Indian sports wrap, February 12: India U-17 men suffer defeat against host Turkiye in second friendly
FOOTBALL
India U-17 men lose against Turkiye
The India U-17 men’s team lost 1-6 to Turkiye in their second friendly match against the hosts at the Manavgat Atatürk Stadyumu in Manavgat, Antalya, on Thursday.
India had lost 0-1 in the first friendly on Tuesday.
The Blue Colts are using these games to prepare for the AFC U-17 Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2026, which will take place in May. India will take on Uzbekistan, Australia and North Korea in Group D.
In the game played in windy and rainy conditions, Turkiye took an early lead via Efe Seçil, who smashed home a loose ball from a narrow angle inside the box in the seventh minute. After a period of brief resistance by India, the hosts overpowered Bibiano Fernandes’ side again and raced to a 5-0 lead by half-time.
Efe Fettahoğlu scored from the penalty spot in the 14th minute before Alaettin Ekici netted a quick brace — converting a first-time shot from 10 yards in the 20th minute and heading in a cross from the right to make it 4-0 in the 28th.
Captain Eren Sayar got in on the act and scored the fifth goal in the 30th minute.
India showed some improvement in the second half and pulled a goal back early after the restart. In the 47th minute, Diamond Singh Thokchom picked out Denny Singh Wangkhem just outside the box. The latter curled a stunning effort into the far corner from 20 yards out to bring India on the scoresheet.
Turkiye wrapped up the scoring in the 85th minute, with Hasan Tuncel sneaking into the box and slotting home a left-footed shot into the bottom corner.
-PTI
GOLF
Paromita wins BPGC Open Ladies Amateur Golf
Paromita Mukherjee won the 14th WIGA BPGC Open Ladies Amateur Golf Championships after shrugging off a stiff challenge from Uma Menon on Thursday.
Local golfer Uma, who trailed Paromita by a stroke overnight, set the tone early with a hat-trick of birdies on the second, third and fourth holes to seize the lead and pile pressure on the field.
However, she was unable to sustain the momentum as the experienced Paromita — the current top-ranked player on the AVT Tour — responded with composure, steadily building her challenge before eventually emerging victorious.
Paromita shot one-over on both the front and back nines, carding a lone birdie for a gross score of two-over 72, to finish with an overall total of 233 and lift the Mahindra Trophy.
Uma signed off with a final-round 75 to aggregate 237, settling for the runner-up spot.
-PTI
Guntas best Indian at tied 17th
India’s Guntas Kaur Sandhu carded a one-under 71 at the Royal Wellington Golf Club here on Thursday to emerge as the best Indian at tied 17th position after the opening round of the Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific.
The tournament is hosted by The R&A (Royal & Ancient, Scotland), the world governing body for the rules of golf, in association with the Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation (APGC).
Part of the four-member team sent by the Indian Golf Union (IGU), Guntas began on a modest note with a bogey on the first hole before sinking birdies on the third, eighth and 12th holes. But a bogey on the 15th hole pegged her back. She trails the leader, Yunseo Yang of South Korea, by seven strokes.
Other Indians in fray, Ananyaa Sood (2-over 74; Tied 42nd), Zara Anand (7-over 79; Tied 66th) and Jia Kataria (9-over 81; Tied 75th) had a disappointing first round.
Speaking about her round, Guntas said, “Royal Wellington is a challenging parkland course. I attacked the flags from the start, but got mixed results today.
“I will draw inspiration from some of my good performances on the domestic IGU circuit tomorrow. Looking forward to a memorable outing here.” The winner of World Amateur Asia-Pacific earns invitations to play in three major championships – the AIG Women’s Open, the Amundi Evian Championship and The Chevron Championship.
-PTI
Published on Feb 12, 2026