Indian sports wrap, March 7: Vani wins back-to-back titles at Hero Women’s Pro Golf Tour leg, five-day camp in Bengaluru for visually-challenged cricketers

GOLF

Solid Vani makes no mistake on back nine to win second straight title

Vani Kapoor played a perfect back nine with one birdie and eight pars to card 1-under 71 and register a comfortable three-shot win over Ridhima Dilawari (70) and Rhea Jha (73) in the fifth leg of Hero Women’s Pro Golf Tour in Gurugram on Friday.

It was the experienced Vani’s second straight victory, having won the fourth leg last month.

One of the most successful players in the history of WPGT, Vani held at least a share of the lead since day one. The DLF golfer was the sole leader after the first round and then shared the lead after 36 holes with Amandeep Drall and finally cruised to a fine victory at the end of the week.

Vani had rounds of 70-75-71 for an even par 216 over 54 holes and she was three shots clear of Ridhima (76-73-70) and Rhea (74-72-73) at the Classic Golf & Country Club.

Vani, who was in a share of the lead with Amandeep at the start, fell back with a bogey on the first. She recovered with birdies on the third and the sixth and despite dropping a shot on the Par-5 ninth, she was the favourite to add to her tally of titles.

Amandeep and Rhea Jha, who was the third player in the lead group, were both 2-over for the front nine with two bogeys each against no birdies.

Ridhima, with a string of seven pars followed by birdies on the eighth and the ninth, did make a bid but she had just one bogey and one birdie on the 18th on the back stretch which was not enough.

Rhea put herself out of the running with three bogeys in the first 11 holes and even the two birdies on the 15th and the 17th were not enough to make a run for a maiden title.

Amandeep continued to struggle with consistency as she had only three bogeys and no birdies in a round of 75 and she was tied for fourth with Neha Tripathi.

Neha had four each of birdies and bogeys in a 72 that saw her tie for the fourth place with overnight co-leader Amandeep (71-74-75) at 4-over 220.

Four players including Sneha Singh (77-75-70), who won the second and third legs, Kriti Chowhan (78-75-69), Yaalisai Verma (77-72-73) and amateur Ceerat Kang (76-72-74) were tied for the sixth place at 6-over 222.

Kriti’s 3-under 69 on the final day was also the best card of the week.

Lavanya Jadon, Durga Nittur and Gauri Karhade were tied for the 10th place.

Sneha Singh, despite a T-6 finish, stayed on top of the Hero Order of Merit while Vani Kapoor moved to a close second.

Sneha has earnings of Rs. 6,65,567 while Vani has accumulated Rs. 6,54,000 and Amandeep Drall (Rs. 3,95,300) and Kriti Chowhan (Rs. 3,92,934) are locked in a battle for the third place.

-Press Trust of India

Guntas youngest Indian to make cut at WAAP, joins Mannat, Saanvi

Guntas Kaur Sandhu, who took a break from her ninth standard examinations back home, passed a different kind of test, as she became the youngest Indian to make the cut at the elite Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific Championships golf tournament in De Nang, Vietnam.

Guntas, who turned 14 on February 2, is making her debut at the WAAP, which began in 2018.

Playing in extremely windy conditions on a demanding layout, Guntas was often aggressive and played without fear at the picturesque but challenging Hoiana Shores Golf Club.

The tactics paid off for the tall youngster, who is just a month past her 14th birthday, as she shot 73-71 and made the cut comfortably in T-39th place.

Three of the six Indians made the weekend. They were led by Mannat Brar (67-76) who survived a disastrous start and a rough finish to be 1-over in Tied-30th.

The other two were Guntas (73-71) at 2-over in Tied-39th and Saanvi Somu (72-74), playing her second WAAP, was 4-over and on the cutline at T-50.

Mannat opened with a double bogey and a triple bogey in her first two holes and closed with a bogey and a double bogey. In between she had three birdies.

Playing her fourth WAAP, she finally made her first cut. Guntas made the cut on her debut and Saanvi made the weekend for the second straight time.

The other three Indians, Heena Kang (76-73), Zara Anand (76-74) and Kashika Misra (78-79) missed the cut, which fell at 4-over with 52 players making the grade.

Right at the top of the leaderboard was Korea’s Hong Sumin (65-67) at 10-under with Australias Jazy Roberts (66-68) at 8-under tied with Malaysia’s Jeneath Wong (65-69.

World No. 9 amateur Soomin Oh (68-67) at 7-under was fourth.

The most impressive Indian player of the day was Guntas, who has little experience of ‘Links-like’ conditions with strong wind.

“It was so difficult to play in such strong wind, but I loved the challenge,” said Guntas, whose father-cum-caddie, Gurpreet, does not even play golf.

“I started playing golf at the age of about seven and I train with Mahesh Sir in Chandigarh. Feroze Grewal, who I call ‘Mamu’, encouraged me to play golf and he has also played for India.

“The only time I have played in something like this was in Scotland when I played in US Kids European Championships in Under-8 many years ago. I was second runner-up.” When she came to the 14th tee, Guntas was two-over for the round and four-over for the tournament and on the cut line. She played the tough final stretch well for birdies on the Par-3 14th and the Par-5 18th for an even par 71, as less than one-fourth of the field of 94 broke par.

Mannat, who was T-9 after the first day, also showed some remarkable fighting qualities after beginning with a disastrous double-bogey and a triple bogey on her first two holes.

The 18-year-old Pune-based golfer, rallied with a string of six pars and then added birdies on the Par-4 ninth, Par-4 13th and the Par-4 15th.

Just as it seemed she had worked her way back into the Top-20, Mannat was blown away by the wind for a bogey on the sea-facing 17th and finished the 18th with a three-putt for a double bogey.

She finished with 76 but, the reigning All-India Ladies Amateur winner, said she has two more days to make up.

Saanvi (72-74) closed with a birdie on the 18th and then waited for more than four hours to find out her fate as she ultimately squeezed in.

-Press Trust of India

CRICKET

Visually challenged women’s cricketers: Five-day camp in Bengaluru for top performers

The Cricket Association for the Blind in India (CABI) is set to organise a five-day coaching camp for the top 29 women cricketers who delivered outstanding performances in the national championships over the years.

The camp will be held in Bengaluru from March 24 to 28 and will bring together players from across states, including 10-B1 cricketers, 9-B2 cricketers, and 10-B3 cricketers. B1, B2 and B3 are classifications of visually challenged sportspersons ranging from zero to partial visibility.

The camp will provide these cricketers with expert training, mentorship, and performance evaluations conducted by CABI’s panel of coaches and selectors, setting the stage for their future in national and international competitions.

“This camp is more than just training — it is about breaking barriers, nurturing raw talent, and building a future where women’s blind cricket thrives,” said Dr. Mahantesh G Kivadasannavar, the CABI chairman.

“With players coming in from different states, this initiative strengthens the foundation of women’s blind cricket in India and highlights the depth of talent in the sport.”

-Press Trust of India