Indian sports wrap, October 21: Barath Manoharan triumphs in India’s inaugural FEI CSI 2 tournament

EQUESTRIAN

Barath Manoharan triumphs in India’s inaugural FEI CSI 2 tournament

Barath Manoharan claimed victory in India’s inaugural FEI Concours Saut International 2* (CSI 2*) Two-Phase competition, held at the Surge Stable in Bangalore. On Day 3 of the event, Barath rode Qina to a remarkable win, completing the 135 cm course in just 36.03 seconds.

In a thrilling contest for the top spot, he narrowly surpassed Kirat Nagra, who finished second on Little Joe with a time of 37.29 seconds. Kirat, who had also secured a podium finish on Day 1, demonstrated consistent excellence throughout the competition. M Krishna Sahithi, riding Asca IX Z, took third place with a time of 39.74 seconds. Barath’s victory earned him Rs 3,50,000, while Kirat and Sahithi received Rs 2,70,000 and Rs 2,02,500, respectively. The Grand Prix competition, scheduled for later that day, was canceled due to inclement weather.

In the FEI CSI Junior event, Jaiveer Verma emerged victorious, executing a flawless jump-off round on Gianninaa to defeat Jai Singh Sabharwal, who had dominated the first two days. Jai, riding Elliot De Vesquerie, incurred penalties, reversing the standings from Day 2, where Jaiveer had placed second. Neil Kendall, riding Connecticut 16, secured third place, surpassing Day 2’s bronze medalist, Avik Bhatia on BB’s Nirvair. The top three riders in the Junior category received Rs 87,750, Rs 70,200, and Rs 52,260, respectively.

In the Children’s category, Aradhana Anand continued her winning streak, securing first place on Democratic for the second consecutive day. Harshvardhan Singh Gulia, riding Lady Kanan, finished second on Day 3, while Aagastya Sharma on Porto Bello took third place for both Day 2 and Day 3. Sresht Raju Mantena had finished second on Day 2, riding Dancing Queen 221. The winners in this category also received cash prizes, with Aradhana taking home approximately Rs 68,000.

-Team Sportstar

HOCKEY

Nehru junior tournament: Round Glass Hockey Academy outplays Lakshmi Narayan High School 9-1

Arjandeep Singh scored a hattrick as Round Glass Hockey Academy outplayed Lakshmi Narayan High School, Khunti, Jharkhand, 9-1 in a super league match of the Kanwarji 52nd Nehru junior hockey tournament at the Shivaji Stadium in New Delhi on Monday.

Sukhdev Singh (2) was the other main scorer for the Round Glass team, which responded sharply after Abhay Topno had put the Jharkhand team ahead.

-Team Sportstar

BASKETBALL

Hansraj Prabhakar tournament: Shumalaya shines in Apex Public School’s win over Mamta Modern School

Shumalaya continued to excel as she scored 25 points, guiding Apex Public School to a 56-45 victory over Mamta Modern School in the under-17 girls semifinals of the 35th Hansraj Prabhakar basketball tournament at the Oxford School courts in Vikaspuri, New Delhi, on Monday.

Sharanya kept Mamta in the fight with 20 points.

-Team Sportstar

BRIDGE

Vinay Desai to spearhead India campaign at World Bridge Games

A strong Indian contingent, led by Vinay Desai, will compete in all four categories of the 16th World Bridge Games to be held in Buenos Aires from October 22 till November 3.

The contingent comprises several stalwarts, including 2018 Asian Games gold medallist in men’s pairs Pranab Bardhan (seniors), Raju Tolani and Jaggy Shivdasani (Open category), among others.

A total of 34 countries are in the fray in the ‘Open’ section, while in the women’s section, there are 24 nations.

An all-play-all round-robin will take place in Stage 1 with the qualifying teams to play in the round-of-16 knockout round.

The competitions will be held in ‘Open’, seniors, women’s and mixed categories.

India will take on Canada in the Group B opener in the ‘Open’ category, while in the senior section, they will square off against Turkey. The Indian women will play Brazil in the opener, while in the mixed section, they will compete against Germany.

The last time South America hosted the competition was in 2009 when it was organised in Sao Paulo.

The tournament is held every four years and every country can enter their team, without any pre-qualification.

The qualification round will conclude on October 26, with the round of 16 scheduled on October 28. The finals and playoffs will be held on November 2-3.

Indian teams:

Open — Sanjit Dey, Ajay Khare, Binod Kumar Shaw, Jaggy Shivdasani, Sandeep Thakral, Raju Tolani, Vinay Desai (captain).

Seniors — Arun Bapat, Pranab Kumar Bardhan, Badal Chandra Das, Ravi Goenka, Kamal Krishna Mukherjee, Vibhas Todi, Girish Bijoor (captain).

Women — Puja Batra, Devi Muthu Bhatnagar, Bharati Dey, Alka Jain, Alka Kshirsagar, Asha Sharma, Anal Shah (captain).

Mixed: Himani Khandelwal, Rajeev Khandelwal, Bindiya Kohli, Kiran Nadar, Thondiculam Venkatraman Ramani, Bachiraju Satyanarayana, Vinay Desdai (captain).

-PTI

PARA SWIMMING

Para Swimming Nationals: Karnataka’s Simran and Sharanaya win a gold each

Karnataka’s Simran and Sharanaya claimed gold medals in the women’s 50m backstroke S6 and S7 categories respectively on the second day of the National Para Swimming Championship in Panaji on Monday.

Simran clinched the gold with a time of 1:00.35, while Kabita of Odisha and Gajapriya of Tamil Nadu took the silver and bronze respectively in the 50m backstroke S6 class.

Sharanaya claimed another gold for the state in the 50m backstroke S7 category with a time of 1:01.46, while Dimple of Rajasthan and Pankaja of Karnataka completed the podium.

In the S8 category, Rajasthan’s Puran dominated with a gold-winning time of 56.69, with Towfika of West Bengal and Vaishnavi of Maharashtra taking second and third places.

The S9 category saw Kiran of Rajasthan triumph with a strong finish with 52.18, while Bhanumati of Odisha and Sahid of West Bengal claimed silver and bronze.

In the men’s events, Kerala’s Tomy Joseph secured gold in the S11 category of the 50m backstroke event with an impressive time of 54.45, followed by Ranjan Kumar of Odisha and Munna of Delhi.

In the S12 category, West Bengal’s Biswajit took home the gold, with Rajasthan’s Bhagirath and Ganesh earning silver and bronze respectively.

The women’s S11 category saw Maharashtra’s Kanchanmala shine with a gold-winning performance of 52.69, while Tamil Nadu’s Eswari and Rajasthan’s Yeshu took silver and bronze.

The 100m breaststroke event also provided thrilling races.

In the men’s SB 4 category, Herojit Singh of Services won gold with a time of 2:22.15, while Odisha’s Narahari and Haryana’s Daulat followed in second and third.

The SB 5 category witnessed Andhra Pradesh’s Lakshamana Rao securing the top spot with a time of 2:05.47, followed by Maharashtra’s Chaitanya Vishwas and Rajasthan’s Om Prakash.

-PTI

OTHER SPORTS

India to host Special Olympics Asia Pacific Bocce & Bowling Competition next month

Over 250 athletes from 15 countries will be vying for honours when India hosts the Special Olympics Asia Pacific Bocce & Bowling Competition for the first time here from November 18 to 23.

In the lead-up to this prestigious event, Shivani, who clinched three gold medals at the Special Olympics World Games in Berlin last year, has been named the athlete ambassador.

Athletes from regions including East Asia, Europe Eurasia, and Asia Pacific will participate, with countries like Australia, Bangladesh, Macau, Thailand, Hong Kong, Philippines, Indonesia, Myanmar, Uzbekistan, and Singapore.

The competition will focus on older athletes with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), aged 22 and above.

While the women’s team has been finalised, the men’s team selection is still underway. Events will include singles, doubles, mixed, and team formats.

In the lead-up to the competition, a ‘Run for Inclusion’ event is scheduled for November 9, alongside a health summit on November 18 which will address issues faced by IDD athletes. A carnival featuring exhibitions will also take place.

Last year, 198 Indian athletes participated in the World Summer Games, returning with an impressive 202 medals, including 76 gold, 75 silver, and 51 bronze.

-PTI