CRICKET
Ruturaj Gaikwad launches 24th Super Kings Academy centre in Pondicherry
Chennai Super Kings captain Ruturaj Gaikwad inaugurated the latest Super Kings Academy centre in Puducherry on April 23. The Academy in Puducherry is a partnership with Stansford International Higher Secondary School and is the 24th centre across the world. The academy is a state-of-the-art facility equipped with four turf wickets, two astro turf wickets and two matting wickets apart from floodlights.
Apart from Ruturaj, KS Viswanathan (Managing Director, Chennai Super Kings), AK Sai J Saravanan Kumar (Hon’ble Minister for Adi Dravidar Welfare, Puducherry), Sam Paul (Chairman, Sam Paul Educational Trust), M Sivasankar (Member of Puducherry Legislative Assembly Ozhukarai Constituency), R Sathiya Sundaram IPS (Deputy Inspector General of Police), Louis Mariano (Director of Cricket, Super Kings Academy) and Sriram Krishnamurthy (Head Coach, Super Kings Academy) were the other guests of honour.
Ruturaj inaugurated the centre and also interacted with the students as well.
– Team Sportstar
BASKETBALL
Tamil Nadu placed in Group B of FIBA West Asia Super League Final 8
Tamil Nadu has been placed in Group-B in the FIBA West Asia Super League Final 8 to be held in Zouk Mikael, Lebanon from May 10 to 18 along with Shabab Al Ahli (UAE), Tabiat Basketball (Iran) and Al Qadsia SC (Kuwait). Group-A has four more teams: Al Riyadi Beirut Club (Lebanon), Ittihad Club (Saudi Arabia), Sagesse SC (Lebanon) and BC Astana (Kazakhstan). In fact, Tamil Nadu qualified for the West Asia Super League by virtue of winning the South Asian Basketball Association Championship held in Chennai recently.
Earlier, speaking to The Hindu, Tamil Nadu’s head coach C. V. Sunny said. “the South Asian Basketball Association title-win was expected. But it would be tough this time at the West Asia League as there are teams from Kuwait and Lebanon. Last time, we lost in the group stages. This time, we would like to qualify for the knock-outs. To make it happen, we have recruited two from USA–one a centre training in Italy and the other a power forward playing in College, as guest players. We are trying to get the foreign players for the coaching camp for five days to be held in Chennai soon.”
– Keerthivasan K