Swetha (on top) of Tamil Nadu beat Parvathy of Kerala in the seventh women's sub-junior 46kg wrestling championship in Chennai on Friday. |
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By Our Sports Reporter 5/24/03
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Swetha (on top) of Tamil Nadu beat Parvathy of Kerala in the seventh women's sub-junior 46kg wrestling championship in Chennai on Friday. |
CHENNAI MAY 23. A last minute entry into the Tamil Nadu team, 18-year-old Sweta, a Delhiite, defeated Parvathy of Kerala by fall in the first league round 46kg sub-junior category of the National women's wrestling championship, which commenced, at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium on Friday.
In another interesting bout in the 43kg sub-junior section, Punjab's Paramjeet fought hard before going down to Nitu Sharma of Madhya Pradesh on points.
Earlier, Mr. N. Viswanathan, Transport Minister, Government of Tamil Nadu, inaugurated the championship.
While all the events went as per schedule, the media management from the organisational point of view turned out to be flop.
The schedule of the bouts was not given properly, added to that was the inadequate co-ordination with the mediamen, who were not well-versed with the sport.
The results that were given after repeated demands, were handwritten and not wholly legible.
Meanwhile, in an interesting development, one Andhra Pradesh contingent, headed by Mr. Gangadhara Rao (the letterhead says that he is the Chairman of the Andhra Pradesh Amateur Wrestling Association) told that he expected an answer from the National Federation as to why his team cannot be allowed to participate.
Armed with the invitation letter, he claimed he was informed of the non-inclusion only when he reached Chennai. However, the other team Andhra team has been approved by the Federation and is taking part.
Reacting to this, Mr. Rohthash Singh, Secretary, Wrestling Association of Tamil Nadu said the Wrestling Federation of India has suspended the unit, and that he has got instructions from WFI regarding the same.
Other results:
Sub-junior: 38Kg: S. Sherina Chanu (Asm) bt Rasmi Tyagi (UP) by fall; Ankita Bhardwaj (Del) bt Surya (Ker) by fall; Sapna (MP) bt Pooja Kohla (Mah) by fall; Saya Rani (Man) bt K. Souyanija (AP) by fall; Minaxi Garg (Raj) bt Shweta (NCR Delhi)) by fall.
40Kg: Mandeep Kaur (Pun) bt Ankita (Ker) by fall; Priyanka (UP) bt P. Ratima Nayar (Ors) by fall; Neetu (UA) w/o Dipti (Del); C. Lalhmangaihi (Miz) bt Shivani (NCR Delhi) by fall; Vidya Rajput (Mah) vt Hirkani (AP) by fall.
43 Kg: Versha Som (UP) bt Swati Kare (Mah) by fall; Sumesh (UA) bt Monu Gochar (Raj) by fall; Rachana Shekhwat (Har) bt Santosh (Tamil Nadu) by fall; Nitu Sharma (MP) bt Paramjit (Pun) by fall; Sucharita Barik (Ors) bt Anupam Sharma (Chd) by fall; Kusum Lata Sharma (Del) bt Lalmvensngi (Miz) by fall.
46Kg: L. Ranjana Devi (Man) bt Annu Rani (Del) by fall; Surjeet Kaur (Chd) bt Preeti (NCR Delhi) by fall; Guddi Ponar (UP) bt Rashmi Bedi (Pun) by fall; Sudesh (Har) bt Sanchal Nagpore (Mar) by fall; Rekha (UA) bt Rambha (Ori) by fall.
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Getting beat by a girl? Grappling with that isn't so tough
By Gary Mihoces
USA TODAY 5/23/03
Zeke Jones was a world freestyle wrestling champion in 1991, an Olympic silver medalist in 1992 and a six-time U.S. champion.
But in a phone interview Thursday, the topic was his early years as a peewee wrestler in Ann Arbor, Mich. -- when he was drubbed regularly by a girl.
''It still haunts me,'' Jones, 36, says with a laugh from West Virginia University, where he is an assistant wrestling coach. But, he quickly adds, ''she wasn't just a girl. She was Tricia.''
That's Tricia Saunders, who went on to become a four-time women's world champion in freestyle wrestling and pioneered a women's sport that will make its Olympic debut in 2004.
Saunders heard Thursday on the radio about Annika Sorenstam's solid play on the PGA Tour. ''I've got to say I smiled,'' she says.
''I think one day we'll stop teaching our kids that little boys are failures if they lose to girls. It doesn't have to be a slap in the face to somebody's manhood. The fact that it still is just means we need to keep moving forward with our social growth.''
Saunders' maiden name was Tricia McNaughton. Jones says he probably wrestled her more than 20 times between ages 5 and 12. He didn't win until their last two matches. She was about 10 months older. And she knew the moves. ''She beat everybody. It wasn't unique to me,'' Jones says.
He recalls early matches ending in scores like 15-1. But the score kept getting closer. Finally, Jones says, at about age 12, he beat Saunders twice.
Jones says the memory really isn't painful: ''I don't mind at all. Tricia went on to win four world titles, and my world championship and Olympic silver medal all came out of our neighborhood.''
Jones, who competed at 119 pounds, went from high school state champ to NCAA All-American at Arizona State to the Olympics.
When Saunders was 8, her family had to file suit to get her into national tournaments. In junior high and high school, she wasn't allowed to compete. She left wrestling at 12 for gymnastics and didn't return for 10 years. But after college she became an international standout at 103.5 pounds.
In August, Jones will coach the U.S. men's freestyle team and Saunders the women's freestyle team at the Pan American Games.
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Male, female wrestlers grapple with each other in training
May 25, 2003
TOKYO — Male Japanese wrestlers grappled with female wrestlers Saturday as a rare joint training session got under way in Tokyo in preparation for next year's Athens Olympics.
About 100 male and female wrestlers gathered for the session at the Japan Institute of Sports Sciences. The purpose was to teach male wrestling techniques to the female wrestlers, Japan Wrestling Federation officials said. (Kyodo News)
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