Indian sports wrap, July 21: India loses to Japan in Badminton Asia Junior Mixed Team Championships quarterfinals

BADMINTON

Badminton Asia Junior Mixed Team Championships: India goes down fighting by six points to Japan

India’s junior badminton team put up a strong fight before going down 110-104 to former champion Japan in the quarterfinals of the Badminton Asia Junior Mixed Team Championships in Solo, Indonesia.

In a closely contested tie under the relay scoring system, India came out strong after a narrow 11-9 loss in the opening match. The boys’ doubles duo of Bhargav Ram Arigela and Viswa Tej Gobburu got India on the board, followed by a composed win from the girls’ pair of Vennala Kalagotla and Reshika Uthayasooriyan to put India ahead 33-26. Reshika then combined with Bhavya Chhabra to maintain the lead at 44-35, and Rounak Chouhan extended the cushion with another solid performance.

India led for a major part of the tie, but Japan, the 2023 champion, pulled ahead in the final stretch, winning the last five matches in a row.

Despite the narrow exit, India had a strong tournament. It topped Group D with wins over Hong Kong China, the United Arab Emirates, and Sri Lanka, showing depth and balance across singles and doubles. The Bhargav-Viswa Tej and Reshika-Vennala pairings were consistently impressive, while C Lalramsanga also stood out in his doubles outings, paired up with Bhavya for men’s doubles and Taarini Suri for the mixed doubles. In singles, Rounak upset world junior No. 5 Lam Ka To, and Rujula Ramu registered wins over two top-20 players.

The focus now shifts to the individual championships starting July 23.

-Team Sportstar

EQUESTRIAN

Anush Agarwalla wins dressage event in Germany

India’s Anush Agarwalla won the the dressage event of the Jubilaumsturnier Hofgeismar Open to record his maiden victory with his mare Floriana.

Agarwalla, who represented the country at the Paris Olympics, recorded an impressive 69.891 per cent points to finish atop in the six-member field with each of the other competitors being from Germany.

Pia Piotrowski and Katharina Hemmer finished second and third, respectively.

The win marked the first triumph for the pair at the S level as it also was only the second time Agarwalla and his seven-year-old mare were competing in an event.

“I’m incredibly proud of Floriana, this was only her second S competition and she handled it with maturity beyond her years,” Agarwalla said in a release.

“Winning here is a special moment for both of us. I want to sincerely thank Anna Scholermann for her constant guidance, training, and belief in us. This is just the beginning for Floriana, and I’m excited about what the future holds,” he added.

-PTI

WRESTLING

Sumit, Anil win medals in Budapest

Sumit (60kg) took a silver, while Anil Mor (55kg) claimed a bronze medal in Greco Roman competitions at the Ranking Series wrestling event in Budapest.

Asian under-23 champion Sumit got past Worlds bronze medallist Sadyk Lalaev 9-3 before pinning Korean Dahyun Kim and Kazakh Galym Kabdunassarov to enter the final. He lost to 63kg World champion and 60kg European champion Nihat Zahid Mammadali 5-1 in the title clash to settle for the silver.

After losing 6-1 to World and European champion Emin Sefershaev in his first bout, Ulaanbaatar Open champion Anil bounced back to beat two-time European medallist Moldovan Artium Deleanu 7-0 in repechage and Asian bronze medallist Uzbek Ikhtiyor Botirov 7-4 in the bronze medal contest.

-Team Sportstar