Indian sports news wrap, December 31
SQUASH
Anahat leads dominant Indian run at Scottish Junior Open squash
Talented teenager Anahat Singh led a dominant Indian performance at the 2023 Scottish Junior Open squash held in Edinburgh between December 28 and 30, bagging the girls’ under-19 title with a 11-6, 11-1, 11-5 victory over home favourite Robyn McAlpine in the final.
It capped off a spectacular year for Delhi’s Anahat, who recorded the under-19 and senior National championship double and won mixed doubles bronze along with Abhay Singh both at the Asian Games and the inaugural Asian Mixed Doubles Championships.
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Meanwhile, India’s Subhash Choudhary rallied to beat compatriot Shiven Agarwal 5-11, 11-4, 6-11, 11-8, 11-5 in the boys’ under-15 final, while Shresht Iyer beat Shreyansh Jah 11-8, 11-8, 3-11, 11-8 in an all-Indian boys’ under-13 final.
Top-seeded Indian Aadya Budhia displayed resilience in beating Malaysia’s Niea Chew 9-11, 11-8, 8-11, 11-8, 11-9 in the girls’ under-13 final, while top seed Prabhav Bajoria beat second seed Aaditya Shah 5-11, 9-11, 11-5, 11-8, 11-6 in an all-Indian boys’ under-11 final. Divyanshi Jain finished runner-up in the girls’ under-11 category.
Almost 200 players from over 30 countries took part in the event.
-Team Sportstar
WEIGHTLIFTING
Weightlifting Nationals: Jeremy Lalrinnunga wins men’s 67kg gold
Jeremy Lalrinnunga lifted a total of 298kg to convincingly win the men’s 67kg gold medal in the National weightlifting championships at Itanagar on Sunday.
Jeremy returned to competition to lift 136kg in snatch and establish a healthy 10kg lead, which proved decisive.
Jhilli Dalabehera claimed the women’s 49kg title in a close contest.
The results (Elite only):
Men: 67kg: 1. Jeremy Lalrinnunga (Miz) snatch 136kg, clean and jerk 162kg, total 298kg; 2. Neelam Raju K. (RSPB) 126kg, 162kg, 288kg; 3. Lalnunthara (SSCB) 121kg, 163kg, 284kg.
Women: 49kg: 1. Jhilli Dalabehera (RSPB) 77kg, 96kg, 173kg; 2. Panchami Sonowal (Asm) 75kg, 96kg, 171kg; 3. Gyaneshwari Yadav (Cht) 77kg, 94kg, 171kg.
-Team Sportstar
TENNIS
ITF junior tennis tournament: Rethin Pranav, Maaya Rajeshwaran aim to assert Indian supremacy
The second seeds Rethin Pranav and Maaya Rajeshwaran will aspire to assert the Indian supremacy in the ITF junior tennis tournament to be played at the CLTA Complex from Monday.
Rohan Belday and Anya Murthy of the US have been seeded No.1 in the boys and girls sections respectively.
Rohan will open against Aarjun Pandit who has been performing well in the international circuit.
Rethin plays Ren Matsumura of Japan in the first round, while Maaya will be up against Kariman Buoai of Israel.
Overall, it will be interesting to see how well the Indian players cope with the overwhelming presence of quality foreign players in both the boys and girls sections.
The seedings:
Boys: 1. Rohan Belday (USA), 2. Rethin Pranav, 3. Cho Se Hyuk (Kor), 4. Debasis Sahoo, 5. Hitesh Chauhan, 6. Luc Wieland (Sui), 7. Kim Moo Been (Kor), 8. Lovro Maricic (Cro).
Girls: 1. Anya Murthy (USA), 2. Maaya Rajeshwaran, 3. Shihomi Li Xuan Leong (Mas), 4. Maayan Laron (Isr), 5. Yu-Chen Lin (Tpe), 6. Maria Golovina, 7. Tzeng Mu-Jie (Tpe), 8. Rishitha Basireddy.
-Kamesh Srinivasan
Uchijima clinches ITF women’s title
Second seed Moyuka Uchijima of Japan beat top seed Ekaterina Makarova 6-4, 6-1 in the final of the $40,000 ITF women’s tennis tournament at the Ganesh Naik Sports Complex on Sunday.
Moyuka Uchijima of Japan, the champion of the $40,000 ITF women’s tennis tournament in Navi Mumbai on Sunday.
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
Moyuka Uchijima of Japan, the champion of the $40,000 ITF women’s tennis tournament in Navi Mumbai on Sunday.
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
It was the first singles title of the season and eighth of her career for the 22-year-old Moyuka, who was ranked a career best 104. It was the second successive loss in the final for the 27-year-old Makarova who was beaten by Sahaja Yamalapalli last week in Solapur.
Interestingly, it was the sixth loss in a final this season for Makarova, who has won six singles titles in the professional circuit. Makarova had earlier won the doubles title in partnership with Kamilla Bartone of Latvia.
The results:
Singles (final): Moyuka Uchijima (Jpn) bt Ekaterina Makarova 6-4, 6-1.
-Kamesh Srinivasan
Table Tennis
All eyes on the Maria-Pranati battle at the Kerala State championships
The women’s battle between the experienced Maria Rony and the young challenger Pranati Nair is likely to be the highlight of the Kerala State table tennis championships which begin at the V.K. Krishna Menon indoor stadium, Kozhikode, on Monday.
The 26-year-old Maria, from Alappuzha, had been a multiple Kerala champion before moving to Karnataka four years ago where she also won the State title earlier.
Pranati has played Maria only once and she had lost that encounter narrowly but the 17-year-old has picked up crucial lessons from that match in a State-ranking event in Thiruvananthapuram.
“I think my chances of winning the women’s title are good…and Maria will be the big hurdle,” Pranati, the women’s top seed, told The Hindu from Kozhikode.
Maria, who will be playing a State championship in Kerala after four years, also feels her prospects of winning are good.
“The all-Kerala final against Pranati in July was not easy, I won 3-2 but I think I can win the State title here,” said Maria, the second seed.
Pranati Nair will be seen in action at the Kerala State table tennis championships.
Pranati Nair will be seen in action at the Kerala State table tennis championships.
Incidentally, defending champion Reeva Anna Michael and another leading star Seraha Jacob have decided to skip the championship.
Palakkad’s K.S. Sreehari has been given the top billing in the men’s section while Alappuzha’s Amir Afthab is the No. 2.
With the youth and junior Nationals starting in Kolkata on January 6 the Kozhikode District Table Tennis Association, which is organising these State championships under the auspices of the Table Tennis Association of Kerala, will be in a bit of a hurry to rush through the events here.
And for a change the organisers will be tinkering with the schedule too with the women’s singles being held in the early days of the five-day championships to help stars like Pranati reach Kolkata on time.
For the Kozhikode TTA, this will mark a fresh start too. Ten months ago it broke away from the Kerala Table Tennis Association and joined the national body TTFI-recognised TTAK. Now, it is hosting the State championships.
“This is also the first time our Kozhikode DTTA players will be officially taking part in a TTAK State championship,” said former international V. Srinivasan, the secretary of the Kozhikode District TT association.
The championships, which will be played on eight tables, have attracted nearly 400 players and competitions will be held in all the age categories.
-Stan Rayan
BASKETBALL
Kerala State junior basketball championship: Thrissur boys, Ernakulam girls triumph
Point guard Amanda Maria Rocha’s sterling play (33 points) helped Ernakulam defeat Thrissur 70-65 in a thriller and win the girls title in the 47th Kerala State junior basketball championship on Sunday.
The RSC-Fragoman Sports Academy in Kochi played a major role in Ernakulam’s triumph.
Later Thrissur, riding on Mohammed Irfan’s (26 points) and Muhammed Sahal’s (22) strong show, defeated defending champion Kottayam 70-63 and lifted the boys title.
The results:
Boys, final: Thrissur 70 (Muhaamed Irfan 26, Muhammed Sahal 22) bt Kottayam 63 (Krishnalal Mukesh 22, Savio George Bino 11). Third place: Thiruvananthapuram bt Alappuzha 100-79.
Girls final: Ernakulam 70 (Amanda Maria Rocha 33, K.A. Abhirami 16, Laya Maria Antony 11) bt Thrissur 65 (Liya Sony 26, Aleena Antony 16). Third place: Kollam bt Kottayam 65-64.
-Stan Rayan