifted 105 kg in snatch and 135 kg in clean and jerk for a total of 240 kg.
“I am currently preparing for the Commonwealth Championship to be held in Australia and Weightlifting World Championship to be held in the USA in November,” said the 24-year-old, who won the national championship last year.
Davangere’s Krishna S, who totalled 185 kg (83 kg in snatch and 102 in clean and jerk), bagged the silver. SDM Sports Club’s Gajendra lifted a total of 178 kg (81 in snatch and 97 in clean & jerk) to settle for bronze.
Results: Hockey: Men: Pool A: RWF: 5 (Kusha 12th, 52nd, Umesh 36th, Jayaraj 42nd, Sushil 13th) bt DYES (Bengaluru): 2 (Dishanth 13th, Rohan 59th).
Coorg: 2 (Sunil 14th, Srikanth 23rd) bt Gulbarga: 0.
Pool B: SAI (Bengaluru): 5 (Rahul 11th, 48th, Abraham 24th, Sommaiah 37th, Machaiah 49th) bt Gadag: 2 (Harish 12th, Lokesh 53rd).
Women: DYES (Mysuru): 10 (Sandhya 7th, 49th, Bhavya 9th, Janushree 19th, Ranjitha 26th, 29th, Komal 36th, 57th, 39th, Rashmi 42nd) bt Bellary: 1 (Sayeeda 40th).
Hassan: 11 (Animashree 1st, Devi 2nd, 59th, Sushma 5th, 8th, Chandana 12th, Ranjitha 27th, 33rd, Sushmitha 55th, 57th, Shalini 60th) bt Belagavi: 0.
Note: There is only one Pool for women.
Weightlifting: Men: 85 kg: Harsha DR (SDM Sports Club) 293 (128+165), 1; RP Praveen Kumar (SAI) 233 (101+132), 2; Manjunath (Jai Hanuman) 199 (87+112), 3.
77 kg: Aruna (SDM Sports Club) 267 (115+267), 1; Naveed Anjum (Alvas College) 236 (101+135), 2; Bharath KS (SAI) 219 (97+122), 3.
69 kg: Santosh Kumar S (SDM Sports Club) 238 (101+137), 1; Praveen (Alva’s College) 223 (100+123), 2; Vinod Molavanbi (SAI) 212 (97+115), 3.
62 kg: Manjunath Marati (SDM Sports Club) 250 (107+143), 1; Naveen Chandra (Alva’s) 249 (114+135), 2; Devendra (Jai Hanuman) 214 (97+117), 3.
56 kg: Gururaja (SDM Sports Club) 240 (105+135), 1; Krishna S (Davangere) 185 (83+102), 2; Gajendra (SDM Sports Club) 178 (81+97), 3.
