Indian sports wrap, October 6: Diksha misses cut, team finishes 12th at Aramco Series

GOLF

Diksha misses cut at Aramco

India’s Diksha Dagar endured another disappointing day with a four-over 77 to miss the cut at the Aramco Team Series.

After a 76 in the first round, the Indian needed a low round to make the cut, but it just did not happen as she had only one birdie against five bogeys, four of which were on the backstretch of the course.

Diksha’s team also finished 12th and her teammates were Moa Folke, Xinyu Cao and Ding. The highlight was Folke pulling off a hole-in-one on the Par-3 eighth hole.

In the Individual competition, China’s Xiyu Lin and France’s Celine Boutier were tied at the top of the leaderboard on 12-under-par.

Defending champion Lin fired another round of 67 (-6) with seven birdies and one bogey on her scorecard to have a great chance of keeping the Individual trophy with her.

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Five-time LET winner Boutier followed up her first round of 66 (-7) with a bogey-free 68 (-5) on day two to join the Olympic bronze medallist at the top of the leaderboard.

China’s Wenbo Liu was in outright third place on nine-under-par after carding a 68 (-5) in the second round.

Six players are in a share of fourth place on eight-under-par including France’s Pauline Roussin-Bouchard who fired the round of the day with a 66 (-7).

Team Tamburlini secured a one-stroke victory winning with a total of 37-under-par in the Team event.

The quartet of Switzerland’s Chiara Tamburlini, South Africa’s Lee-Anne Pace, China’s Qianhui Lin and amateur Yanxuan Peng began the day in second place on -19 on the World Cup Course.

It came down to the final hole, where the captain Tamburlini rolled in her birdie putt to spark celebrations on the green. Pace was on a winning team in the Team event for the first time.

Team Boutier pushed the winners all the way, finishing in second place on 36-under-par after producing back-to-back rounds of -18 in China. Team Angel Yin were third on 34-under.

The cut fell at +2 with 65 players making it through to the final round of action at Mission Hills China.

-Press Trust of India

Rashid shoots 68 in first round, lies tied fourth in Taiwan

India’s Rashid Khan, a two-time winner on the Asian Tour, shot four-under 68 after waiting for two days for action to begin at the weather-hit Mercuries Taiwan Masters at Taiwan Golf & Country Club.

He was lying at T-4, while S Chikkarangappa (69) was T-9. SSP Chawrasia and Karandeep Kochhar with 70 each were T-17. Varun Chopra (71) was T-27, while Yuvraj Sandhu (72) and T-Gaganjeet Bhullar (73) were T-60. Ajeetesh Sandhu (79) was T-116.

Trevor Simsby (US), Jaco Ahlers (South Africa) and Chonlatit Chuenboonngam of Thailand shared the lead with 67 each.

Five players including Rashid Khan were tied fourth.

-Press Trust of India

MOTORSPORT

Mumbai’s Badal Doshi shone in the fourth round of the FMSCI Indian National Rally Sprint Championship for two-wheelers, clinching victories in both the premier open and privateer classes here.

In the Open up to 550cc class, Doshi clocked an impressive 4:35.600 to claim victory, followed by Amarendra Sathe in second place with a time of 4:55.800, and Abhishek Pardeshi (4:59.600).

Doshi also excelled in the privateer up to 550cc class, finishing first with a time of 4:37.600 to make it a double.

The scooter (up to 210cc) category saw Syed Asif Ali emerge victorious, completing the course in 5:02.900.

Muzaffir Ali (5:11.900) and Shamim Khan (5:13.800) took the second and third places respectively.

In the veterans above 50Y class, Amarendra Sathe took the top honors with a time of 4:54.600, followed by MD Saeed (5:11.100) in second and Mohan Sethiya (5:47.000) in third.

The event also featured the support sprint rally for local participants.

In the 131cc up to 165cc class, Mohd Yasir Ishaq clinched first place with a time of 4:40.500, ahead of Ali Subur (4:52.000) and Arhman Mohd Khan (4:54.500).

Sheikh Altamas dominated the 166cc up to 260cc class, posting a time of 5:12.900, while Naved Khan (5:16.900) and Amir Ahmd Khan (5:19.000) rounded out the podium.

In the ladies up to 260cc category, Anamta Khan secured first place with a time of 9:02.300, followed by Pooja Singh in second at 9:55.800.

Meanwhile, in the scooter up to 210cc class, Syed Abu Bakkar won with a time of 5:47.100, with Ali Subur (5:58.000) and Subhan Khan (6:30.000) completing the podium.

The next round will be in Guwahati November 24 before concluding with the finals in Pune or Bangalore on December 14-15.

-Press Trust of India

RUGBY

India women bag silver in Asia Rugby Sevens

The Indian women’s rugby team clinched a silver after going down to Philippines 5-7 in the final of the Asia Rugby Emirates Sevens Trophy in Kathmandu.

The Shikha Yadav-led side reached the summit clash after thrashing Guam 24-7 in the semifinal to top the table.

In the league round, India had stamped its authority, outclassing Sri Lanka 29–10 and Indonesia 17-10. The tournament was held over Friday and Saturday.

Expressing pride in the team’s silver medal performance, Indian skipper Shikha said the side would strive for gold in future competitions, while also thanking coach Waisale Serevi and the support staff.

“Winning the silver again is special, but the team is eager to continue the work that each player has been putting in, to convert the colour of this medal to gold,” Shikha said in a release.

“Personally, I am extremely proud of the way the team has played against formidable sides and has showcased great character at a stage as big as this.

“This is the most important event of the year for the team and we will come home knowing that we gave it our absolute best. We thank our head coach Waisale Serevi and the entire supporting staff for this medal,” she added.

-Press Trust of India