Indian Sports Wrap, May 25: Boxer Pawan Bartwal storms into quarterfinals at Thailand Open

BOXING

Thailand Open: Bartwal storms into quarterfinals

Indian boxer Pawan Bartwal stormed into the quarterfinals of the men’s 55kg category at the 4th Thailand Open International Boxing Tournament with a commanding 5-0 win over Cambodia’s Sao Rangsey in Bangkok on Sunday.

Bartwal, a National Championship silver medallist, dominated the bout with superior ring craft and tactical maturity, securing his second consecutive win in the tournament.

Hailing from Syupuri village in Uttarakhand, Pawan started cautiously, dodging early swings and waiting for his moment before landing a sharp punch to the face of his rival that set the tone.

The 26-year-old repeatedly pinned his opponent in the corners, and a brilliant bob-and-weave move midway through the second round opened the door for another clean strike.

With tight defence and calculated aggression, he kept Rangsey on the back foot and sealed a unanimous decision.

India has fielded a 19-member squad in the prestigious tournament, organised under the aegis of the World Boxing-backed Asian body, and featuring top boxers from China, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, South Korea and hosts Thailand.

– PTI

SHOOTING

Junior World Cup: India bags double podium finish in 10M air rifle mixed team event 

India bagged a silver and bronze in the 10M air rifle mixed team event at the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) Junior World Cup in Suhl, Germany, on Sunday.

It was India’s second double podium finish in the tournament in two days.

Naraen Pranav and Khyaty Chaudhary won silver while Himanshu and Shambhavi Kshirsagar clinched bronze, as India’s medals tally reached double figures (two gold, four silver, four bronze) with two more finals coming up on the final day on Monday.

The pair of Khyaty and Naraen shot 631.0 in the 38-team qualifying round to finish second and earn a shot at gold against the crack Chinese pair of Huang Yuting (Olympic champion in the event, double Olympic medalist and senior air rifle world champion) and Huang Liwanlin (the junior air rifle world champion), who topped the field with a combined 632.6.

The Indians fought valiantly in the final, levelling things back every time the Chinese threatened to pull away and did so right till the end over 14 series of single shots, going into the 15th series tied honourably at 14 points apiece.

The Chinese won the 15th by 0.5 to get to 16 points first and take gold.

Himanshu and Shambhavi, who had finished fourth in qualifying with 629.5 to make the bronze medal match, were down 1-7 at one stage against the American pair of Griffin Lake and Elijah Spencer.

With a medal threatening to slip away, they responded with ferocity to go 13-7 up. The Americans could win just one more series as the Indians sealed it 17-9 to win comfortably in the end.

Shambhavi and Ojasvi Thakur had finished 1-2 in the women’s air rifle on Saturday, to give India their first double podium finish in the tournament.

The trap finals were also slated for later in the day. However, no Indian will be featuring in the event. The women had already finished outside the top six cut while the men were also far below the cut line.

– PTI

GOLF

Aditi Ashok plays another even par round in Mexico

Aditi Ashok played her third consecutive even par round of 72 to lie tied 31st at the Mexico Riviera Maya Open.

The third round was a roller coaster as Aditi began her day on the front nine picking up birdies on the third and fifth holes before she dropped the shots with bogeys on the eighth and ninth.

On the back nine, the Indian picked up a shot on the 11th hole only to drop it on the 12th, something she repeated on the 15th and 16th holes as she made birdie on the 15th and followed it with a bogey on the 16th.

Aditi is still chasing her first top 30 finish of the season, with her best finish being a tied 31st at the Black Desert Championship.

Second day leader Jenny Bae continues to hold onto the lead by one shot after the third round.

– PTI

Danish Golf Challenge: Saptak Talwar slips in third round

India’s Saptak Talwar endured a tough third round, carding a three-over 75 to slip to tied-71st at the Danish Golf Challenge on the Hotel Planner Tour.

Talwar, who shot 73-69 in the first two rounds, had three birdies, four bogeys and a double bogey in the third round.

Scotsman Calum Fyfe will take a three stroke lead going into the final round after carding a four under par third round of 68 at Bogense Golf Club.

The Scotsman, who started the day two shots clear of Sweden’s Per Längfors, made five birdies and dropped one shot on moving day to get to 17 under par for the tournament.

Denmark’s Jonathan Gøth-Rasmussen posted a six-under par 66 to move into solo second.

– PTI