Indian sports wrap, December 8: India beats Singapore at Asian Women’s Handball Championship

HANDBALL

Asian Women’s Handball Championship: India beats Singapore, eyes best-ever finish

India beat Singapore 35-22 on Sunday at the Asian Women’s Handball Championship (AWHC) 2024 in New Delhi, opening up the opportunity for its best-ever finish at the tournament.

India, which has never finished above sixth in the competition, will face China on December 10 in the 5th/6th place playoff match.

Charged by the backing of their fans, India opened the placement match against Singapore with high energy, leading 9-6 midway through the first half, courtesy of Menika and Bhawana Sharma’s consistent scoring. At the other end, captain Diksha Kumari and goalkeeper Nina Shil–who also saved a penalty and was adjudged Player of the Match–made key saves to keep Singapore at bay. The host maintained its overall dominance on the other side of the interval, securing a comprehensive win.

Speaking on her team’s display in the tournament so far, captain Diksha Kumari said: “Our team has shown incredible spirit and resilience throughout this tournament, whether against Hong Kong, Singapore, Iran, and even Japan. Every match has been a learning experience for us, and we have pushed ourselves to compete with some of the best teams in Asia at our home. Scoring consistently and staying strong defensively, has been our focus, and we’re proud of how we’ve come together as a unit. This journey inspires us to aim higher.”

-Team Sportstar

MORE SPORTS

Asia Pacific Deaf Games: India finishes fifth with eight gold, 18 silver and 29 bronze

The Indian team finished fifth on the medals table with eight gold, 18 silver and 29 bronze in the 10th Asia Pacific Deaf Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The 55 medals were won by the 68-member contingent that was accompanied by 15 coaches and support staff, apart from eight officials.

Of the eight gold, five were won by athletes Vinth Mani, Sandeep Kumar Swami, and Sameeha Barwin Mujib, apart from the 4 x 100 metres women’s relay and 4 x 400 mixed relay teams.

Two other gold medals were won by Sakshi Haridas and Milanmeet Kaur in judo, and one gold came through Sumit Dahiya in wrestling.

The Indian team also won medals in badminton, chess, table tennis and taekwondo.

Iran topped the medals table with 24 gold, 16 silver and 20 bronze.

The secretary general of the All India Sports Council of the Deaf (AISCD), G Suresh Kumar, expressed gratitude to the Union Sports Ministry for the generous funding to ensure participation of the Indian contingent in the Deaf Games that were being held after a nine-year gap.

-Kamesh Srinivasan

POLO

D’Monde Cup: Arion Achievers beats Jindal Panthers

Chris Mackenzie scored five goals to help Vimal Arion Achievers to a 6-5 victory over Jindal Panther in the final of the D’Monde Cup polo tournament at the Jaipur Polo ground here on Sunday.

Vishwarupe Bajaj was adjudged the ‘most valuable player’.

The results (final): Vimal Arion Achievers 6 (Chris Mackenzie 5, Vishwarupe Bajaj) bt Jindal Panther 5 (Siddhant Sharma 4, Simran Shergill).

-Kamesh Srinivasan

TENNIS

Indian team announced for Rod Laver junior challenge

A four-member team of Samarth Sahita, Aradhya Kshitij, Sohini Mohanty and Rishitha Basireddy led by captain Vikram Anand will represent India in the Asia-Oceania Rod Laver Junior Challenge tennis event to be staged at the Winchester Tennis Arena in Singapore from December 16 to 19.

Each match in the tournament will feature two boys singles, two girls singles, one boys doubles, one girls doubles, and a mixed doubles if needed to break the tie.

The champions of the five continents will compete in the World Wide Finals next year.

The Indian team of Manas Dhamne, Rushil Khosla, Sohini Mohanty and Asmi Adkar had won the world wide final last year in San Diego, California.

-Kamesh Srinivasan

WRESTLING

Haryana proved its powerhouse status in women’s wrestling by winning seven of the eight golds on the concluding day of the Senior National Wrestling Championship at the Koramangala Indoor Stadium in Bengaluru on Sunday.

The pick of the results were that of Priya and Radhika in the 76kg and 68kg categories respectively. Priya, 19, a world U-20 champion in 2023 and an Asian U-23 champion this year, dominated 2024 Paris Olympian and Services wrestler Reetika 10-0.

Radhika, 23, a silver medalist at Asian Championships earlier this year, overcame the challenge of Delhi’s Srishti 7-1.

“I entered the competition with only the gold in mind,” said Radhika, who didn’t drop a single point until the final bout. “So I am very happy to have achieved that. My next target is the 2026 Asian Games,” she added.

– N Sudarshan

CUE SPORTS

Atit Shah retains Kerala billiards title

Defending champion Atit B. Shah of Coronation Club defeated Kottayam YMCA’s V.M. Benny 3-0 and completed a hattrick of triumphs in the Kerala State senior billiards title at the Lotus Club in Kochi on Sunday night.

“This was probably one of my easiest finals. And I think this is my seventh or eighth State title,” Atit, a 46-year-old spices businessman from Mattancherry, told The Hindu minutes after the triumph.

“The final did not see any big break…just 30s and 40s.”

The State senior snooker championship is likely to begin later this week.

– Stan Rayan