Indian sports wrap, November 10: Veer Chotrani loses Springfield final

SQUASH

Chotrani loses in St James squash final

Indian fifth seed Veer Chotrani lost to Mexican top seed Leonel Cardenas 1-3 in the final of the St James Expression Open, a PSA Copper event, in Springfield (US) on Sunday.

World No 51 Chotrani rallied to win the second game to level the score, but his world No 15 opponent stepped up to take control, closing out the contest 13-11, 4-11, 11-4, 11-3.

-Team Sportstar

PICKLEBALL

Bengaluru to host Indian Pickleball Nationals from November 13

The maiden Indian Pickleball Nationals will be held in Bengaluru from November 13-16 at The Sports School, the organisers announced on Monday.

The Karnataka Pickleball Association (KPA) will host the event, which has drawn over 1,200 entries from more than 20 states, featuring age and skill categories from Under-12 to 70+ across men’s, women’s, and mixed formats.

“Pickleball has grown tremendously across the globe, and the government of India’s recognition of its scale and popularity has given it a new identity and direction,” Shree Harsha, President, Karnataka Pickleball Association, said.

“At KPA, we are working to build this momentum further through initiatives such as coaching clinics, business meets, and our ‘Mission One Million’ programme, which aims to take pickleball to government and aided schools across Karnataka.”

-PTI

World Pickleball League Season 2 player draft welcomes global talent from 18 countries

World Pickleball League (WPBL) Season 2 player draft was conducted in Mumbai on Monday.

All seven teams finalised their eight-member squads from a pool of 114 registered players, representing 25 countries across five continents. The final roster of 56 players features a mix of experienced athletes and emerging young talent from around the world, representing 18 nationalities

– Team Sportstar

Olympics Sports

Sports Ministry approves appointment of 320 assistant coaches across 25 disciplines

As part of its “medal strategy” for the Olympic and Asian Games, the Sports Ministry has given approval for the recruitment of 320 assistant coaches covering 25 disciplines across Sports Authority of India (SAI) centres.

Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Monday said the focus will be on disciplines like aquatics, cycling and tennis, in which Indian athletes haven’t particularly done well but have “immense medal potential.”

“It will cover the major disciplines at SAI centres. The selection process will be merit-based and transparent and will only include those who are certified or license holders in their respective disciplines,” Mandaviya said in an interaction here.

“We are trying to give weightage to sports that will improve the overall sporting culture in the country. Sports like tennis, kayaking and canoeing are sometimes not able to attract as much attention but they have huge potential,” he added.

Mandaviya said 50 per cent of the recruits would be women for the creation of a “safe sports environment” and promote “gender quality” as promised by the National Sports Governance Act.

“Assistant coaches are an important cog in the wheel as far as sports development is concerned. They nurture talent from grassroots to elite level,” he said.

“This is just the phase one of this recruitment drive and another 320 would be recruited in the second phase once this initiative is completed,” he added.

– PTI

HOCKEY

Beighton Cup: Canara Bank wins, Bharat Petroleum plays out draw

Two late goals helped Bharat Petroleum hold Uttar Pradesh XI to a 2-2 draw in the Beighton Cup at the Vivekananda Hockey Stadium in Kolkata on Monday. Canara Bank defeated Punjab National Bank 2-0 in another match.

-Team Sportstar

Published on Nov 10, 2025