Indian sports wrap, January 12: Bhambri-Goransson pair reaches ASB Classic quarterfinals

TENNIS

Bhambri-Goransson ease into ASB Classic quarterfinals

Top seeds Yuki Bhambri and Andre Goransson made a confident start to their campaign at the ASB Classic, cruising into the men’s doubles quarterfinals with a straight-sets win on Monday.

Bhambri and Goransson defeated the wildcard pairing of Ajeet Rai and Jean-Julien Rojer 6-3, 6-2 in a first-round match, displaying sharp coordination and control throughout the contest.

The Indo-Swedish duo dominated on serve and capitalised on key break opportunities to wrap up the match in just over an hour, underlining their strong form in the lead-up to the Australian Open.

The top seeds saved three of the four breakpoints they faced in the contest and broke their rivals four times.

The ASB Classic is part of the build-up to the season’s first Grand Slam, with players using the Auckland tournament to fine tune their preparations ahead of the Australian Open.

-PTI

ATHLETICS

Inter-university Athletics C’Ships: Patience pays for Gaurav and Nirmala

Gaurav and Nirmala played a patient waiting game as they won the men’s and women’s 10,000m gold at the 85th all-India inter-university athletics championships, which began at the Swarajya Maidan, Moodubidire, on Monday.

Gaurav, from Bareilly’s Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Rohilkhand University, moved ahead of a tight pack midway through the race and hung on to the lead to take the championships’ first gold in 29:19.46s.

In the women’s final, Mangalore University’s 23-year-old Nirmala was in the fourth spot for almost the entire race, with Anjali Devi doing all the front running. But Nirmala, from Churu in Rajasthan, and Savitribai Phule’s Gayakwad Ravina Vijay beat Lovely Professional’s Anjali on the home stretch to take gold and silver. Nirmala clocked 34:47.20s.

Only two finals were held on the opening day. Karnataka Legislative Assembly Speaker Dr. U.T. Khader Fareed inaugurated the five-day meet.

-Team Sportstar

GOLF

Many stars to miss season-opening WPGT in Mumbai

Sneha Singh, one of three multiple winners in the 2025 season, Amandeep Drall, and 10 new Pros, including Saanvi Somu, will vie for honours even as a few top players are skipping the season-opening Women’s PGT event in Mumbai.

The 10 new pros qualified through the qualifier at Jaypee Wishtown, and four came from the IGU Ladies OOM and WAGR.

The WGAI now has a record 62 registered pro players.

Ridhima Dilawari, Jasmine Shekar, Rhea Purvi Saravanan and Vidhatri Urs are among the top Indian golfers in the field.

One of the stars to make a move from amateur ranks to professionals is Saanvi, who has finished runner-up on as many as four occasions, and is still looking for a maiden win on the Tour.

The highly talented young golfer, Saanvi, has donned India colours on numerous occasions. Saanvi could well be the player to watch this season.

Though some of the top Indians are skipping the opening week, the field is still very strong.

Four amateurs are also in the field and among the prominent ones is Zara Anand, who later this year, will join college golf in the United States.

Kashika Mishra, Aradhana Manikandan and Thea Ajoomal are the other amateurs in the field.

-PTI

Published on Jan 12, 2026