Modi launches Khelo India app to raise awareness of sport
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday launched the Khelo India mobile app at the Vigyan Bhawan here. Developed by the Sports Authority of India (SAI), the app is aimed at raising awareness about sports and fitness.
According to a SAI press release, the app has three different features targeted towards encouraging children to take up sports.
The first feature, ‘how to play’, feature provides information about the basic rules and regulations of 18 disciplines. The ‘where to play’ feature ‘includes an exhaustive repository of data of sporting facilities across the country where an interested youngster can pursue a sport, in his or her hometown’.
There is also a third feature called ‘get fit’, which helps provide fitness assessment of kids. Developed in English and Hindi, SAI said the application will help schools, as well as parents, map
fitness levels of children.
GHOSAL IN LAST EIGHT
CHICAGO: India’s Saurav Ghosal made his way into the quarterfinal with a hard fought win over Wales player Joel Makin in the PSA World squash championship here.
The 32-year-old Indian, seeded 11th, won 11-13, 11-7, 11-7, 13-11 but the success did not come easily, thanks to the way his unseeded opponent fought for every point.
Makin, who previously faced and lost to Saurav in the CCI International in Mumbai in 2017, presented himself as a much better player.
Saurav knew his hands were full when Makin snatched the first game.
The Indian was able to tighten his game to take the next two.
In the fourth game, however, Saurav was down 5-8 and Makin looked set to clinch the game but experience helped the Indian as he clawed back and earned three match balls before ensuring a win. This is the second time that Saurav has reached the last eight, the last being in 2013.
Saurav next faces the third seed German Simon Rosner.
WORLD TEAM CHESS
CHENNAI: In absence of top players, B Adhiban and Surya Shekhar Ganguly will be part of the all-grandmaster men’s team which will spearhead the Indian challenge at the World Team Chess Championship starting March 5 in Astana, Kazakhstan.
Besides Adhiban and Ganguly, the team will also comprise Krishnan Sasikiran, SP Sethuraman, and Arvind Chithambaram.
The men’s team will be accompanied by coach and non-playing captain GM Srinath Narayanan, the All-india Chess Federation said. India’s top three chess players - Viswanathan Anand, P Harikrishna and Vidit Gujarati - will not be participating in the tournament. “We as a team are motivated and looking forward to beating them all,” coach Srinath was quoted as saying on the AICF website.