pHOTO CAPTION : Abhishek & Praful Patel giving away the award to Baichung Bhutia for Best Football club. photo by GNS MUMBAI.

Mumbai, 9GNS) : The Indian Football Awards 2013 were hosted by the Football Players Association of India along with The Bombay Gymkhana.

The exhibition match was played by the senior and current national team payers like Baichung Bhutia, Sunil Chettri, Renedy Singh, Gouramangi Singh, Climax Lawrance, Subrata Paul, Lenny Rodriguez, Abhishek Yadav  to name a few.

There was a celebrity match played where avid footballer Mark Robinson led the brigade, Dino Morea who was slated to play could only join the awards later due to an injury.

But actor Abhishek Bachchan who was the guest of honour for the evening alongwith Praful Patel in true sportsman spirit mesmerised the audiences and football fans by performing on a few lines of his famous “Ek Main Aur Ek Tu Hai” on stage. Abhishek spoke about his passion for the sport and urged that if 1 in 6 people in the world are Indians he would really be proud and happy when 1 in 6 Indians are football fans.

Baichung Bhutia – President, Football Players Association of India and former captain of the Indian Football Team expressed his gratitude to all present and for their support. Being the torchbearer of Indian Football, Baichung spoke about several initiatives like collaboration with international Footballs associations but most importantly stressed the need to take the sport to the grassroot levels. Says Baichung, “We are taking various initiatives to popularise the game in India be it the I-league or organising camps at various locations in the country. We want to tap all the potential that exist in our country and give all an opportunity to discover the sportsman in themselves.”

Adding to Baichung’s commitment, Praful Patel – President, Football Federation of India said, “The unfortunate part of our country is we are stuck to one sport and worship it so much that it has led to all that is happening today and it leads to such disappointment for millions of fans. However, in sport like football even today its all about the game and the passion for the sport. And with personalities like Baichung and the continuous efforts that he is putting in, the popularity of the game and the fanfare will surely level any other sport.”

The winners in various categories were Young Player of the Year- Alwyn George (Pailan Arrows),  Most Organized Club Venue – United Sikkim FC, Foreign player of the year -Ranti Martins (Prayag United FC), Coach/Manager of the year -Derrick Pereira (Pune FC), Fans Player of the Year- Zohib Amiri (Mumbai FC), Indian Player of the year -Lenny Rodrigues (Churchill brothers), Special Achievements in Football Award was given to Churchill Alemao.

The sponsors for the event were Media & Communication partner Bubble Communication, 90 Minutes as magazine partner, Goal.com as the web partner, Audi as mobility partner, Big FM as radio partner, Asian football development project (AFDP) as CSR partner.

NEW DELHI, ( GNS) : The Supreme Court today refused to ban the IPL as a game and as a league as it dismissed a petition seeking to scrap the remaining matches of IPL-6 amid growing concerns about corruption in the sport. The apex court, however, pulled up the BCCI for its lackadaisical attitude and asked for an action report within two weeks.
Meanwhile, the spot fixing saga snared its first Bollywood victim with Vindoo Dara Singh being arrested by Mumbai crime branch officials for his links with betting mafia. Vindoo, the son of the late Dara Singh, will be produced in a Mumbai lower court on Wednesday. News channels quoted sources as saying Vindoo was arrested following the arrest of Ramesh Vyas, who is linked to key bookies Jupiter and others named by Delhi police.
Vindoo, the winner of a realty show, was in constant touch with Vyas, according to call details.
News channel CNN-IBN quoted sources as saying Vindoo was named by Vyas and questioned by the Mumbai Police on Monday night before being formally arrested today morning. Vindoo has reportedly admitted to betting after being questioned for hours by Mumbai Police.

While directing the one man commission appointed by the BCCI to look into IPL irregularities and submit its report within two weeks, the apex court said: “The credibility of the game should be maintained. Spot-fixing is because of lackadaisical attitude of the BCCI and must stop.”
An apex court bench of Justices B.S. Chauhan and Dipak Misra asked the BCCI to take appropriate actions against the individual players as well as the team indulging in illegal activities in order to make sure the “gentleman’s game” keeps up its status.
“There has to be scientific, rational and dispassionate approach by BCCI to stop fixing,” the Supreme Court said,
The court also said that even judges were shocked by the spot-fixing scandal and added cricket is a gentleman’s game and should remain as such.
In its reply, the BCCI said it has appointed the board’s anti-corruption unit chief Ravi Sawani to look into the IPL irregularities; and added anti-graft officials will accompany IPL teams.
Former Test bowler S Sreesanth and two other players were arrested along with 11 bookmakers on Thursday on suspicion of spot-fixing in the IPL.
The case has prompted the government to look at the possibility of introducing a law to combat match fixing and spot-fixing.

Cricket fan Sudarsh Awasti, an architect by profession and self-declared social activist, had lodged the petition with the court demanding the scrapping of the remaining four IPL matches, including Sunday’s final.

He had also called for a special investigation to be launched to get to the bottom of the spot-fixing scandal and for the league to be banned from next year.

Mumbai, ( GNS ) : The Maxxport Cricket Mania Challenge gave three lucky city kids- Sujal (10years), Veenesh Doshi (13 years) and Husesen (8 years) a lifetime opportunity to meet Maxxport brand ambassador Rahul Dravid and win exciting prizes like miniature bats autographed by the legendary cricketer here today. Coinciding with IPL6, the ‘Cricket Mania Challenge’ organized by Maxxport- the premier sports inspired lifestyle wear brand from the house of SG, the world’s largest cricket equipment manufacturer is travelling through several Indian cities this IPL season.

The day- long contest held earlier in the city focused around the tagline of Maxxport- Challenge Yourself. It included interesting contests involving cricketing skills like balancing a ball for 2 minutes on a wicket, hitting 6 flawless back-to-back deliveries, quick cricket quiz amongst others.

Addressing the winners, Mr. Paras Anand, Director, Maxxport said, “I congratulate the winning kids and hope that Maxxport has helped make cricket and IPL more memorable for them by turning their dream of meeting their cricketing hero Rahul Dravid a reality.” “Being associated with one of the legends of Indian Cricket Rahul Dravid is a matter of great pride for us. His determination, focus and reliability are par excellence. His inherent sense of aesthetics and ability to challenge himself to achieve perfection  complements our corporate philosophy. We hope that the children have gained an insight into his wonderful personality and will try to emulate the great sportsman in real life too,” he further added.

The Maxxport Collection consists of apparels, footwear and accessories infused with a combination of sports and lifestyle. The range provides the best in international style, comfort and durability for all our customers. It is all about trendy, fashionable and premium products that let users flaunt their active lifestyle and feel comfortable at the same time. The products are available in a host of vibrant colors and sizes all aesthetically designed to suit the Indian consumer. The company plans to make further inroads into the Indian market with a mix of innovative product launches and promotional activities in the near future.

Mumbai, ( AJAY RAWAL ) : DHFL, one of India’s leading housing finance company, today organized an exclusive Meet & Greet event ‘Bowled Over’ for the winners of various DHFL contests and passionate supporters & fans of Mumbai Indians at The Trident hotel, in South Mumbai.

As the associate sponsor of the Mumbai Indians team for the second successive IPL season, DHFL had organized ‘Khelo Mumbai Khelo,’ ‘Dare to Cheer,’ ‘DHFL Commentary Box’ and ‘Meet & Greet Mumbai Indians’ contests over a period of one month across the country.

From the huge response received for these contests, only10 ardent Mumbai Indians fans won the opportunity to meet and interact with players from their favorite squad. Moreover, all the ‘Bowled Over’ event attendants won miniature bats specially autographed by the Mumbai Indians team along with various gifts and official Mumbai Indians team merchandise.

Key Mumbai Indians players Rohit Sharma, Dwayne Smith, Munaf Patel, Michelle Jhonson along with Coach Robin Singh and former Indian spin-legend and team’s Chief Mentor Anil Kumble were present at the event that left fans cheering throughout the evening.

Mr. Kapil Wadhawan, Chairman and Managing Director, DHFL told GNS Correspondent here today “DHFL’s ‘Bowled Over’ evening brings on board the ardent supporters of Mumbai Indians. It is also a matter of great pride for us to associate with one of the world’s most valuable sports team brands – the Mumbai Indians, for the second successive IPL season. We salute their passion & commitment and wish the entire team, the very best.”

Mumbai Indians is ranked 146th amongst the world’s best 250 sports team brands according to the assessment of brand values of all major sports teams worldwide done by a London-based brand valuation firm.

The Squad currently tops the IPL-6 point table with 20 points, following their 10 victories from 14 matches. The team boasts icon players like Sachin Tendulkar, Rohit Sharma, Kieron Pollard and Harbhajan Singh and has a youthful balance of experienced cricketers as well as talented youngsters from India and other nations.

Mumbai, (GNS) : All India Cricket Association of Deaf affiliate, theMaharashtra Deaf Cricket Federation (MDCF) is going to host the National T20 Cricket Tournament for the Deaf 2013. The tournament will take place from the 30^th April to 4^th May 2013 in Mumbai across three venues namely: Police Gymkhana, Islam Gymkhana and Purandare Stadium. This National T20 Cricket tournament is the pinnacle cricket sporting event for Deaf people in India.

“Maharashtra Deaf Cricket Federation (MDCF) which is an affiliate of the All India Cricket Association of the Deaf provides for the perfect platform for these sportsmen to use their talent as means of progress and education which is convened and used by them to express their vitality, show their intelligence and display their talent in the field of cricket. Our mission is to facilitate and support the participation of Deaf Cricketers in Maharashtra at all levels.” Stated Mr K. Aashish Gadkari, Chairman of Maharashtra Deaf cricket Federation (MDCF). “By means of these tournaments, we support Deaf cricketers in India who have immense cricketing potential as well as a promising future in cricket at various National and International level. By means of conducting such tournaments, we try to encourage deaf young sportsman to join with Deaf Cricket for local competition, National Deaf Cricket Tournaments and World Deaf Cricket Competition.” Adds Mr Ranjit Bagwe, Joint secretary of Maharashtra Deaf Cricket Federation (MDCF).

The participating teams of the T20 cricket Tournament for the Deaf will be:Maharashtra, Haryana, Punjab, Jammu & Kashmir, Gujarat, UP, Jharkhand, Uttaranchal, Tamil Nadu, Kerela, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and West Bengal.

While cricket is the central sport at this event, this tournament also provides a major social and cultural opportunity for the whole Deaf Community in India. Some of the activities of the federation as to promote cricket to the wider community of Deaf cricketers, to maximize participation in cricket for future, to organize better standards within the Deaf Cricket Association, to organize fund raising events for the Federation and to ultimately encourage the young deaf sportsman to join the Deaf Cricket for local competition, national Deaf Cricket Tournaments an World Deaf Cricket Competitions.

The aims of MDCF is to foster and encourage deaf people’s participation and skill development in all forms of cricket partnership. They also continually advocate, educate, inform and support the mainstream cricket stricter to make it deaf friendly and capable of including deaf people within the structure. The federation also fosters relationships with the government and deaf and mainstream bodies to support.

Photo Photo photo Bangalore: Swashbuckling West Indian opener Chris Gayle hit the fastest century ever in all forms of cricket on April 23,2013, evening. Gayle took 30 balls to score a ton against the Pune Warriors in the ongoing sixth edition of the Indian Premier League.

Bangalore (GNS) : Gayle remained unbeaten on 175 off just 66 balls with 13 boundaries and 17 sixes as Bangalore posted 264/5, the highest team total in IPL.
His century contained nine boundaries and 13 sixes at the time of the filing of this report. He was batting on 127 of 48 balls out of a total score of 161 for no loss for the Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Gayle broke ex-Australian player Andrew Symonds record of a century in 34 balls.

Sri Lankan opener Tillekratne Dilshan was out for 33 of 36 balls with five boundaries.

Earlier Pune Warriors won the toss and chose to bowl against the Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Pune Warriors team is being led by Aaron Finch.

The visiting team was hoping to take advantage of the overcast conditions in Bangalore, but Gayle proved to be the party spoiler.

Royal Challengers remained unchanged for the game; Warriors made three changes.

The Warriors picked Mitchell Marsh, a medium-pace bowling all rounder in place of Ajantha Mendis, and brought in left-arm spinner Ali Murtaza for legspinner Rahul Sharma.

They chose to play seamer Ishwar Pandey, the leading wicket-taker in the Ranji Trophy this season, in place of all-rounder Abhishek Nayar.

Royal Challengers Bangalore: 1 Chris Gayle, 2 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 3 Virat Kohli (capt), 4 AB de Villiers, 5 Saurabh Tiwary, 6 KB Arun Karthik (wk), 7 Ravi Rampaul, 8 R Vinay Kumar, 9 Murali Kartik, 10 RP Singh, 11 Jaidev Unadkat.

Pune Warriors: 1 Robin Uthappa (wk), 2 Aaron Finch (capt), 3 Yuvraj Singh, 4 Steven Smith, 5 Luke Wright, 6 Mitchell Marsh, 7 Mithun Manhas, 8 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 9 Ishwar Pandey, 10 Ali Murtaza, 11 Ashok Dinda.

Watch an ‘ACE’ that changes the dynamics of the way Golf  is appreciated today !

Mumbai,(GNS) : Homestead, a pioneer in boutique branded residences, is proud to associate itself in the upcoming golf-tournament, Panasonic Open, 2013 as a key sponsor of the prize to the winner of a ‘hole in one shot.’

Homestead’s association with Panasonic Open in offering the first its kind, ‘hole in one’ prize concept – ‘Home in One,’ will be witnessed for the very first time in the history of golf. The group since its introduction in the Indian market has been known for its unique ideas, grand style and its brand associations with some faces from the international sports world like Michael Schumacher & Maria Sharapova.

In golf, ‘hole-in-one’ or an ‘ace’ is when a player hits the ball directly from the tee into the cup with one shot – (It is not necessary that the ball go directly into the cup. It may hit other objects, or the ground, on its way.) Hole-in-ones are extremely rare, and while it depends largely on the golfer’s skill, there is often also a great element of luck involved. Occasionally special events host a hole in one contest, where prizes as expensive as a new car or cash awards are offered if a contestant records a ‘hole in one.’

“As all Golf connoisseurs would know, in the entire history of professional golf, the prize amount for the ‘hole in one’ has never been greater than the prize money of the entire tournament. We at Homestead, are yet again passionate about associating with another sport in a unique way, striking a new chord in the minds of all Golf lovers. It’s a remarkable moment in the history of Golf where for the first time ever our Company, Homestead is bringing in Home in One, a refreshing concept, for an Ace in Golf, by setting up the prize amount to an exciting and record-breaking high !” Mr. Manoj Shrivastava further added, “We are proud to announce the Home in One concept wherein for the first time, a lavish home is being given away, worth a whopping prize money, ’’according to Mr. Manoj Shrivastava, COO Homestead Infrastructure Development Pvt Ltd .

“Bombay Bullion Cricket League (BBCL)” –

April 8 to 13 ,2013 at Police Gymkhana, Marine Drive, South Mumbai.

MUMBAI (GNS) : The Bombay Bullion Association Ltd (BBA) was established in September 1948, because the then prevailing circumstances in the market warranted an association with multi-faceted approach, which the association is fulfilling and currently has projections which stretch far beyond the visions of its original conception. As envisaged the Bombay Bullion Association Ltd has proved to be an unbiased platform & has been acceptable to all the precious metal trading community in general. BBA is also recognized by various Government Agencies including Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

Under the aegis and guidance of the incumbent President Mr Mohit Kamboj, The Bombay Bullion Association Ltd. has undertaken & is simultaneously fulfilling quite a few projects which prove the commitment of the BBA in the social & cultural dimensions.

As you may already be aware the BBA donated, inaugurated & launched the services of 4 ambulances to cater to the requirements of the trading & residential community of the area.

As a part of its commitment of providing wholesome entertainment, physical fitness, a sense of belonging within its members & to promote Sports “The Bombay Bullion Cricket League (BBCL)” has been launched by Mr Mohit Kamboj.

“The Bombay Bullion Cricket League” will not only promote healthy competition, provide wholesome entertainment but will also create a sense of cordiality within the members of the BBA fraternity, He said.

Bombay Bullion Cricket League will starts from April 8 to 13 ,2013 at 1800 hrs to 2300 hrs pm at Police Gymkhana, Marine Drive, Mumbai.

Photo caption From left to right Rakesh Singh (Joint President-Marketing India Cements) Anupam Vasudev (Chief Marketing Officer Aircel) Cricketer S Badrinath Sankara

• ·        Launches ‘Kaun Dega Man of the Match award’
• ·        A lucky winner to travel with CSK team for over 45 days during IPL 6
• ·        Many more exciting offers planned for the season

Mumbai, (GNS) : Aircel, one of India’s leading telecom players, as part of its unflinching commitment to offer innovative products and services, today, launched unique consumer initiatives with Chennai Super Kings.

Aircel, the official sponsor of Chennai Super Kings team, launched the “Kaun Dega Man of the Match’ contest for all its prepaid and postpaid subscribers.  The contest gives 3 lucky winners a rare opportunity to hand over the ‘Man of the Match’ award LIVE in front of millions of cricket fans, in any one of the IPL 2013 games played between Chennai Super Kings  and any other IPL team. An all-expenses paid offer, Aircel intends to share this unique opportunity and experience with its new as well as existing subscribers (both prepaid and post-paid).

All Aircel’s existing and new pre-paid subscribers can buy a connection and recharge it with Rs.100/- or above to be eligible for participation to the contest. However, all its existing and new post-paid customers are automatically eligible to participate in this contest.

Apart from the bumper prize of giving the ‘Man of the Match’ award, the contest also offers 8 lucky winners, an exciting chance to meet the Chennai Super Kings team to their city. Other prizes include match entry tickets and an assured prize of CSK ringtone/monotone to all subscribers participating in the contest. In this manner, Aircel offers something ‘extra’ to all its subscribers participating in this exciting contest.

Other interesting offers by Aircel for its valuable subscribers for IPL 2013 include: CSK players R. Ashwin, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja & M. Vijay talk to Aircel subscribers via Celeb Chat, a specially developed CSK app with updated information on the team, and a newly created Video Scorecard for an innovative presentation of scores along with videos of key events.

Speaking at the occasion, Anupam Vasudev, Chief Marketing Officer, Aircel Ltd, said, “Aircel is proud to be associated with one of the most prestigious and successful cricket teams of the IPL – Chennai Super Kings. Our partnership with CSK aims to encourage cricket and provide a great platform for the new crop of talent to shape up into champions of future. Through our association with CSK, we offer our customers something ‘Extra’ like tickets, CSK merchandise and innovative consumer engagement programs along with the opportunity to witness and experience the best international cricket with some top ranking Indian and international players.”

Tapping into the digital world to create buzz around CSK in the social media community, Aircel also launched the “Blogger Hunt” contest.  The contest gives one winner a unique opportunity to travel with the Chennai Super Kings team for over 45 days wherein they would publish candid inside stories/content on the Aircel micro blogging site, on the Facebook and the Twitter page.

PHOTO CAPTION :( LEFT TO REIGHT ). Harendra Singh,Mr.Simon Jackson Director, Sportstec,Ms. Aparna Popat ,Mr.Ranjeet Shankar, Head of Sportstec

Mumbai, (GNS) : Dronacharya Awardee, Shiv Chhatrapati Awardee and former coachof The Indian Hockey Team, Mr. Harendra Singh and Arjuna Awardee and ace badminton player, Ms.Aparna Popat have called for performance analysis in Indian sports.
Talking to newsmen here at the launch of Sportstec in India Ms. Popat said, “India’s sports are on the cusp of a goodrun especially on the back of winning several Olympic medals. But this is surely not enough. Weneed a range of sophisticated, innovative performance analysis products i.e. software tools thathave been developed and tested by specialists in coaching, sports science and training. The currentenvironment demands competitive edge in every walk of sport and that can happen only if weanalyse our own performance again and again.”
Mr. Singh spoke at length about how other countries, especially China and European nationswork hard on both – the sportsperson as well as technique building steps – to achieve an all-round finesse. He said, “Competing nations know and understand the rigorous demands of thesporting environment – and the importance of the competitive edge. India needs deep help fromcompanies such as Sportstec who can design software that can analyse and meet the exactingdemands of players, coaches and sporting organizations. Through deep analysis helped by cutting-edge technology, we will be able to test and analyze sports performance and thereby empoweringindividuals and teams to seize new opportunities to improve – and win.”
Mr. Simon Jackson, Director, Sportstec launched his company in India today. Sportstec is a globalcompany delivering technologies (developed in-house) for the performance analysis market in NewZealand, Australia, USA, France, Germany, India, South Africa, Argentina, Brazil and UK, at the sametime it has established a distribution network in 22 countries around the world. Mr. Jackson said,“We believe in improving outcomes through improving the teaching and coaching process. And wehave been successful in dramatically improving the outcomes of 8000 clients worldwide includingthe West Indies Cricket Team which had its recent victory at the 2012 T20 World championship in SriLanka. West Indies have been using our marque product SportsCode since 2009 and they have beensteadily moving up the world rankings.”
Mr. Ranjeet Shankar, Head of Sportstec, Indian subcontinent says there are softwares available inthe market but they are different for different sports. Mr. Shankar said, “We have products likesportscode which can cater to hockey, cricket, football, badminton, tennis or infact all the games. Ithas been designed from the point of view of a coach, they get what they need, the biggest exampleis Ranchi Rhinos, the winner of the recently concluded Hockey India League.”
Sportstec products are known world over for their ability to be applied to any sport. RecentlyTennis Australia saw a real advantage in switching from their tennis specific program to a solutionincorporating SportsCode Elite, Review, Coda and Stream.
Darren Mc Murtrie, head of analysis hit the Australian Open, the Asia Pacific Region’s Grand Slamevent, to check out the new workflow for the Tennis Australia analysts and coaches. He said, “Weloved SportsCode because of its ability to be easily customised. With Version 9, the coaches arereally loving the HTML export of the code window.”
The HTML export of the code window has allowed Darren and his team to generate their customreports and send them to coaches around the world with ease.
He added, “Troy (Australian Support manager) has been a great help with the scripts and reportsso far but I’m looking forward to learning the scripting language. We want to do even more and weknow we’ll be pushing the software. One code window we’re planning for could have ten thousandbuttons.”
Sportstec will allow coaches to get more involved with coding at training and in competition. Thestreams give athletes and coaches the ability to view their clips and reports from anywhere in theworld.