Local sports
Madhusudhan downs Sambasiva in a thriller, claims 55+ singles title
Madhusudhan Linga defeated Dr Sambasiva Reddy in a thrilling three-set encounter to win the 50+ singles title at the 22nd Ranking Tennis Tournament conducted by Hyderabad Open Tennis Association. Madhushan took the first set at 6-4 but lost the next one at 3-6 as Sambasiva stepped up his pace. In the decider Madhusudhan took it 10-3 to clinch the issue.
Results (finals): 30+singles: Madhu beat Pramod 6-2, 6-1. 35+ singles: Bharani beat Geet 6-1, 6-1. 40+ singles: Raja got walkover from Ashish. 45+ singles: Bose Kiran beat Dharma 6-4, 6-4. 50+ singles: Madhusudhan Linga beat Dr Sambasiva Reddy 6-4, 3-6, 10-3. 55+ singles: KVN Murthy beat Chandra Sekhar Reddy 6-4, 6-4. 60+ singles: Ramesh got walkover from Ramana. 70+ singles: Suresh beat Parvateesam 6-2, 6-4. 75+ singles: Dr Ram Mohan beat Ankaiah 6-4, 6-4.
30+ doubles: Sourabh/ Waheed got walkover from Gurunath Dame/ Srikanth. 35+ doubles: Raja/ Vijay Kiran beat Sri Harsha/ Rama Royalu 6-4, 6-2. 40+ doubles: Lagganni Srinivas/ Raja got walkover from Afroze/ Bose Kiran. 45+ doubles: Madhu/ Manish beat KVN Murthy/ Waheed 2-6, 6-4, 11-9. 50+ doubles: Zakhir/ Vikram got walkover from Sudheer Reddy/ Sambasiva Reddy. 55+ doubles: Chandra Sekhar Reddy/ Riaz ul Haq got walkover from Vikram/ Rama Krishna Raju. 60+ doubles: Anand Swaroop/ Meher Prakash beat Paul Manohar/ Anam Venkateswarlu 6-3, 6-3. 75+ doubles: Sairambabu/ Ashok Reddy beat Raja Ratnam/ Y V Ramakrishna 6-2, 6-2.
Nizamabad pull off narrow 2-run win over Ranga Reddy
Nizamabad pulled off a narrow two-run victory over Ranga Reddy in the Kaka Venkataswamy Memorial Telangana Inter-District T20 tournament in Hyderabad on Sunday.
Batting first, Nizamabad made a competitive 162 for six with Vikram J scoring 84 of those from 61 balls. He was ably supported by M Rithwik who made a 41-ball 54. In reply, Ranga Reddy could manage 160 for eight with S Vaishnav getting a quickfire 60 off 34 balls.
In another match, Varun Tej’s five-wicket haul set up Medak’s eight-wicket victory over Hyderabad. Tej took five for 13 to restrict Hyderabad to 68. Medak replied with 69/2 with Billal Hussain scoring a 20-ball 44.
Brief scores: Nizamabad 162/6 in 20 overs (M Rithwik 54, Vikram J 84; Eshwar G 3/33) bt Ranga Reddy 160/8 in 20 overs (Praneet K 21, S Vaishnav 60; Ritesh N 2/27, M Pratheek 2/37, Lalith R 2/23). Hyderabad 68 in 13.4 overs (V Vineeth P 21; Varun Tej 5/13, K Dhruva 2/13) lost to Medak 69/2 in 6.4 overs (Billal Hussain 44). Nalgonda 141 in 19.2 overs (Ismail Ahmed 3/18, Ashwik 2/22, Navadeep 3/25) beat Adilabad 126/9 in 20 overs (A Santosh 41; Akhil Sankoju 2/19, Shivudu 2/14, Abdul Zeeshan 2/34). Khammam 153/6 in 20 overs (Harshil Reddy 45, Vishal Yadav 33, Bunny 25, SM Tanuj 26; Dharmapuri Satwik 2/26, Thakshil 2/19) beat Karimnagar 68 in 10.5 overs (Mahesh 3/23, Shaik Azhar 4/13, Vamshi 2/6).
Shivasena Reddy lauds services of Chandra Reddy
Sports Authority of Telangana (SATG) chairman Shivasena Reddy felicitated deputy director Chandra Reddy on his retirement on Sunday
Sports Authority of Telangana (SATG) chairman Shivasena Reddy stated that employees who discharge their duties with honesty and dedication will always earn respect in society. He was speaking at a function organized at the Osmania University Cycling Velodrome on Sunday to honor G Chandra Reddy, who served the Sports Authority for nearly 37 years as a cycling coach.
Addressing the gathering, Reddy said that Chandra Reddy’s services were highly commendable. During his long tenure as cycling coach, stadium administrator, and finally Deputy Director in SATG, he trained sportspersons who won around 225 national-level medals.
He noted that Chandra Reddy not only produced several national and international-level athletes but also guided them towards securing respectable government jobs through disciplined training. He urged young coaches to take Chandra Reddy as an inspiration and role model. Reddy also highlighted that Chandra Reddy played a key role in the successful conduct of the CM Cup 2024.
The chairman further stated that the Sports Authority is committed to utilizing the experience and services of retired coaches and officials for the overall development of sports in the state.
1st Telangana Makara Sankranthi Basketball Open
Telangana Basketball Association will conduct the 1st Telangana Makara Sankranthi Basketball Open Invitation Tournament for men & women at YMCA, Secunderabad, from January 13 to 15, according to a press release. It said the tournament aimed at promoting competitive basketball and, therefore, encouraged participation from men’s and women’s teams representing basketball clubs, academies, educational institutions, and departments. The tournament aims to provide an inclusive platform for teams from across the state.
To facilitate participation from outside Hyderabad, accommodation will be provided for district players, subject to prior confirmation and availability, says the release and added that there was no entry fee. Interested teams should submit their entry forms on or before January 10. Entries should be submitted to the Technical Commission chairman Prem K (905204972).