Indian sports wrap, February 22
SQUASH
Abhay, Ramit move up in style in premier PSA events
Rising Indian squash player Abhay Singh stormed into the quarterfinals of the Goodfellow Classic, a USD 9000 Challenger Tour event in Toronto.
The top-seeded Abhay, a former national champion and ranked No 66. in the world, beat Canadian wild card Elliott Hunt 11-6, 11-3, 11-9 in the second round on Wednesday, following a bye in the first.
Elsewhere, India’s top-ranked player Saurav Ghosal lost in the opening round of the World Tour Platinum Windy City Open in Chicago, going down to home favourite Timothy Brownell 11-13, 2-11, 11-3, 14-12.
However, Ramit Tandon carried forward the Indian challenge with a 11-7, 8-11, 11-1, 11-7 win over Hungarian Farkas Balazs in the first round.
– PTI
BADMINTON
BAI to conduct first Coaches Development Program in March for grassroots coaches from across the country
Badminton Association of India, in association with REC Limited and Sports Authority of India (SAI), will conduct its first-ever Coaches Development Program (Grassroot Level) for over 100 aspiring coaches in March 2024 at four venues across the country.
The 11 days program will focus on skill and knowledge enhancement of the participants around essentials of grassroots badminton coaching. These programmes will be held at the National Centre of Excellence, Guwahati, Raipur, Prakash Padukone Academy, Bengaluru and Pullela Gopichand Badminton Academy, Hyderabad from March 8-18.
“Indian badminton is on the rise and BAI has taken many steps to identify and nurture talent across the country. Grassroots level coaches play an important role in this process and the Coaches Development Program is aimed at empowering such beginner level former players and coaches who understand the game but do not have all the experience of being a professional coach,” BAI secretary Sanjay Mishra said while the announcement of this maiden initiative was undertaken.
BAI has also asked all the state units to recommend four names within the age limit of 25-45 years, who have represented the state at the national or zonal level and have interest in coaching to be eligible for the program.
Participants who will be clearing the assessment with ‘A’ grade at the end of 10 days will be eligible to appear for the BAI Level 1 certification exam for coaching on the final day of the program.
– Team Sportstar
CUE SPORT
Imran and Panchal among cueists to make CCI snooker main draw
Madhya Pradesh’s Imran Khan, Manav Panchal from Mumbai, Vijay Nichani from Tamil Nadu and Vishwajeet Mohan on Thursday made it to the main draw of the CCI Snooker Classic tournament in Mumbai.
Imran potted consistently to charge past Fahad Mithaiwala and posted a quick 4-0 (52-19, 77-65, 59-18, and 41-9) victory in a best-of-7-frame final qualifying round match at CCI’s Sir Wilson Jones billiards hall.
Panchal prevailed over Vishal Gehani 4-1 (68-46, 71-1, 43-53, 65-61, and 50-38) but Nichani had to work hard for his win over Kalpesh Mevada, whom he defeated 4-0 (62-48, 61-45, 68-39, and 68-62).
In another qualifying game, Mohan constructed a break of 54 in the opening game frame to defeat Sumit Ahuja 4-1 (74-18, 15-84, 71-40, 70-52, and 87-13).
Results
Final round: Manav Panchal bt Vishal Gehani 4-1 (68-46, 71-1, 43-53, 65-61, 50-38); Imran Khan bt Fahad Mithaiwala 4-0 (52-19, 77-65, 59-18, 41-9); Vishwajeet Mohan bt Sumit Ahuja 4-1 (74(54)-18, 15-84, 71-40, 70-52, 87-13); Vijay Nichani bt Kalpesh Mevada 4-0 (62-48, 61-45, 68-39, 68-62).
Round 2: Neeraj Kumar bt Santosh Abnave 3-0 (63-35, 86-1, 81-42); Amanullah Shaikh bt Shakeel Ahmed 3-1 (38-50, 63-50, 55-35, 62-28); Shivam Arora bt Sunil Jain 3-0 (62-42, 68(45)-14, 66-28). Round 1: Pinak Anap bt Samay Wadhawan 3-1 (70-31, 76-3, 50-60, 60(49)-25).
– PTI
MORE SPORTS
Association of PaddleSurf Professionals World Tour announces foray in India with country’s first-ever international SUP Event
Association of PaddleSurf Professionals World Tour (APP) announced its entry in India with the country’s first-ever International Stand-Up Paddling championship. The India Paddle Festival will take place at Sasihithlu Beach, Mangalore, Karnataka, from March 8-10.
“We have always been waiting for an international event of this stature to be hosted in India. It is a chance for stand-up paddlers like me to learn from top international athletes and improve our skills and techniques from them. We look forward for India Paddle Festival and hope that the Indian paddlers can put on a show and give a tough challenge to the international athletes. I’m excited for the event, I’m training hard and getting ready for it,” said India No. 1 Sekar Patchai.
– Team Sportstar