Indian sports wrap, September 12: Gaganjeet wins inaugural IGPL tournament
ATHLETICS
Ethiopians Jemal Mekonen and defending champion Alemaddis Eyayu headline at Delhi Half Marathon
FILE PHOTO – Ethiopia’s Alemaddis Eyayu in action during Delhi Half Marathon 2024.
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
FILE PHOTO – Ethiopia’s Alemaddis Eyayu in action during Delhi Half Marathon 2024.
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
Defending champion Alemaddis Eyayu, along with her Ethiopian teammate Jemal Mekonen, will headline the 20th edition of the Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon, a World Athletics Gold Label Road Race, scheduled to flag off on Sunday, 12th October 2025.
Jemal Mekonen, a key member of Ethiopia’s victorious team at the 2017 World Cross Country Championships in Kampala, will headline the men’s elite line-up at the Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon. Making his debut on Indian soil, the soon-to-be 29-year-old brings extensive international experience, including multiple sub-60-minute finishes and a personal best of 58:33.
– Team Sportstar
TENNIS
Prajwal Dev advances to semifinals
Prajwal Dev beat Koki Matsuda of Japan 7-6(3), 6-3 in the quarterfinals of the $30,000 ITF men’s tennis tournament in Bali, Indonesia, on Friday.
Prajwal, however, in partnership with Nitin Kumar Sinha, was beaten in the doubles semifinals, by Mitsuki Leong and Koki Matsuda, 10-2 in the super tie-break.
The results:
$160,000 Challenger, Guangzhou, China Doubles (quarterfinals): Petr Bar Biryukov & Marat Sharipov bt Anirudh Chandrasekar & Reese Stalder (USA) 6-3, 6-4; Pruchya Isaro (Tha) & Niki Poonacha bt. Nathaniel Lammons (USA) & Jean-Julien Rojer (Ned) 7-6(3), 6-3.
€54,000 Challenger, Biella, Italy Doubles (quarterfinals): Adil Kalyanpur & Parikshit Somani bt. Stefan Popovic (Srb) & Volodoymyr Uzhylovskyi (Ukr) 7-6(6), 4-0 (retired).
$30,000 ITF men, Bali, Indonesia Singles (quarterfinals): Prajwal Dev bt Koki Matsuda (Jpn) 7-6(3), 6-3.
Doubles (semifinals): Mitsuki Leong (Mas) & Koki Matsuda (Jpn) bt. Prajwal Dev & Nitin Kumar Sinha 6-3, 6-7(8), [10-2]; Quarterfinals: Prajwal & Nitin bt. Anup Bangargi & Ethan Zapp (Ina) 6-4, 6-3; Joao
Graca & Diogo Morais (Por) bt. Shanker Heisnam & Digvijay Pratap Singh 7-6(5), 6-4.
$15,000 ITF men, Monastir, Tunisia Singles (quarterfinals): Manas Dhamne bt. Luca Wiedenmann (Ger) 6-2, 6-4.
$60,000 ITF women, Le Neubourg, France Doubles (semifinals): Naiktha Bains (GBR) & Rutuja Bhosale bt. Tiphanie Lemaitre & Marie Mattel (Fra) 6-4, 6-2.
$15,000 ITF women, Heraklion, Greece Singles (quarterfinals): Zeel Desai bt. Iveta Dapkute (Ltu) 6-4, 6-4.
Doubles (quarterfinals): Tanisha Kashyap & Angelina Wirges (Ger) bt. Dunya Charalampopoulos (Ned) & Anna Jakovleva (Lat) 6-1, 6-1.
-Kamesh Srinivasan
GOLF
Gaganjeet Bhullar wins inaugural IGPL tournament
Gaganjeet Bhullar asserted his class by clinching the trophy in the inaugural Rs. 1.5 crore IGPL golf tournament at the Chandigarh Golf Club on Friday.
The 37-year-old Gaganjeet overcame an early bogey on the third and final round to register a two-under 70 for the day, and an overall five-under 211, that fetched the winner’s purse of Rs. 22.5 lakh.
“IGPL is a new chapter in Indian golf, and I am proud to be part of it as the first champion. This one is for the history books,” said a proud Gaganjeet.
He was confident that a lot of young Indian golfers would benefit from the IGPL Tour and strengthen the Indian presence on the Asian Tour as was the case in the past.
M Dharma was two shots behind Gaganjeet in the second place that won him Rs. 15 lakh. Veer Ganapathy, Kartik Sharma and Shaurya Binu were joint-third and pocketed Rs. 8.7 lakh each.
FOOTBALL
Bengaluru FC unveils new training facility at Centre of Sports Excellence
Bengaluru FC on Friday announced the opening of its state-of-the-art training Centre of Sports Excellence here, marking a major milestone in the club’s journey to develop world-class football infrastructure in India.
The Blues, who are set to regroup ahead of the 2025-26 campaign, will begin their preparations on what is India’s first-ever hybrid training pitch, the club said in a statement.
A surface that combines natural grass with synthetic reinforcement to ensure consistency and durability throughout the year, the hybrid pitch sits alongside a natural grass nine-a-side pitch, providing the first team and youth squads with varied training environments that replicate competitive conditions.
The centre goes far beyond playing surfaces, with a fully-equipped gymnasium allowing for strength and conditioning programs tailored to the team’s need, while two purpose-built dressing rooms provide the squad with professional matchday and training environments.
Recovery is an equally important focus, with ice-baths and recovery rooms installed to help players recuperate after sessions.
Club owner Parth Jindal said, “Amid all the turmoil that Indian football finds itself in, our effort to drive its development has been steadfast since the founding of Bengaluru FC. Our new training facility reiterates that intent.
“The national team trained at the facility in the build-up to what was a successful CAFA Nations Cup outing, and we hope the venue becomes the preferred training venue for Team India in the future too.
“The club had as many as six players in the Indian squad for the CAFA Nations Cup, and seven players in the U23 squad for the AFC Asian Cup qualifiers, and we will keep contributing to the nation’s cause.” In addition, the centre has been designed to foster a sense of community and belonging for the squad. A kitchen and pantry serve the dining area, where nutrition-led meals are planned for players and staff.
Away from the pitch, a recreation room gives the team space to unwind, while a dedicated meeting room serves as the hub for tactical discussions, video analysis, and team briefings.
– PTI
Published on Sep 12, 2025