Indian sports wrap, October 22: Diksha Dagar wins Hero Shot skills challenge

GOLF

Diksha Dagar wins Hero Shot skills challenge

Two-time Olympian Diksha Dagar won the Hero Shot skills challenge in Gurugram on Tuesday, beating seven challengers who will line up for the Women’s Indian Open.

Dagar came through the quarterfinals in second place with 175 points behind England’s Alice Hewson, who scored an impressive 300 points in the challenge that needed participants to put the ball as close to the pin on the 18th hole with three scoring circles around the flag hitting from 80 yards out.

Spain’s Nuria Iturrioz, with 165 points, and Tvesa Malik were the two others to enter the semifinals at the expense of Hitaashee Bakshi, former champion Christine Wolf of Austria and another past winner, Caroline Hedwall of Sweden.

Diksha and Tvesa then won the semifinals over Hewson and Iturrioz with the distance increased to 100 yards before the final that was set from 110 yards.

In the final, two-time Ladies European Tour winner Dagar got the better of Tvesa.

-PTI

SWIMMING

Karnataka wins National Para-Swimming Championships team title

Karnataka secured the overall title with an impressive 392 points at the 24th National Para-Swimming Championships which concluded here on Tuesday.

Maharashtra finished second with 378 points, while Rajasthan took the third spot with 248 points.

The event witnessed participation of 518 swimmers from 28 states, with 360 men and 158 women competing across various categories. Remarkably, 231 of the participants were first-time competitors.

In the individual categories, Mohammed Aasim of Kerala emerged as the men’s senior champion, showcasing his exceptional skills in the pool. Ravi Karthik of Andhra Pradesh won the men’s junior title, while Revansh of Haryana triumphed in the men’s sub-junior category.

In the women’s division, Karnataka’s Sharanya clinched the women’s senior title. Maharashtra’s Saee Pujair won the women’s junior championship and Abha Ganesh took home the women’s sub-junior title.

-PTI

PICKLEBALL

PWR700 event to be held in Delhi from October 24

Around 750 amateur and pro players are set to compete in the India Masters, a PWR700 event, at the DLTA Complex here from October 24, the organisers announced on Tuesday.

It will be first tournament in India, fully owned and operated event by Pickleball World Rankings (PWR) following the successful launch of the PWR World Tour in July 2024 in Dubai, UAE.

The participants include top international players such as Dustin Boyer (United States), Phuc Huynh (United States), Roos Van Reek (Netherlands), Mitch Hargreaves (Australia), Emilia Schmidt (Australia), Pei Chuan Kao (Chinese Taipei), as well as leading Indian players like Armaan Bhatia and Aditya Ruhela.

They will compete for a prize pool of USD 50,000.

-PTI