Sikkim Archery Association felicitates Prince Palden Gyurmed Namgyal

GANGTOK, August 12: Sikkim Archery Association yesterday felicitated Prince Palden Gyurmed Namgyal with an honorary life time membership for his contribution towards promotion of archery in Sikkim.


State PHE Minister TT Bhutia, who is also the president of the Association, presented the certificate of membership to the Prince. In addition, his daughter Princess Khendum Yangdom Namgyal was handed over the certificate of completion of summer coaching camp along with her two sisters - Princess Diki Choden Namgyal and Princess Kunzang Choden Namgyal. Prince Namgyal was accompanied by his wife Kesang Diki Namgyal.

In his brief address, Prince Namgyal expressed his happiness over the progress made by SAA and said the sport of archery should be modernised keeping the traditional aspects in view.

Reputed international archer Chungda Sherpa was also introduced to the Prince. Later, the Association carried out a plantation drive in the archery field here.

Sikkim trains its team for 34th National Games

Gangtok,October25: 34th National games will be held from 20th November to 5th December at Jharkhand. Sikkim will be participating in the games in four disciplines, namely, Karate, Taekandwo, Archery and Boxing.

Sikkim State Karate-do Association (SSKA) has organized one month training in Paljor Stadium from 15 October to 15 November. There are four women - Samjana Manger (below 53 kg weight), Susmita Rai (below 48 kg), Mandira Karki (below 43 kg) and Hem Kumari Rai (below 60 kg) weight categories. Two men are Dinesh Rai (below 55 kg weight), and Anil Kumar Chettri (below 75 kg weight) categories, informed Mr. Bidhan Ballav Subba, Chief Coach and General Secretary of SSKA.

Sikkim brings max gold from North-East Wusu

Gangtok,October22 : Sikkim won 8 gold medals, 5 silver and 2 bronze medals in 4th North-East Wusu Championship was held from 15th to 18th October at Shillong, Indoor Stadium, Polo Ground.
Gold medalists are Sanjok Subba of West Point Senior Secondary School, Sumiran Chettri of Modern Secondary School, Som Br. Tamang of Burtuk Junior High School, Akash Jaems, Thenley Sherpa, and Beebak Achraya of St.Xaviers School, Pakyong, Binita Rai and Rupa Rai of Samdong Senior Secondary School.
Silver medalists are Sonil Subba of Mount Deepam Mission School, Gangtok, Anmol Sunuwar and Andru Lepcha of St.Xaviers School, Pakyong and Lasha Doma and Jumthi Lepcha of Samdong SSS. Bronze medalists are Sheylama and Yangchen Doma Bhutia of Samdong SSS, informed Mr. O.S Singh, State Wausau Coach on Wednesday at White Memorial Hall.
He said, out of 18 participants 15 players have won medal from Sikkim. 45 players were needed for team ranking but Sikkim had only 18 players in the championship for which Sikkim team was not counted in team ranking.
But the highest number of gold medals was bagged by Sikkim. All the northeastern states except Tripura were participants, Mr. Singh said. Sikkim ream was accompanied by coach, Mr Singh, assistant coach Anand Singh, Suk Man Subba and Kumar Chettri, boys’ manager and Mrs. Sonam Choden Lepcha manager of girls’ team.

Sher Bahadur Chettri wins Airtel Sikkim Half Marathon

GANGTOK, October 12: Sher Bahadur Chettri from IRB won the open men’s category of 19th Airtel Sikkim Half Marathon conducted today here in Gangtok by Sikkim Amateur Athletic Association (SAAA).
Mr. Chettri covered a distance of 21 kms from Paljor Stadium to Bulbuley and back in 1 hour 19 minutes and 54 seconds. He was followed by Namjeer Lepcha and Nima Tshering Tamang in second and third positions and Sandeep Kumar and Roshan Mangar in the fourth and fifth positions respectively.
Manjali Tamang from Enchey SSS won the U-16 girls event by covering a distance of 15 kms in 1 hour 10 minutes and 19 seconds. She was followed by Anita Dhakal and Savita Sunar in second and third position while Hem Kumari Khadka and Dilu Maya Sharma secured fourth and fifth position respectively.
SUMI, Kalimpong runner Prabal Chettri came first in the U-16 boys event by covering 15 kms distance in 54 minutes and 51 seconds while Buddha Bahadur Subba and Devilal Sharma came second and third respectively. Puran Rai and Yum Prasad Sharma came fourth and fifth respectively in the same event.
The U-13 girls event of 10 kms was won by Dolma Sherpa from Enchey senior secondary school in 45 minutes followed by Lali Maya Mangar and Durga Maya Subba came second and third respectively. Susma Chettri and Chandra Maya Biswakarma came fourth and fifth respectively in the same event.
Bidai Subba from Dentam senior secondary school won the U-13 boys event in 40 minutes 17 seconds followed by Dawa Tshering Sherpa and Sankar Biswakarma came second and third respectively. Vijay Singh and Deepak Chettri came fourth and fifth respectively.
All the top five runners of each event received cash prizes, medals and certificates which were presented to them by State Sports minister NK Pradhan, the chief guest on the occasion.
Kessang Dorjee and Passang Lhamu received cash prizes for being the youngest participants in the event courtesy women’s wing of Sikkim Football Association.
Earlier in the morning at around 8 am, the Sports minister flagged off the marathon event from Paljor Stadium where around 800 runners from all parts of the State and outside participated.
Airtel CEO Deepak Srivastava was also present during the half marathon event organized by SAAA.
The SAAA also presented mementos to the Sports minister, Airtel CEO and Sadar Police Station in-charge PI Tshering Sherpa during the closing ceremony of the event.
The event was wrapped up after the minister declared the 19th Sikkim Half Marathon closed

The Athletics Meet & Half Marathon in Sikkim begins today

Gangtok,October08: Sports lovers of Sikkim are geared into its sports buzz with the 10th State Junior Athletic Meet 2009 from 8th to 10th October at TNA Ground and the 19th Sikkim Half Marathon on 11th October 2009 in Palzor stadium . The event is being organized by the Sikkim Amateur Athletic Association.

There are 3 categories each under the 10th State Junior Athletic Meet 2009 19th Sikkim Half Marathon 2009.

10th State Junior Athletic Meet 2009:

Under 14 years Boys & Girls.

Under 16 years Boys & Girls

Open Category Men & Women.

19th Sikkim Half Marathon 2009:

Under 13 years Boys & Girls - 10 Kms.

Under 16 years Boys & Girls - 15 Kms

Open Category Men - 21 Kms.

Winners are entitled to cash prizes. NINE FM Gangtok will catch the excitement of the Athletic Meet on-air. Live links will be aired from the venue. Apart from this, NINE FM will also air interview of the participants.

Sikkim Kick Boxing Team

 The Sikkim Team leaving for 15th National Kick Boxing Championship being held in Bhubaneshwar,Orissa

Assam Boxing champion felicitated by Press Club of Sikkim

Gangtok,Sep25: Press Club of Sikkim felicitated Shiv Thapa,16 year old young and energetic boxer from Assam. Thapa already earned national and international fame when he won Gold medal in sub-junior and Junior level in most of the important even. He drew the attention of the people in his home when he won Gold medal in Russia.

Former Minister and President of NGO Sikkim Citizen forum Thukchuk Lachungpa presented a cheque to international junior boxer Shiv Thapa as a financial help for the training in London.

While speaking to the media persons here, Thapa said that he want to undergo for training in London keeping in view the forthcoming Olympic Game being held in U.K. in 2012.

Sikkim runner finishes first in Marathon

SILIGURI, 18 SEPT: RB Subba of Sikkim timed 1 hr 10 mins to win the 21.9 km-long half-marathon race organised by Baghajatin Athletic Club to commemorate the 25th anniversary of its 15-km long All-India Invitational Road Race here today. Bablu Ghosh of SSB, Ranidanga (1 hr. 11mins.) and Ashoke Kumar of Benaras (1 hr. 12 mins.) finished second and third respectively.
Besides receiving glittering trophies, Subba, Ghosh and Kumar also recieved cash prize worth Rs 25, 000, Rs 15, 000 and Rs 10, 000, respectively while those who finished between fourth and tenth were awarded Rs 2, 000 each.
Laltu Eskey, who clocked 13:28:93 mins, won the men's 4-km-long Fraternity Run. Sindhu Sarkar (13:28:72 mins.) and Sumanta Barman (13:39:27 mins.) finished second and third respectively.
Jaheda Khatun, timing 16:59:01 mins, won the women's 4-km-long Fraternity Run. Rekha Sarkar (17:26:01 mins.) and Paromita Debnath (17:56:01 mins.) finished second and third respectively.
The first, second and third in both the races got Rs 5, 000, Rs 3, 000 and Rs 2, 000, respectively while those who finished between fourth and 13th were awarded Rs 500 each. The club also awarded the Player of Year Award 2009 to power-lifter Ashoke Chakravorty of Siliguri for winning a gold medal at the recently concluded Asian Power-Lifting Championships and felicitated Rajkamal Prasad, who was awarded the Cricket Association of Bengal Best Player of the Year (School) prize this year.
Over 2000 and 500 enthusiastic runners took part in the half-marathon and fraternity run, which were flagged off from Agragamee Sporting Union in Bagdogra at 3:00 pm and Khsudiarm Statue in Mallaguri at 3:30 p.m. by cricketer Irfan Pathan, swimmer Bula Chaudhury, footballers Anit Ghosh, Dilip Palit and Bhaskar Ganguly, Mrs Deepa Dasmunshi, Congress MP from Raiganj and the West Bengal urban development minister Mr Asok Bhattacharya.

Sikkim promotes traditional sports

Gangtok, Sep 17(ANI): In order to preserve the essence of its culture, Sikkim is trying to revive its age-old traditional sports like archery, and bamboo fight, which are an indispensable ingredient of the culture of the state.

In order to preserve the indigenous culture, which is being taken over by sports like Mountain Biking, Trekking, River Rafting and Yak Safari, people residing in Kyonsa village organized various cultural events organized by Kyonsa Samaj organizing committee.
Our main aim is to popularize the old system of sports. We mainly focus on Footballs, Volleyball and Archery. Our endeavor is to keep the traditional old style of sports in our rural areas. And the most important thing is to entertain the public," said Sonam Bhutia, member of Kyonsa Samaj organizing committee.

A large number of people turned out to witness and take part in the event.
"As a young Sikkimese what I feel is that such rural sports encourage and bring out the best in the villagers who come out from various remote areas. All Sikkim people, they come out and gather for the big occasion. The rural sports bring back the old charm feeling. It preserves the dying out traditional sports," said Anand Lepcha, a local.
Such initiatives will go a long way in preserving the identity of the people of Sikkim and will ensure that the future generation remains connected to its traditions.

(ANI)

Chess tournament in Pang Lhabsol at Ravangla

Gangtok,August28 : Open State Level Pang Lahbsol Chess Tournament will be organized by Ravangla Pang Lhabsol Celebration Committee (RPCC) at V.C. Ganju Lama Senior Secondary School, Ravangla, from 2- 4 September.
Sikkim Chess Association (SCA) is participating for the first time in Ravangla Panglabsol Celebration, Mr. Mahindra Dhakal, General Secretary of SCA and an international chess player said in a press conference at SCA office at 6th mile Tadong on Friday. Mr. Nir Kumar Gurung, RPCC publicity secretary, Chogyal Bhutia, treasurer and Bikash Rai, member, were present. Around 80 players are expected to participate in the seven round league match, Mr. Dhakal said.
Objective of the tournament is to give chance to the chess players and to develop chess in sports sector, said SCA president H S Sharma. The winner and runners-up in the final will be given trophy, certificate and also cash prize, of which the amount is yet to be decided, the organizers said.
Chief Patron of the chess tournament is C B Karki, Minister for Rural Management and Development (RMD) and Dushan Pariyar chairman of RPCC.

Rural Sikkim natives to promote pillow fighting

Kyonsa (Sikkim), Aug 27- ANI: The local residents of Kyonsa region in Sikkim gathered in huge numbers on Thursday to take part in an event to promote their age-old rural game of bamboo pole climbing and pillow fighting.

The locals shouted and cheered as the participants climbed bamboo poles and battered each other in pillow fights - reviving a practice that is slowly dying in the face of modern sports like soccer and volleyball.

Our main aim is to preserve this old system of sports. Nowadays, we mainly focus on sports like football, archery and volleyball but our aim is to keep this traditional style of sports alive in our rural areas and entertain the public on such an occasion, said Sonam Bhutia, General Secretary of Kyonsa Samaj Organizing Committee.

Sonam further said this was also a way of preserving their identity and by promoting this form of sport in the rural areas, the youth will learn more about their own traditions and not be swayed by modern sports such as football.

Such rural sports encourage us and bring out the best in the all the villages who come from different areas. Here people come and gather for an occasion like this one. In this way we can preserve our age old sports which our earlier generations have been playing from a very long time, said Anand Lepcha, a local.

The event was also marked by some spectacular dance performances.

39th All India Institutional TT Championship kicks off

GANGTOK, August 25: The 39th All India Institutional Table Tennis Championship kicked off this evening in a glittering function held at Indoor Gymnasium Hall at Paljor Stadium here.
KT Gyaltsen, the Speaker of Sikkim Legislative Assembly who attended the opening ceremony as the chief guest declared the tournament open.
Organized by Sikkim Table Tennis Association and Sikkim Veteran Table Tennis Association under the aegis of Table Tennis Federation of India, the function was also attended by the State Tourism Minister Bhim Dhungel, Sanchaman Limbo, Deputy Chairman of State Planning Commission, KN Rai, Political Secretary to the Chief Minister and the also the chief patron of the Organizing Committee.
While addressing the host of sports persons coming from across the country, Mr. Gyaltsen said, the mega sport event will not only provide an opportunity for the sports persons to meet but also will help develop the national integration.
Stating that Sikkim Government was keen on promoting the sports in a massive way, the Speaker said sport tourism in Sikkim is one area which the State Government is more focused.
CK Basnet, the Chairman of the Organizing Committee while briefing about the tournament informed that there are a total of 18 institutional teams coming from 19 states including Sikkim will be participating in the event.
Earlier, in a press meet, the organizing team had informed that more than 400 players from 34 premium institutions all over the country along with Sikkimese players will be participating in the mega sport event.
The function also witnessed felicitation to the veteran table tennis player Paulami Ghatak, the Arjun Awardee of 2009 by the chief guest.
The closing ceremony and the final matches of the tournament will be held on August 29 with the presence of Chief Minister Pawan Chamling as the chief guest.

Government Pension to sports persons in Sikkim

GANGTOK, July 28 (PIB): A scheme of Sports Fund for Pension to Meritorious Sportspersons introduced in July 1994 is being operated by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports with the objective of rewarding the meritorious sportspersons for their outstanding achievements with life time assistance in the form of assured monthly pension. This was stated by the Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Pratik Prakashbapu Patil in the Lok Sabha today, in a written reply to a question by Arjun Sethi. Under the scheme, those sportspersons, who are Indian citizens and have won Gold, Silver or Bronze medals in Olympic Games, World Cup/World Championships in Olympics and Asian Games disciplines, Asian Games, Commonwealth Games and Para-Olympic Games and who have attained the age of 30 years and retired from active sports are eligible for the pension. The rates of pension are shown in the box.Medalists at the Olympic Games Rs.10,000 per monthGold medalists at the World Cups/World Championships in Olympics and Asian Games disciplines. Rs.8,000 per monthSilver and Bronze medalists of the World Cups/World Championships in Olympics and Asian Games disciplines Rs.7,000 per monthGold medalists of the Asian/Commonwealth Games Rs.7,000 per monthSilver and Bronze medalists of Asian/Commonwealth Games Rs.6,000 per month Gold medalists of Para – Olympic Games Rs.5,000 per monthSilver medalists of Para-Olympic Games Rs.4,000 per monthBronze medalists of Para-Olympic Games Rs.3,000 per month