Indian sports wrap, February 10: Aditi Ashok finishes T-34th at Founders Cup
GOLF
Aditi shoots second straight 69, finishes T-34th at Founders Cup
Indian golfer Aditi Ashok carded a second consecutive 69, featuring four birdies, to finish Tied-34th at the Founders Cup, marking her first event on the LPGA Tour this season.
The 26-year-old, who had rounds of 72-70-69-69 for a 4-under total, closed on a fine note with birdies on the 17th and the 18th on Sunday.
A five-time winner on the LET, Aditi, who has often played a few weeks on the Ladies European Tour each season, will tee off at the Saudi Ladies International, which carries a big purse of USD five million.
At the Founders Cup, Yealimi Noh beat former World No. 1 Jin Young Ko by four strokes to become the season’s first Rolex First-Time Winner at Bradenton Country Club.
Noh began the final round one stroke ahead of Ko at 18-under and shot 3-under 68 to finish 21-under 263 for the week.
Ko shot 71 and was 17-under for the week for second place.
While Ko was disappointed to not pick up her fourth career victory in this event, there were plenty of positives for her second consecutive top-five finish on the LPGA Tour.
Megan Khang finished solo third at 16-under overall. Three players tied for fourth at 13-under, a group that included Olympians Hannah Green and Miyu Yamashita and 2024 LPGA Tour rookie Jin Hee Im.
-PTI
TENNIS
Jil Teichmann wins singles, Anshba-Pridankina claim doubles title in WTA 125 Mumbai Open
India’s Prarthana Thombare and her Dutch partner Arianne Hartono went down to the Russian duo of Amina Anshba and Elena Pridankina in the doubles final, while Jil Teichmann triumphed over Mananchaya Sawangkaew to claim the singles title at the Mumbai Open WTA 125 Series here.
While Teichmann from Switzerland got the better of her Thai opponent Sawangkaew 6-3, 6-4, the pair of Anshba and Pridankina defeated Thombare and Hartono 7-6 (4), 2-6, 10-7.
Thombare and Hartono displayed aggressive intent, racing to a 4-2 lead in the first set. However, the Russian duo, led by a determined Pridankina, mounted a fierce comeback and forced the set into a tiebreak.
Despite their valiant efforts, Thombare and Hartono narrowly lost the tiebreak, conceding the first set 6-7.
Undeterred, Thombare and Hartono regrouped in the second set and levelled the match by taking the second set convincingly at 6-2.
In the final set, Thombare and Hartono initially held a 5-3 advantage and seemed poised for victory.
However, the Russian duo dug deep, clawing their way back into the match and clinched the deciding tiebreaker 10-7.
The former world No 21 Teichmann was in complete control of the match and walked away with the winning prize and trophy. She also got into the top 100 WTA rankings.
Teichmann and Sawangkaew went toe-to-toe in the opening three games of the first set. The Swiss player was leading the set 2-1 after which she used the momentum to her advantage and claimed the next four games on the trot.
Despite her efforts and swift movement across the court, Sawangkaew couldn’t match the speed of her opponent’s variation in shots. She tried to make a comeback, winning two games in the end but Teichmann claimed the first set 6-3.
After six games, the scores in the second set stood at 3-3 with both players matching their strides. Teichmann was dragging the rallies longer to tire Sawangkaew out and forced her into making errors.
Teichmann then won two crucial games in a row but Sawangkaew took one back right down the wire to make it 5-4.
In the final set, Teichmann showed an incredible level of class to win four points in a row and then eventually claimed the set 6-4 to to win the big match in straight sets.
The winner of the singles title won 125 ranking points and a reward of USD 15,500 while the doubles champions won 125 ranking points and a reward of USD 5,700.