Friday, 12 August 2016

Excitement returns to Chennai as Honda kicks-off Round 2

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Excitement returns to Chennai as Honda kicks-off Round 2 of the National Racing Championship

Ø Round 2 of Honda One Make Race to be held at Madras Motor Race Track from August 12 to 14
Ø Honda leads racing culture with total of 52 entries across India in Round 2!
Ø 20 racers complete the grid for CBR 150R Open championship
Ø 11 racers from 5 professional teams to compete in Honda’s flagship CBR 250R Team championship
Ø 8 women riders complete the grid for Round 2 of Honda All Ladies Race
Ø 13 CBR 150R to participate in Stock 165 (Novice), Pro-Stock 165 (Open) and Super Sport Indian 165 (modified)
Chennai, August 11, 2016: The Round 2 of Honda One Make Race is set to take off on full steam this weekend! The second round will witness a total of 52 entries from Honda across categories including 13 CBR 150R race machines leased to teams for National Championships.
The three new categories of National Championship will see India’s best racers racing on the CBR 150R. Honda’s arsenal in theSuper Sport Indian 165 (modified) will be led by Asia Road Racing Championship participant Sarath Kumar (podium winner in Round 1) and Madan Kumar. The  Pro-Stock 165 (Open) will witness 4 CBR 150R’s on the grid with Asia Dream Cup winners Hari Krishnan (First position in Round 1) and Sethu Rajiv (2nd podium in Round 1) leading the battle. The Stock 165 (Novice)too will have 7 racers including Antony Peter (1st and 2nd podium in Round 1) and Shreyas Shankar (3rdpodium in Round 1) competing on Honda CBR 150R’s.
Honda’s flagship CBR 250R Team Championship will see intense competition between 11 racers from 5 teams (Coimbatore Racing Academy, Ten 10 Racing, Prolap Racing, Rock Star Racing and Apex Racing Academy). The grid will boast of India’s top notch racing talent including Asia Dream Cup double podium winner Hari Krishnan, Sethu Rajiv among others.
Giving a fillip to new talent as young as 18 years of age is the CBR 150R Novice championship; which has received a total of 20 entries from Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Kerala with 9 entries from Tamil Nadu itself.
The Second round of the very successful Honda All Ladies race will see 8 female racers including Pooja Dabhi from Pune and Soundari A and Ryhana Bee from Chennai competing for podium. To promote the participation of women riders, Honda had conducted the first-ever All Women Race during the Round 5 of 2015 season. This year the exclusive All Ladies Race has been made into a 5 round support race wherein all woman riders have been trained at the Honda Ten10 Racing Academy.
Speaking ahead of the second round of the current season, Mr Prabhu Nagaraj, Vice-President, Customer Service, HMSI said: “Motor sports has been always an integral part of Honda’s DNA and it is the harbinger of motor racing in India. There is a lot of passion among young racers in India. The Honda One Make Race aims at providing these aspiring riders a platform to hone their skills, thus providing an opportunity to realise their potential and take it to the global racing arena. Honda is committed to the development of motor racing in India and has taken an initiative to encourage participation of women riders by introducing the first full-season of Honda Exclusive Women Race.”
For the 2016 season, Honda has introduced new race-prepped racing versions of CBR 250R and CBR 150R. Developed with technical know-how provided by Honda’s Indian R&D team, both motorcycles are set to scorch the Madras Motor Race Track beginning this weekend. The new racing version of the CBR 250R got an upgraded Honda racing kit, including wiring harness with remapping option, advanced racing body cowl kit and equipped with endurance exhaust. The new CBR 150R gets a reprogrammed ECU.
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The progress made by Swaraj Abhiyan!

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Today at 1:25
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M7.6 – SOUTHEAST OF THE LOYALTY ISLANDS

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India go down to the Netherlands 1-2 in Men’s hockey

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India go down to the Netherlands 1-2 in Men’s hockey
~ VR Raghunath scored India’s equaliser in the 38th minute ~

 
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 11 August 2016: If there were any doubts about the excitement of modern hockey, and its place in the future of Olympics, those were put to rest today in a pulsating game between India and The Netherlands today. A close game, that went down to, quite literally the final millisecond of the final quarter, India eventually losing to the Dutch 1-2.

This was always going to be a bruising encounter, and in the first quarter, after an initial boisterous start by the Netherlands, the two teams settled into a slow burn midfield battle at the Olympics Hockey Centre in Deodoro.

India were thorough and showed some real muscle and craft in periods of both quarters, just as it seemed the Dutch were going to run away and this a game of all attack against a resolute defence. It took till the 20th minute of the game though for the first real opportunity to present itself. A cross from the right found Valentin Verga in front of goal and room to spare. Sreejesh though was quickly off the line to block the shot and effect the save, a high-class moment of skill from both sides.

Perhaps the best indication of how evenly matched and tactically sound the game was could be gauged by the statistic that both teams didn’t have a single PC as they went into half time.

For all their early zipping, the Dutch’s frustration would’ve been magnified by that statistic and they soon made amends, storming out of the restart with the first PC of the game. Mink Van Der Meerden was denied by Sreejesh, a strong left hand dropping the ball into no man’s zone, from where Rogier Hoffman struck to give them the lead in the 32nd minute.

For India, a point would have sealed qualification, and the goal galvanised them into action. Five minutes after conceding, V Raghunath and Sardar Singh combined at the edge of the circle to win India their first PC of the game. Rupinder Pal Singh’s drag flick was padded away by Jacob Stockmann, but the rising ball was penalised with another. Off the second, India went to the man who won them the first, and Raghunath stormed his flick to Stockmann’s left to draw India level in the 38th minute.

India defended deep in the closing stages of the third quarter, and disciplinary issues led to SV Sunil and Raghunath earning a yellow card each, leaving India down to nine men. The two cards meant, Raghunath would serve out the majority of the final quarter on the bench.

The Dutch would take full advantage of being a man up in the final quarter and storm through with a series of penalty corners. Sreejesh stood strong, saving three in a row, before Van Der Meerden scored to give them the lead with six minutes of the game left.

Raghunath’s re-entry in the field would be with the yellow jersey as India played out the final three minutes without a goalkeeper, pressing high trying to force an equaliser and a guaranteed spot in the next round.

They would win their third PC in the 58th minute, Stockmann saving the effort. India kept pressing though, and had another with 6 seconds on the clock. The timer ticked out, but illegal block after illegal block, would mean India would win six consecutive penalty corners.

The first three would be played out amidst high anticipation for an equaliser. A Dutch body met each flick and soon both teams were trading video referrals, India successful, the Dutch not. The crowd soon jumped in to add to the occasion. Reminders of Raipur were in full effect, India looking to extract revenge for the equaliser that took them to a shootout. But in the end it was not to be, in a cruel anti-climax, a Dutch save on the goal line, denying India an equaliser and giving the Dutch the win.

For India though, it will be a great step forward. From being under pressure in the final moments of matches, they had been the aggressors, and the lack of a goal notwithstanding, this was a performance to inspire them for the future.

India next play Canada in their last Pool B fixture on August 12, 2016 at 9 PM IST. The match will be broadcasted live on Star Sports, Star Sports HD and Doordarshan.
Pool B points table (updated until 8:00 PM, August 11, 2016)
Pool A points table (updated until 8:00 PM, August 11, 2016)
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Election Expenses of MLAs from the Kerala Assembly 2016

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Dear friends,
According to Section 78 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, every contesting candidate has to lodge a true copy of his election expenses within 30 days from the date of declaration of result of election, with the District Election Officer in all States and Union Territories.
Kerala Election Watch and Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) have analyzed the election expenditure statements submitted after the Kerala 2016 Assembly for 137 out of 140 MLAs. The expenditure limit for the candidates during the Kerala Assembly elections was Rs. 28 lakhs. These election expense documents include details of expenses on public meeting and processions, campaigning through electronic and print media, expense on campaign workers, expense on vehicles used and expense on campaign materials.
Summary and Highlights of Election Expenses of MLAs from the Kerala Assembly 2016 Elections
1.      Average Election Expenses: Based on the election expense declarations of 137 MLAs from Kerala Assembly, the average amount of money spent by them in the elections is only about Rs 19.64 lakhs, which is 70% of the expense limit.
2.      Party-wise Average Election Expenses: The party wise average election expenses shows that the average spending for 55 MLAsfrom CPI(M) is Rs 19.02 lakhs (68% of theexpense limit), for 22 MLAs from INC is Rs 19.26 lakhs (69% of the expense limit), for 19 MLAs from CPI is Rs 20.19 Lakhs (72% of the expense limit), for 18 MLAs from IUML is Rs 20.27 Lakhs (72% of the expense limit), and for 6 MLAs from Kerala Congress (M) is Rs 20.09 Lakhs (72% of the expense limit).
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3.      Top 3 MLAs with highest Election Expenses: The maximum expense of about Rs 27.82lakhs (99% of the expense limit) has been declared by G. Sudhakaran of CPI(M) fromAmbalapuzha constituency followed by Ramesh Chennithala of INC fromHaripadconstituency with an expense of Rs 27.77 lakhs (or 99% of the expense limit) and K Muraleedharan of INC from Vattiyoorkavuconstituency with an expense of Rs27.73 lakhs (or 99% of the expense limit).
4.      MLAs with lowest Election Expenses: Vijaydas of CPI(M) from Kongad constituencyhas declared election expenditure of Rs. 7.85 lakhs followed by Anoop Jacob of kerala Congress (Jacob) from Piravom  Constituency with election expenses of Rs. 10.25 lakhsand Achuthanandan of CPI(M) from Malampuzha Constituency with election expenses of Rs. 11.13 lakhs.
5.      Expense on Campaign Workers: 34 (25%) MLAs have declared that they have not spent ANY amount on campaign workers. 
6.      Percentage Breakdown of Funds Received by MLAs:
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Summary and Highlights of Funds raised by MLAs in the Kerala Assembly, 2016

1.      Percentage break-down of funds received by MLAs: Out of the total funds received by MLAs, 42% funds were raised from political parties, 14% were raised by MLAsthemselves and 44% funds were raised from other sources.
2.      Average funds raised from Political Parties (Party-wise): On an average an MLA from CPI(M) raised 43 % of his/her election expense funds from the political party. Similarly, an MLA from INC raised 49% of his/her election expense funds, an CPI  MLA raised 50 % , an IUML  MLA raised 46 % and a Kerala Congress (M) MLA raised 8 % of their election expense funds from the political party.
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Summary and Highlights of Election Expenses of Ministers from the Kerala Assembly, 2016

1.       Average Election Expenses: Based on the election expense declarations of 17 analysed Ministers from Kerala Assembly 2016, theaverage amount of money spent by them in the elections is only about Rs 19.61 lakhs, which is 70% of the expense limit.
2.       Top 3 Ministers with highest Election Expenses: The maximum expense of about Rs27.82 Lakhs (99% of the expense limit) has been declared by G.Sudhakaran of CPI(M)from Ambalapuzha constituency followed by Thilothaman of CPI from Cherthalaconstituency with an expense of Rs 27.67 lakhs (or 99% of the expense limit) andKadakampally Surendran of CPI(M) from Kazhakkottam constituencywith an expense ofRs 24.46 Lakhs (or 87% of the expense limit)
3.       Ministers with lowest Election Expenses: T P Ramakrishnan of CPI(M) from Perambra Constituency has declared an election expenditure of Rs. 11.63 lakhs (42% of the expense limit). He is followed by C Raveendranathan of CPI(M) from Puthukkadconstituency who has declared election expenditure of Rs. 13.32 lakhs (48% of the expense limit), and E. Chandrashekaran of CPI from Kanhangad Constituency with election expenses of Rs. 15.07 lakhs (54% of the expense limit).
4.          Percentage Breakdown of Funds Received by Ministers:
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Recommendations:
1.       Each candidate is required to file his election expenditure statement within 30 days of the results of the elections, the deadline in case of the Kerala Assembly Elections being the 18th of June, 2016. However, it was observed that the election expenditure statements of the candidates were not uploaded on the CEO website till significantly after the deadline. it is therefore recommended that the Abstract Expenditure Statement (Annexure 15) of the candidates is uploaded on the website of the CEO within 72 hours of the receipt of the statement.
2.       The deadline for filing an election petition against any candidate is 45 days after the declaration of the results. Generally, candidates submit their election expenditure statements towards the end of the 30 days given for submission of the statements. This leaves 15 days for any common citizen to file an election petition against any candidate. The deadline for filing an election petition should be increased in order to give the citizens time to scrutinize the election expenditure statements of the candidates and gather the relevant documents/proof etc for the election petition.
3.       As has been instated in the filing of affidavits during the elections, the candidates should not be allowed to keep any field blank on the Abstract Election Expenditure statement (Annexure 15) and Schedule 1 to 9. The statements must be filled in a legible format and overwriting of amounts in the statement should be discouraged.
For complete information on funds collected and expenditure incurred by MLAs and Ministers of the current Kerala Assembly, kindly refer to the attached report.
Media and Journalist Helpline

+91 80103 94248
Maj.Gen. Anil Verma (Retd)
Head
National Election Watch,
Association for Democratic Reforms
011 4165 4200,
+91 88264 79910
adr@adrIndia.org,
Prof Jagdeep Chhokar
IIM Ahmedabad (Retd.)
Founder Member,
National Election Watch, Association for Democratic
Reforms
+91 99996 20944

Prof Trilochan Sastry
IIM Bangalore
Founder Member,
National Election Watch,
Association for Democratic Reforms
+91 94483 53285
—
Association for Democratic Reforms
T-95A, C.L. House, 1st Floor,
(Near Gulmohar Commercial Complex)
Gautam Nagar
New Delhi-110 049
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Indian women’s team lose 0-3 to USA in penultimate Pool B hockey encounter


Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 11 August 2016: India lost to the USA 0-3 in their penultimate group game at the Olympic Women’s hockey tournament on Thursday.

In a tepid first quarter, USA and India played out a slug fest in the midfield, both reliant on long balls for circle penetrations into the others territory. USA took the lead in the 14th minute, with virtually the first real opportunity of the match via Kathleen Bam to take the lead.
India were the team who had the ball in the net first in the second quarter, Rani dribbling and twisting away brilliantly from multiple US defenders in the circle, before unleashing a reverse into the goal. The referee though deemed it unlawful and a closer inspection would show that the final touch had come off Preeti Dubey’s shoulder, an illegal deflection that denied them the equaliser.

The USA soon started exerting their influence on the game more effectively and had the first of two successive PCs of the game in the 20th minute, denied though by effective rushing from India’s defensive battery. Their third, would be blocked away by Namita Toppo on the goal line, a save that would take the teams into half time separated by the single goal.

USA came out stronger in the second half and had their fourth PC — the first of the second half — within the first minute. Katherine Reinprecht’s attempt though bounced off a USA stick, to land safely and out of bounds, leaving India with some breathing space and the opportunity to settle in the game.

The game eventually turned into a smart midfield battle and soon India’s use of the flanks came to the fore. Rani was influencing the game for the Eves, controlling possession and space on every Indian attack. The smart movement across both flanks would cause the US problems, but the circle penetrations would amount to nothing, as they successfully pushed away the attacks, denying India the conversions. They soon had their second goal, a solo effort, effectively a counter attack after the ball turned over at the edge of the US circle. Bam ran with the ball towards the Indian circle and cut back to shoot between Savita’s pads to double her tally for the game.

India attacked strongly in the final quarter and Vandana Katariya almost single-handedly fashioned a chance out of nothing, twisting away from her marker inside the circle before unleashing a reverse hit that went wide of the mark. At the other end, Savita pulled off a smart save to deny Bam a hat-trick.

A superbly worked counter gave the US their third goal in the 52nd minute, Melissa Gonzalez the scorer, after a sweeping one touch move from the right gave her an open shot at goal, with only Savita to beat. The US would take their PC count into double digits for the match, but, India, in a vast improvement from their previous game, would defend stoutly, to ensure there would be no goals from them. The USA took the win 3-0.

India play their last group encounter against Argentina at 6:30 PM IST on August 13, 2016. The match will be broadcast live on Star Sports, Star Sports HD and Doordarshan.

Photo Captions
2016-0811-W-USA_IND-097a2: Indian women’s team Captain Sushila Chanu controls the ball possession during the match against USA at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on August 11, 2016.
2016-0811-W-USA_IND-123a2: India’s Navjot Kaur tries to pass the ball during the match against USA at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on August 11, 2016.
2016-0811-W-USA_IND-015a2: Indian women’s team goalkeeper Savita in action during the match against USA at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on August 11, 2016.
Women’s Pool B Points table (updated as on August 12, 2016, 09:00 AM)
 
Women’s Pool A Points table (updated as on August 12, 2016, 09:00 AM)

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