Indian sports wrap, December 11: Karandeep Kochhar secures maiden title on IGPL Tour
GOLF
Karandeep pips Ganapathy and Pukhraj for maiden IGPL win in Dubai
Karandeep Kochhar on Thursday shot a third straight 3-under 69 to end his wait for a maiden title on the IGPL Tour with a hard-earned victory at the IGPL Invitational UAE.
Kochhar pipped young Veer Ganapathy and Pukhraj Singh to the post at the Els Club in Dubai at the Shiv Kapur-hosted event, the tenth IGPL meet of the inaugural season.
Kochhar, a recent winner on the Asian Development Tour, made up for his runner-up finish at the IGPL Invitational Kolkata, even as Ganapathy’s wait for a first pro win continued.
Kochhar totalled 9-under, while Ganapathy, who was seemingly coasting to a win, was left ruing a costly triple bogey on Par-4 14th hole on the back nine. He shot even par 72 and finished one shot behind Kochhar.
Also finishing tied second was Pukhraj, the winner of IGPL Jamshedpur. He shot 2-under 70, and like Ganapathy, was left at 8-under and one behind the winner.
Pranavi Urs, the history-maker at IGPL Mumbai, was sole fourth. She shot 1-under 71 and totalled 7-under for the 54 holes.
-PTI
FOOTBALL
IWL to start on December 20 in Kolkata
The Indian Women’s League 2025-26 will kick off on December 20 at the National Centre of Excellence (NCoE) in Kolkata, with Sethu FC taking on Kickstart FC in the opening match.
The IWL will be played in two phases, with the first one stretching from December 20 to January 9, 2026, during which the eight teams will play 28 matches, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) said on Thursday.
The NCoE in Kolkata and the Kalyani Municipal Stadium in Kalyani are the two venues for the league, which is being held in two centralised venues this season.
The second phase of the IWL is set to be held from April 20 to May 10, 2026, thus allowing player availability for the senior and U20 women’s national teams, which will participate in their respective AFC Women’s Asian Cups categories next year.
The gap between phases one and two also allows the three national teams ample time to have preparatory camps ahead of the continental campaigns, the AIFF said.
-PTI
CHESS
Nandhidhaa maintains lead at National women’s chess championship
Defending champion P.V. Nandhidhaa maintained her sole lead after beating Arshiya Das in the ninth round of the National women’s chess championship at Durgapur on Thursday. She is on 8.5 points, half-a-point more than Shubhi Gupta, who defeated G. Shivamshika.
Mary Ann Gomes is in third place with 7.5 points, followed half-a-point behind by Srishti Pandey with two rounds remain.
Results
P.V. Nandhidhaa 8.5 bt Arshiya Das 6.5; Shubhi Gupta 8 bt G. Shivasmshika 6.5; Mary Ann Gomes 7.5 bt Ganta Kheerthi 6; Srishti Pandey 7 bt Arpita Mukherjee 6; V. Varshini 6.5 drew with Sakshi Chitlange 6; Ananya Raman 5.5 lost to Velpula Sarayu 6.5; Rebecca Jesumarian 6 drew with Srija Seshadri 5.5; Kalyani Sirin 6.5 bt Saparya Ghosh 5.5; Sneha Halder 5.5 lost to V.C. Nivedita 6.5; Nisha Mohota 6.5 bt Maitreyi Mondal 5.5.
-P.K. Ajith Kumar
SWIMMING
Abdul Quadir Indori bags two gold medals at Asian Youth Para Games
India swimmer Abdul Quadir Indori clinched the gold in the 50m Butterfly and 50m Backstroke events on the opening day of the Asian Youth Para Games in Dubai.
Indori dominated the pool with exceptional skill and determination, standing on top of the podium twice on Wednesday.
The opening ceremony of the Asian Youth Para Games was also held on Wednesday with great enthusiasm, cultural performances, and participation from young para athletes representing various Asian countries.
-PTI
Published on Dec 11, 2025