Indian sports wrap, April 17: All Indians in action make quarterfinals of Squash World Championship Asia qualifiers

SQUASH

Tanvi Khanna, Anahat Singh in quarterfinals

Indian squash player Tanvi Khanna caused a major upset, defeating top seed N Ching Cheng of Hong Kong in the opening round of the World Championship Qualifying Event (Asia) in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday.

Tanvi, ranked 134th in the world defeated the Hong Kong player, ranked 76th, 3-1 (11-7 11-8 8-11 12-10) to book a place in the quarterfinals .She will take on Helen Tang of Hong Kong (World rank 97) in the last-eight.

In another opening round match, leading India player Anahat Singh (No. 63) easily defeated Philippines’ lower-ranked Jemyca Aribado (No. 126) 3-0 (11-4 11-5 11-7). Anahat will take on Japanese opponent Akari Midorikawa in the quarterfinals.

Second seeded Akanksha Salunkhe (No. 70) overcame Japan’s lower-ranked Risa Sugimoto 3-0 (11-4 11-3 11-8) to set up a quarterfinal clash against sixth seed Wai Yhann Au Yeong of Singapore.

In men’s competition, Veer Chotrani, ranked 63rd in the world, defeated lower-ranked Malaysian rival Ong Sai Hung 3-0 (11-7 11-8 14-12) to enter the quarterfinal. He will meet another Malaysian Mohammad Syafiq Kamal in the last-eight.

– PTI

GOLF

Tapendra takes four-shot lead in Calance Open

Tapendra Ghai shot the best score of the third round, an eight-under 62, to take a four-shot lead at 17-under 193 in the Rs. 1 crore Calance Open at the Qutab Golf Course on Thursday.

The 29-year-old Tapendra had nine birdies and a bogey on the 14th. It was a great recovery for Tapendra who had a joint lead in the first round with six-under 64, on the par-70 course.

Tapendra Ghai shot 8-under 62 in the third round to jump to a four-shot lead in the Calance Open golf in Delhi on Thursday.
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“I started well with singles putts on the first eight holes. I also managed to close it out with birdies on the last three. I made a lot more putts than in the first round,” said Tapendra, who had spent three years on the course as a junior before it was re-designed.

Honey Baisoya, Pukhran Singh Gill and Yuvraj Sandhu were joint second at 13-under 193, following scores of 65, 66 and 67 respectively in the third round.

The overnight leader, Kshitij Naveed Kaul, who had shot a course record 10-under 60 in the second round, had a tough time, and returned a card of three-over 73 that put him joint 10th with Gaurav Pratap Singh. The latter shot identical 67 in all three rounds.

– Kamesh Srinivasan