Sports

The Indian Army team won the men’s title, while South Central Railway emerged champions in the women’s category in the 59th Nachimuthu Gounder Trophy for Men and the 23rd CRI Pumps Trophy for Women All India Basketball Tournament held in Coimbatore on Sunday. The five-day All India Basketball Tournament for men and women, organised by the Coimbatore District Basketball Association, commenced on May 27 and concluded on May 31.In the men’s section, teams representing Indian Air Force New Delhi, Indian Army New Delhi, Indian Navy Lonavala, Kerala State Electricity Board Thiruvananthapuram, Bank of Baroda Bengaluru, Indian Overseas Bank Chennai, Kerala Police Thiruvananthapuram and Coimbatore District Basketball Association participated. In the women’s section, South Central Railway Secunderabad, South Western Railway Hubballi, Southern Railway Chennai, Integral Coach Factory Chennai, Kerala State Electricity Board Thiruvananthapuram, Central Railway Mumbai, Kerala Police Thiruvananthapuram and Coimbatore District Basketball Association teams took part. League matches were conducted till May 29, while the semi-finals were held on May 30. Indian Navy and Indian Army advanced to the men’s final, while Kerala State Electricity Board and South Central Railway entered the women’s final after winning their respective semi-final matches.In the men’s third-place playoff held earlier in the day, Indian Overseas Bank defeated Indian Air Force 70-51. In the women’s third-place match, South Western Railway beat Central Railway 89-55 to secure third place. In the men’s final, Indian Army defeated Indian Navy 95-77 to lift the title. In the women’s final, South Central Railway defeated Kerala State Electricity Board 67-64 to emerge champions.

“I went to the Indo-Nepal International Championship and won a gold medal for India. I’m very proud of it. Silambam is a cultural sport of Tamil Nadu, and we want it spread worldwide. It is a tough sport. The competition was very tough, and my coach, Mohan sir, gave his all. We request the government to recognise Silambam. It is a traditional, demanding sport passed down through generations, and deserves support,” Adyan told ANI. Notably, Mohan’s Academy, which has been providing training in Silambam and athletics for over eight years, has trained more than 1,200 students so far. The School Games and Activity Development Foundation, functioning under the Societies Registration Act 1860, conducts comp

Coimbatore: Minister for public works, highways and sports development Aadhav Arjuna inspected several sports facilities at the Nehru Stadium here in the city on Sunday.Following the inspection, he stated that the upgraded stadium can accommodate 32,000 spectators simultaneously, and features a synthetic track, a football ground, a gymnastics arena, and an air-conditioned gymnasium to help athletes hone their skills.He also announced that new training programmes for fencing (5 students) and road biking (5 students) are being introduced at the Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu (SDAT) sports hostel in the district. He added that the total strength of the residential student-athletes at the hostel has been increased from 60 to 75.He also inspected the new, state-of-the-art sports hostel building which is currently under construction near the semi-indoor basketball court at an estimated cost of Rs 7.95 crore. This modern facility will include a study room, a gymnasium, a recreation room and a visitor’s lounge. The minister strictly instructed officials to ensure that the construction is of high quality and completed within the stipulated timeline.Aadhav Arjuna also interacted with athletes training in various disciplines and enquired about their requireme