Indian sports wrap, January 15: Kickstart and Gokulam Kerala’s search for first win continues after 1-1 draw
FOOTBALL
IWL 2024-25: Kickstart and Gokulam Kerala play out 1-1 draw
Kickstart FC and Gokulam Kerala FC were left hunting for their maiden victory in the 2024-25 Indian Women’s League campaign after they had to settle for a hard-fought 1-1 draw at the Bangalore Football Stadium on Wednesday.
Sanju gave hosts Kickstart FC an early lead before Fazila Ikwaput cancelled the strike in the 36th minute.
The action commenced swiftly, with Kickstart FC seizing the early initiative on their home ground. It took the lead in the sixth minute when a well-executed free-kick drifted over the Gokulam defence to find Sanju. The defender demonstrated excellent poise and positioning to slot the ball into the net.
As the first half progressed, the Malabarians gradually found their footing, orchestrated by the dynamic Fazila Ikwaput. Known for her pace and incisive runs, Ikwaput became increasingly influential on the flanks. Her efforts bore fruit in the 36th minute when she latched onto a through ball, outpacing the Kickstart defenders. With the host goalkeeper Maibam Linthoingambi Devi advancing to cut down the angle, Ikwaput remained composed and placed the ball home calmly into the back of the net to restore parity.
The equaliser set the stage for a tense second half, with both teams adopting a more measured approach to avoid conceding further. Gokulam Kerala nearly claimed the lead when Ikwaput, continuing her impressive performance, dashed down the right and set up Catherine Amo Aringo. However, Aringo’s strike rattled the woodwork, denying Gokulam a late winner.
-PTI
CRICKET
Gujarat Titans kicks off second season of ‘Junior Titans’
Following the success of its inaugural season, Gujarat Titans announced the second season of ‘Junior Titans’ in Ahmedabad on Wednesday, its initiative to nurture a passion for outdoor sports among children under 14.
Junior Titans events will be held in five cities of Gujarat: Ahmedabad, Junagadh, Bhavnagar, Bharuch, and Palanpur.
La Liga will conduct football workshops at these events where the league’s expert technical coaches will offer young talents a chance to learn from the best in the field.
This edition, ‘Junior Titans’ will include participation from around 25 schools in each city, including 10 private schools and 5 government schools. In addition to the schools, 5 NGOs will participate.
TENNIS
ITF: Riya Bhatia battles past Japan’s Eri Shimizu in first round
Riya Bhatia emerged the only Indian to reach the singles second round in the ITF women’s tennis tournament in Delhi on Wednesday.
| Photo Credit:
Kamesh Srinivasan
Riya Bhatia emerged the only Indian to reach the singles second round in the ITF women’s tennis tournament in Delhi on Wednesday.
| Photo Credit:
Kamesh Srinivasan
Riya Bhatia battled for three hours to beat Eri Shimizu of Japan 7-6(3), 2-6, 7-5 in the first round of the $40,000 ITF women’s tennis tournament at the DLTA Complex on Wednesday.
Riya kept hitting her shots with intensity and stayed strong in the long rallies to beat the gutsy Japanese. In doing so, Riya emerged the only Indian player to make the second round among seven.
Karman Kaur Thandi, returning to the professional circuit after more than a year, did look strong, but was understandably rusty as she went down 4-6, 1-6 to the second seed Panna Udvardy of Hungary.
Ankita Raina fought hard but was unable to win more than four games against Laura Samson of the Czech Republic.
Vaishnavi Adkar had her chances but was unable to convert them as she gave a good account of her explosive game while being beaten 7-6(3), 6-2 by the sixth seed Dalila Jakupovic of Slovenia.
Two-time National champion Vaidehi Chaudhari put up a good fare against seventh seed Tatiana Prozorova in eking out eight games.
The results (first round):
Darja Semenistaja (Lat) bt Maria Ramirez (Mex) 6-3, 6-1; Ekaterina Maklakova bt Georgia Craciun (Rou) 7-5, 6-1; Naho sato (Jpn) bt Alice Robbe (Fra) 6-3, 6-3; anastasia Tikhonova bt Giorgia Pedone (Ita) 6-2, 6-2; Priska Nugroho (Ina) bt Laura Pigossi (Bra) 6-3, 6-0; Maria kozyreva bt Shrivalli Bhamidipaty 6-1, 6-3; Tian Fangran (Chn) bt Akanksha Nitture 6-0, 6-1; Tatiana Prozorova bt Vaidehi Chaudhari 6-4, 6-4; Dalila Jakupovic (Slo) bt Vaishnavi Adkar 7-6(3), 6-2; alevtina Ibragimova bt Alana Smith (USA) 6-3, 6-1; Riya Bhatia bt Eri Shimizu (Jpn) 7-6(3), 2-6, 7-5; Yuriko Miyazaki (GBR) bt Saki Imamura (Jpn) 6-3, 6-7(14), 6-3; Tina Smith (Aus) bt Daria Kudashova 7-5, 6-4; Laura Samson (Cze) bt Ankita Raina 6-1, 6-3; Mei Yamaguchi (Jpn) bt Anastasiia Gureva 6-2, 6-2; Panna Udvardy (Hun) bt Karman Kaur Thandi 6-4, 6-1.
– Team Sportstar
ITF juniors: Maaya Rajeshwaran eases past Eva Desvignes in pre-quarters
Maaya Rajeshwaran sustained her strong game to ease past Eva Desvignes of France 6-3, 6-2 in the girls pre-quarterfinals of the ITF junior tennis tournament at the CLTA Complex on Wednesday.
In the quarterfinals, the champion of the last tournament in Delhi, Maaya will play qualifier Antonina Sushkova of Ukraine.
In the boys section, Arjun Rathi went down 4-6, 5-7 to the top seed and champion of the last tournament Donghyun Hwang of Korea. Hitesh Chauhan lost in three sets to Ruslan Kastsiukevich.
The results (pre-quarterfinals):
Under-18 boys: Donghyun Hwang (Kor) bt Arjun Rathi 6-4, 7-5; Emanuel Ivanisevic (Cro) bt Damir Zhalgasbay (Kaz) 6-4, 6-4; Erasyl Bakhtiyar (Kaz) bt Ilya Maltsev 6-4, 6-4; Alexey Shibaev bt Aaron Gabet (Fra) 6-3, 6-4; Artem Bogomolov bt Kandhavel Mahalingam 6-4, 6-3; Rustan Kastsiukevich bt Hitesh Chauhan 4-6, 6-2, 6-2; Roman Kharlamov bt Kuan-Huai Mao (Tpe) 6-1, 6-0; Kerem Yilmaz (Tur) bt Hyeon Seok Seo (Kor) 6-2, 6-1.
Under-18 girls: Miku Kitaoka (Jpn) bt Yoana Konstantinova (Bul) 6-0, 1-0 (retired); Daria Koreshkova bt Anna Perelman 6-3,4 -6, 6-4; Masa Jankovic (Srb) bt Ekaterina Tupitsyna 6-3, 6-3; Albina Kakenova (Kaz) bt Manon Favier (Fra) 6-3, 7-5; Maaya Rajeshwaran bt Eva Desvignes (Fra) 6-3, 6-2; Antonina Sushkova (Ukr) bt Polina Berezina 4-6, 6-2, 2-0 (retired); Yuka Naito (Jpn) bt Yu-Chen Lin (Tpe) 7-5, 6-3; Polina Kuharenko bt Eva Korysheva 0-0 (retired).
– Team Sportstar