LU lifters shine in NorthEast championship

Lucknow: Roli Verma (48 kg), Neha Singh Chauhan (53 kg), Ankit Verma (60 kg), Praveen Kumar (65 kg) and Sakshi Kesarwani (86 kg) of Lucknow University delivered an outstanding performance at the NorthEast Zone Inter-University Weightlifting Championship and qualified for the All-India Tournament. Held at Punjab University, Chandigarh, from Dec 26 to 30, the championship saw participation from players representing more than 70 universities. Congratulating the lifters, general secretary of the Lucknow University Athletic Association Ajay Arya said, "LU is proud of our weightlifting team for their outstanding performance at the North East Zone Championship. Their dedication and hard work have earned them a well-deserved spot in the All-India Tournament."Sports Hostel, Lucknow storm into final
Shahrukh netted four goals to help Sports Hostel, Lucknow storm into the final of the Junior Men's State Hockey Tournament, crushing Sports Hostel, Varanasi 9-0 at the Padma Shri Mohd Shahid Synthetic Hockey Stadium on Tuesday. Shahrukh struck in the 17th, 21st, 51st and 56th minutes, while Ajay found the net in the 14th and 40th minutes. Atif and Akshat Verma also scored in the 28th, 45th and 55th minutes respectively to complete the rout. Football Lucknow Youth and Mid Winter won their respective matches in the 8th Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna Memorial Football Tournament at the Dilkusha ground on Tuesday. Lucknow Youth edged past Tectro B 5-4 in the penalty shootout. In the second match, Mid Winter Football Club defeated LDA Football Club 3-1. Selection City girl Aksha Khan, along with Nupur Pandey of Bahraich and Priya Verma of Sitapur, has been selected for the Uttar Pradesh Under-15 girls' squad. Nupur Pandey trains under coach Mohammad Asif Raza Khan at KD Singh ‘Babu' Stadium, while Priya Verma trains under coach Rahul Gupta at Chowk Stadium. UP squad: Yashika (Agra), Aryama Mishra (Bahraich), Nupur Pandey (Bahraich), Kalpana Lodhi (Agra), Divyanshi (Agra), Garima Singh (Agra), Shidhangana Verma (Agra), Aksha Khan (Lucknow), Khushi Pal (Meerut), Preeti (Kanpur), Anushree Kashyap (Kanpur), Kavya Bhaanodh (Kanpur), Priya Verma (Sitapur), Aliya (Moradabad), Minakshi Yadav (Jaunpur), Supriya Singh (Gorakhpur), Yashsavi (Ghaziabad) and Aarti Chowdhary (Mathura). Lucknow Premier League Around 500 players will go under the hammer in the Lucknow Premier League auction to be held in January. The first edition of the LPL is likely to be staged in March. The four-day trial for the league began on Dec 26 at Sports Galaxy Academy. During the trials, around 1,200 players showcased their skills. The assessment was conducted under the supervision of former India cricketer and chairman of CAL's selection committee Gyanendra Pandey, along with former Ranji Trophy players Arish Alam and Abhinav Dixit. Team announced Lucknow University has announced its badminton team for the North Zone Inter-University Badminton Championship, to be held at CT University, Ludhiana, starting Dec 31. The team comprises Shourya Pratap Singh (captain), Aditya Singh, Prateek Kumar, Kaustubh Mishra, Ayush Pankaj, Yuvraj Singh and Omkar Kumar. Nishant Kumar will be the team manager. Tennis City girl Aairah and Agra's Hanu Verma clinched the women's and men's singles and doubles titles respectively at the Uttar Pradesh State Tennis Tournament 2025 at Mini Stadium, Vijayant Khand, on Tuesday. Aairah defeated Sasa Katiyar 9-2 in the women's singles final, while Hanu Verma beat Omyadav 9-8 (2) in the men's singles final. Wushu Uttar Pradesh bagged 31 medals, including nine gold, 12 silver and 10 bronze, at the 9th Wushu National Federation Cup, which concluded on Tuesday at Rajnandgaon, Chhattisgarh. Lucknow's Sunish Rawat won two gold and one silver medal.