Indian sports wrap, March 31: Adani Invitational golf championship set to begin on April 1

GOLF

Domestic cycle returns with Adani Invitational

After three international events in Kolkata and Gurugram, it will be back to the domestic cycle with the Rs. 1.5 crore Adani Invitational championship teeing off at the Jaypee Greens and Spa Resort in Greater Noida on Tuesday.

The presence of some of the leading players Ajeetesh Sandhu, Om Prakash Chouhan, SSP Chawrasia, Yuvraj Sandhu, Shaurya Bhattacharya, Manu Gandas, Rahil Gangjee, Udayan Mane and M Dharma will make it a very competitive field.

While Yuvraj had won back to back titles in Kolkata and Ahmedabad at the start of the season, Shaurya won the Chhattisgarh Open in New Raipur. Sri Lankan N Thangaraja won the last event in Ahmedabad. It could be a new champion this time.

With 126 players in the field, the opening round has been scheduled for a 7 a.m. start.

With Kapil Dev as the president of the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) along with Amandeep Johl as the CEO, there is a constant attempt to have more events and enhanced prize money for a better golf ecosystem in the country.

After the intimidating experience in the challenging course at the DLF during the Hero Indian Open last week, the players would be breathing a lot easier and look for much better scores over the next four days.

– Kamesh Srinivasan

SQUASH

The JSW Indian Open in Mumbai, which concluded on March 28, with Anahat Singh being crowned as the champion in the women’s draw, has set the ball rolling as an exciting few years are coming up for squash in India.

The Inspire Institute of Sports and JSW Sports, in association with the Squash Rackets Federation of India, announced a landmark MoU that guarantees three years of world-class squash action on home soil. The MoU was formally signed by Mr. N Ramachandran, Patron of SRFI, and Mr. Parth Jindal, Founder & Director of Inspire Institute of Sport and JSW Sports, on the sidelines of the JSW Indian Open.

Across the next three years, there will be three PSA Squash Copper tournaments in India, with Mumbai, New Delhi, and Chennai expected to play host. Not only tournaments, the partnership will also see the best high-performance coaches from around the world work with the Indian players.

With 6 players in the top 100 world ranking, it is a shot in the arm for Indian squash as it prepares to go toe to toe with the best in the world in the run up to, and at the Los Angeles 2028 Summer Olympics.

-Team Sportstar