Indian sports news wrap, November 26

TENNIS

Rashmikaa grabs maiden ITF title at Bowring Institute ITF Women’s World Tennis Tour

Shrivalli Rashmikaa Bhamidipaty graduated from being a National champion to an international champion when she annexed her maiden ITF title with the Bowring Institute ITF Women’s World Tennis Tour honours defeating Zeel Desai. In a pulsating final attended by a full house crowd at the Bowring Institute courts here on Sunday, Rashmikaa dropped a set before emerging a 6-0, 4-6, 6-3 winner.

Rashmikaa took home the winner’s cheque of US $ 3935 but more importantly pocketed 50 WTA points which could help her surge in the WTA rankings. Zeel won US $ 2107 and 30 WTA points for her bridesmaid finish.

“It is still not sunk in. Probably it will by the evening,” said the champion. “I knew Zeel is a good player and I was prepared for a 3-setter. But after having lost the second set, I thought I already had a trophy but by giving it all, I could win the trophy and that is what I did,” said Rashmikaa.

-Team Sportstar

ITF junior tennis tournament: Kriish Tyagi and Malika Amirgalieva seeded number one

Kriish Tyagi and Malika Amirgalieva of Kazakhstan have been seeded No.1 in the boys and girls sections respectively in the ITF junior tennis tournament being played at the DLTA Complex.

The champion of the last tournament in Guwahati, Rethin Pranav finds himself seeded No.5.

With some quality players from abroad, it should be a lively competition this week, especially in the girls section in which only three Indian players, Sohini Mohanty, Aishwarya Jadhav and Rishitha Basireddy, have been seeded.

The seedings:

Boys: 1. Kriish Tyagi, 2. Kazuma Kimura (Jpn), 3. Cahir Warik, 4. Debasis Sahoo, 4. Rethin Pranav, 6. Juan Kim (Kor), 7. Aleksandar Daskalovic (Srb), 8. Aarjun Pandit.

Girls: 1. Malika Amirgalieva (Kaz), 2. Yasmin Vavrova (Svk), 3. Sohini
Mohanty, 4. Leila Akhmetova, 5. Ariana Gogulina (Kaz), 6. Eva Khrustaleva, 7. Aishwarya Jadhav, 8. Rishitha Basireddy.

The results: Qualifying singles (third and final round):

Boys: Kazuma Kimura (Jpn) bt Siddhant Sharma 6-0, 6-2; Vishal Prakash bt Aryan Karnani 6-4, 6-3; Bushan Haobam bt Parag Jain 6-2, 6-0; Shanker Heisnam bt Navya Verma 6-4, 7-5.

Girls: Suhani Gaur bt HarithashreeVenkatesh 6-3, 6-4; Kkaira Chetnani bt Apara Khandare 6-2, 6-2; Aakruti Sonkusare bt Aarushi Raval 6-4, 6-7(4), 6-4; Avani Chitale bt Shruti Nanajkar 6-3, 6-4.

-Kamesh Srinivasan

ITF men’s tennis tournament: Ramkumar Ramanathan beat national champion Siddharth Vishwakarma

Davis Cupper Ramkumar Ramanathan beat national champion Siddharth Vishwakarma 6-0, 6-4 in the final of the $25,000 ITF men’s tennis tournament at the GA Ranade Centre on Sunday.

It was the second singles title this season for the 29-year-old Ramkumar after the one in Dharwad. He had also won the doubles title earlier with Purav Raja.

It was the 19th career singles title for Ramkumar who was ranked a career-best 111 in 2018.

The tame defeat in the final apart, it was a fine run for the wiry left-hander, Siddharth Vishwakarma who whips his serve and strokes with considerable flair and ferocity.

The results (final): Ramkumar Ramanathan bt Siddharth Vishwakarma 6-0, 6-4.

-Kamesh Srinivasan

Yubrani sails through first round in Ahmedabad

Yubrani Banerjee beat Kavya Khirwar 6-4, 6-3 in the first qualifying round of the $15,000 ITF women’s tennis tournament at the Ahmedabad City Tennis Foundation courts on Sunday.

Vaidehi Chaudhari will be the top seed in the main draw. The champion of the $25,000 event in Bengaluru, Shrivalli Bhamidipaty, will be the fourth seed behind Diletta Cherubini and Ekaterina Yashina.

-Kamesh Srinivasan

MOTOR SPORTS

JK Tyre Motorsport drivers excel at the Asia Pacific Rally Championship in Indonesia

The weekend turned out to be a rewarding one for JK Tyre Motorsport drivers supported by Vamcy Merla Sports Foundation who were participating at the final round of Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) 2023 in Indonesia at the Danau Toba Rally.

The 21-year-old Jahaan Singh Gill from Chandigarh underlined his supremacy to clinch the prestigious FIA Junior Asia Pacific Rally Championship title 2023 in his maiden outing.

In a total grid comprising 63 competitive drivers across categories, while Jahaan lead the junior class, the other JK Tyre Motorsports drivers were also at their dominating best with Suhem Kabeer and Lokesh Gowdawinning in the NVA category.

“I am really happy with this achievement and would like to help to thank JK Tyre Motorsport and Vamcy Merla Foundation for their support. It was very difficult terrain and driving for the first time was not an easy task. The stages were already very tricky and the rains made it worse. We knew the hazards of driving on this surface but we held our act together and managed to end on the podium,” Jahaan said.

Driving for the first time in an international rally, the Mysuru lad Suhem Kabeer along with his navigator PVS Murthy was at his imperious best and posted some impressive timings to win the NVA category and achieve the fourth position overall. In the M2 class of Indonesia National Rally Championship, Suhem finished an impressive second.

The celebration just didn’t end with the drivers ruling the podium as team JK Tyre Motorsport was awarded the best team performance award.

GOLF

Shubhankar Sharma slips in Johannesburg

Indian golfing ace Shubhankar Sharma’s modest form continued as he added an even par 70 in the third round and was tied 48th at the Joburg Open on Sunday.

Shubhankar, with four birdies and four bogeys, had a horrible run of three bogeys in a row, which ruined his card.

At even par for three days, he was way behind as home star Thriston Lawrence took a three-shot lead.

The home favourite carded a 67 to get to 15 under and lead the way from countryman Dean Burmester, with Jacques Kruyswijk and Nikhil Rama at 11 under, one clear of Zander Lombard as the South Africans locked out the top six.

Lawrence became the first winner of the DP World Tour era when he won this event two years ago, and he has gone on to add three more titles and claim the 2022 Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year Award.

-PTI

SHOOTING

Shooting Nationals 2023: Sift Kaur Samra wins women’s 50-metre rifle prone gold

Sift Kaur Samra shot 627.3 to clinch the women’s 50-metre rifle prone gold in the 66th National shooting championship at the Dr. Karni Singh Range, Tughlakabad.

Nischal won the junior gold.

In the 50-metre free pistol event, staged at the Madhya Pradesh Academy in Bhopal, Simranpreet Kaur Brar won the women’s and junior gold medals with a score of 551.

The results:

25m sports pistol: Junior men: 1. Shiva Narwal 590; 2. Mayank Choudhary 583; 3. Abhinav Choudhary 582.

50m free pistol: Women: 1. Simranpreet Kaur Brar 551; 2. TS Divya 541; 3. Sainyam 540.

Junior women: 1. Simranpreet Kaur Brar 551; 2. Sainyam 540; 3. Nancy Solanki 537.

50m rifle prone: Women: 1. Sift Kaur Samra 627.3; 2. Shriyanka Sadangi 624.7; 3. Manini Kaushik 624.4.

Junior women: 1. Nischal 620.4; 2. Nupur Kumrawat 618.8; 3. Heena Goheii 618.0.

-Kamesh Srinivasan

POLO

Cavalry Gold Cup: Vimal Arion Achievers beat Jindal Panther

Abhimanyu Pathak slotted four goals as Vimal Arion Achievers beat Jindal Panther 6-2 in the final of the Habanos Cavalry Gold Cup polo tournament at the Jaipur Polo ground here on Sunday.

Mare Rufino was adjudged the ‘best polo pony’ of the match.

The results (final): Vimal Arion Achievers 6 (Abhimanyu Pathak 4, Hurr Ali, Daniel Otamendi) bt Jindal Panther 2 (Siddhant Sharma 2).

-Kamesh Srinivasan

KHELO INDIA PARA GAMES

Khelo India Para Games: Ujjwala, the sparrow, named as mascot

The Union Sports Minister Anurag Singh Thakur unveiled mascot for the Khelo India Para Games, Ujjwala, the sparrow, in the Capital on Sunday.

The sparrow is a symbol and pride of Delhi. Its uniqueness portrays determination and empathy. As the mascot, Ujjwala, reminds that strength comes in many forms and human spirit is unbreakable.

The launch was attended by many prominent sportspersons, Pramod Bhagat, Bhavina Patel, Avani Lekhara, Sumit Antil, Rani Rampal, Yogeshwar Dutt, Sarita Mor and Akhil Kumar among others.

The Sports Minister expressed happiness about para games joining the 11 Khelo India Games held so far. He also announced that the budget for Khelo India would be more than Rs.3,300 crore over the next five years.

Pramod Bhagat, the gold medallist in the Tokyo Paralympics lauded it as the most significant initiative of Khelo India.

The Khelo India Para Games, scheduled from December 10 to 17, is expected to have more than 1400 athletes from across the country, competing in athletics, shooting, archery, football, badminton, table tennis and weightlifting at the Nehru Stadium, Dr. Karni Singh shooting Range in Tughlakabad and the Indira Gandhi Stadium.

cc

HOCKEY

Nehru women’s hockey tournament: SAI, Bhopal defeats NCOE, SAI Sonipat

A goal each from Sumita and Deepali helped Sports Authority of India (SAI), Bhopal, to a 2-1 victory over National Centre of Excellence (NCOE), SAI, Delhi in a league match of the SNBP 2nd Nehru women’s hockey tournament at the Shivaji Stadium here on Sunday.

The results (league):

National Centre of Excellence (NCOE) SAI, Sonipat, 6 (Nidhi 2, Ritika Mann, Kanika Siwach, Manisha, Ravina) bt Bhilai XI 0.

SAI, Bhopa, 2 (Sumita, Deepali) bt NCOE, SAI, Delhi 1 (Prabhleen Kaur).

-Kamesh Srinivasan

Northern India squash c’ship: Aditya Prakash goes past Haris Khan

Aditya Prakash fought his way past Haris Khan 11-7, 9-11, 11-8, 9-11, 11-6 in the under-19 boys first round of the Northern India squash championship at the Delhi Gymkhana Club courts.

The results :

Under-19 boys (first round): Sujal Pathak bt Ranvir Singh 11-4, 7-11, 11-8, 11-3; Aditya Prakash bt Haris Khan 11-7, 9-11, 11-8, 9-11, 11-6; Robin Saxena bt Gautham Das 11-7, 11-7, 11-3.

Under-15 girls (first round): Palak Kumar bt Vani Bisht 11-2, 7-11, 13-11, 12-10; Gargi Arya bt Telluri Agnes 11-5, 11-2, 11-2.

-Kamesh Srinivasan

ARCHERY

Archery Nationals: Ojas Deotale and Aditi Swami emerge on top in qualification

World champions Ojas Deotale and Aditi Swami emerged as the top men and women archers in the compound qualification round of the National archery championships at Ayodhya on Sunday.

Top 25 male archers breached the 700 mark.

The results: Compound: Qualification round:

Men: 1. Ojas Deotale (Mah) 713, 2. Prathamesh Fuge (Mah) 713, 3. Priyansh (Del) 712, 4. Prathamesh Jawkar (Mah) 710, 5. Kunderu Venkatadri (AP) 709, 6. Rajat Chauhan (AIP) 708, 7. Chirag Vidyarthi (MP) 708, 8. Abhishek Verma (Del) 707, 9. Rishabh Yadav (Har) 706, 10. Hritik Sharma (JK) 706.

Women: 1. Aditi Swami (Mah) 709, 2. Taniparthi Chikitha (Tel) 705, 3. Sakshi Chaudhary (UP) 700, 4. Parneet Kaur (Pun) 699, 5. Avneet Kaur (Pun) 699, 6. Purvasha Shende (Mah) 698, 7. Srishti Singh (MP) 697, 8. Priya Gurjar (Raj) 696, 9. Akshita (Del) 694, 10. Pragati (Del) 694.

-Y. B. Sarangi

BOXING

Boxing Nationals 2023: Sachin defeats Vishal

Former World youth champion and Asian bronze medallist Sachin Siwach Junior recorded a comprehensive 5-0 victory over Vishal Kumar to begin his campaign in style at the National boxing championships at the SAI Indoor Hall in Shillong on Sunday.

Three-time champion Varinder Singh won his second victory to reach the pre-quarterfinals.

Important results (preliminary rounds):

48kg: Umar Shaikh (Mah) bt Mohd. Askin (AIP) 5-0, Rohit (DNH) bt Ankit Saini (JK) 4-3, Daksh Chouhan (Cht) bt Atchutha Rao (AP) 4-1; 51kg: Gourav Mazumdar (Asm) bt Donaald Winston (Tel) 4-3, Krishna Rai (Sik) bt Himanshu Singh (Utk) 4-1; 54kg: Anat Chopade (RSPB) bt Anubhav Pradhan (DNH) RSC-R2; 57kg: Roshan Saini (Raj) bt Raman (DNH) 5-2, Ashish Kumar (HP) bt Kingson (Man) 5-2; Sachin Siwach Jr. (SSCB) bt Vishal Kumar (Pun) 5-0; 60kg: Varinder Singh (RSPB) bt Vishal Nupe (Mah) 5-0, Harsh (AIP) bt Himnashu (DNH) 5-0; 63.5kg: Vanshaj (SSCB) bt Ashish (AIP) 5-0; 67kg: Rajat (SSCB) bt Abhishek Kumar (UP) 5-0; 71kg: Sahil Chauhan (Har) bt Chander Mohan (HP) 5-0; 75kg: Ishmeet Singh (RSPB) bt Kapil Sharma (MP) 3-2, Akshay (Chd) bt Kunal (AIP) 5-0.

-Y. B. Sarangi