Indian sports wrap, April 15: Diksha Dagar leads Indian challenge at Joburg Ladies Open

GOLF

Diksha leads group of five Indians

Golfer Diksha Dagar will spearhead a five-member Indian contingent at the Joburg Ladies Open, co-sanctioned by the Ladies European Tour and the Sunshine Ladies Tour, starting in Johannesburg on Thursday.

Diksha, currently in the top 10 of the LET’s Order of Merit with two top-10 finishes from six starts, will be joined by fellow Indians Avani Prashanth, Pranavi Urs, Hitaashee Bakshi and Tvesa Malik, a former winner on the Sunshine Ladies Tour.

Making her debut in South Africa, Hitaashee has rediscovered form after four missed cuts, finishing tied ninth at the Australian WPGA Championship, the fourth event of the Australian swing.

Avani, after a good rookie season in 2025, has had a modest season with three cuts in five starts, but her best finish had been a tied-39th at the PIF Saudi Ladies International at the start of the season.

Tvesa, who lost her card last season, will be making her first LET start in 2026, and a good week will give her confidence for the upcoming Investec Women’s South African Open at Royal Cape.

Tvesa will be the first Indian to tee off alongside Ana Dawn of Isle of Mann and Kaiyuree Moodley of South Africa, while Pranavi will play with Emma Spitz of Austria and Marta Martin of Spain.

Diksha will tee off with Luna Sobron Galmes of Spain. Avani plays with Alice Hewson of England and Patricie Mackova of Czech Republic and Hitaashee has been grouped with Alexandra Försterling and England’s Annabell Fuller.

– PTI

TABLE TENNIS

TN, Bengal, Delhi storm into pre-quarters of Jr and Youth National TT

Powerhouses Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, and Delhi stamped their authority early on, cruising into the pre-quarterfinals from their respective groups in the Under-19 girls’ team event at the UTT Inter-State Junior and Youth National Table Tennis Championships in Dehradun.

With just one round of league matches remaining — Telangana vs Punjab (Group A), Uttarakhand vs Assam (Group B), and PSPBA vs Chandigarh (Group C) — the outcomes will have little impact on the three dominant leaders, who have already sealed their spots.

However, the final round will determine the second qualifiers from each group, adding intrigue to the closing league fixtures.

Elsewhere, Maharashtra (Group D), Uttar Pradesh (Group E), NCOE (Group F), Karnataka (Group G), and Gujarat (Group H) have virtually secured their pre-quarterfinal berths.

Yet, the race for the remaining knockout spots remains intense, particularly in Groups E and F, where the battle for the second qualification place is expected to go down to the wire.

Placed in a tough Group C, hosts Uttarakhand lost their match to West Bengal 0-3, but they can redeem themselves when they take on Assam in their last-round tie later today.

– PTI

Published on Apr 15, 2026