New Delhi: The 3rd IBSA National Powerlifting Championships for the Blind took place today on the fifth day of week-long IBSA Silver Jubilee Celebrations currently going on in New Delhi. Among the 25 powerlifters who entered the Championships, Triptpal Singh (125 Kg weight category) of Punjab once again proved that he is the super powerman among the blind powerlifters in India. Although not at his best, he lifted a total of 550 kgs, – 200 kg dead, 150 kg bench & 200 kg squat . Triptpal holds the Junior World Records in Squat (250 kg) & Deadlift (255 kg) which he established in April 2011 in Antalya, Turkey at the 4th World Championships and Games. Another impressive performance was given by Rajasthan’s Kishan Lal Gujar (74 kg weight category) who lifted 360 kgs (Squat-110 kg, bench-90 kg & Deadlift- 160 kg). Total 20 participants from 8 states namely Delhi, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Punjab, Manipur, Rajasthan, West Bengal & Chandigarh participated in the Championship.
In the 1st IBSA National Kabaddi Championships, the pool matches concluded today with teams from Jodhpur, Ludhiana, Madurai and Shimla qualifying to enter the semi-finals to be played on Monday, 9 January. In the lone Pool-A match played today Netraheen Vikas Sansthan, Jodhpur convincingly outplayed Voice of World, Kolkata 85/53 and thereby tallied the second highest 4 points in their Pool. Hanuman Ram Punia came out as the player of the match. With already having earned 6 points, Indian Association for the Blind, Madurai reserved its berth in the semi-finals. In the two Pool-B matches played during the day Ashakiran Residential School for the Blind, Chikamagalur trounced Hostel for College Going Blind Students Boys, Delhi. The Chickmaglur team of school boys using better techniques and strategy managed to defeat the college going boys team from Delhi. However, Balmukund Chaturvedi of the vanquished Delhi team impressed all with excellent kabaddi techniques. With only 4 points earned in the pool matches the Chikamanglur team could not qualify for the semis. The last match of the day in the Pool-B, Punjab Sports Association for the Blind defeated Visually Challenged Children School, Shimla by 60/38. The spirited younger team from Shimla fought valiantly against physically stronger Ludhiana players, and managed to score 38 Points. Tallying 6 points each in the Pool-B both the teams secured their entry in the semi-finals.
In the 7th IBSA National Football Tournament, at the conclusion of Group matches, Hostel for College Going Blind Students, Delhi topped Group-A with 13 points followed by Voice of World, Kolkata tallying 8 points to qualify for the semi-finals. In the Group-B, Indian Association for the Blind (IAB), Madurai with the highest tally clearly reached semi-finals, while and Equal Opportunity Cell (EOC), Delhi with 8 points snatched semi-final birth from NBYA, Delhi on the basis of total goals scored – 6 against 4 scored by NBYA. The two Delhi teams will meet in the first semi-finals, and the Madurai and Kolkata teams will be in the second semi-finals to be played tomorrow.