Indian sports wrap, March 9: Kristina wins Gurugram ITF women’s tournament, Saanvi Somu best-performing Indian at WAAP

TENNIS

Dmitruk outplays second seed in Gurugram ITF final

Kristina Dmitruk made a flawless execution in outplaying second seed Ekaterina Makarova 6-3, 6-2 in the final of the $30,000 ITF women’s tennis tournament at the Tennis Project, Baliyawas, on Sunday.

The 29-year-old Makarova, who was ranked a career-best 158 last year and had won the doubles title with Ekaterina Reyngold, did fight hard, pushing Kristina to her wit’s end in tough rallies. However, the 21-year-old Kristina, who was World No. 2 at the prime of her junior career in 2021, served strong and converted her chances better to race away to victory.

The smooth-stroking Kristina converted four of five break points while dropping serve once early in the second set. The intensity of the rallies pushed Kristina to close out the match in an hour and 17 minutes for her sixth title in the professional circuit.

Quite delighted with her consistently strong performance, Kristina gave credit to her brother for being on hand and playing the role of a mental trainer.

Kristina did drop a set to Priska Nugroho of Indonesia in the first round, but thereafter, she dropped only 15 games in all in the next four matches.

-Kamesh Srinivasan

GOLF

Saanvi Somu best Indian at tied 38th, Jeneath Wong first Malaysian to win WAAP

Saanvi Somu was the best Indian golfer, tied 38th, while compatriots Guntas Kaur Sandhu and Mannat Brar finished way behind at the Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific Championship in Da Nang, Vietnam on Sunday.

Somu, who made the cut for the second year running, shot her second straight 1-under par 70. With rounds of 72-74-70-70, she totalled 2-over for the week.

The 14-year-old debutant Sandhu, who impressed by becoming the youngest Indian to make the cut at WAAP, had a tough final round with a 7-over 78 and was 9-over to finish 47th.

Her aggression and some good putting helped her pick up 14 birdies, the most among the Indians, but she was held back by lack of experience of playing in strong windy conditions.

Brar, who made the cut after three unsuccessful attempts, had a very rough day when things just did not go her way. She shot 78 and with cards of 67-76-73-78, she finished at 10-over and in 48th place.

Meanwhile, Jeneath Wong, who moved to Australia when she was ten years old and now plays at Pepperdine University in college golf in the United States, became the first Malaysian to win the Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific Championship.

She turned in a superb finish which included a clutch par putt on the 16th, a perfect tee shot to within six inches on the 17th and a great pitch for a 8-foot birdie on the 18th for a round of 68.

Wong, who now gets to play three Women’s Majors and a host of other iconic events, totalled 18-under, and won by one shot over Korea’s Soomin Oh (66), who made a great charge with a bogey-free 66, but fell short in the face of a nerveless finish from Wong.

Wong finished 18th in her only previous experience in 2022, when she also had a hole in one on the second day. In the final round here in Vietnam, she almost had another one on the Par-3 17th, when her tee shot came inside six inches.

Three Koreans finished in top-four as Sumin Hong (68) was sole third while another Korean Yunseo Yang (66) and Australian Jazy Roberts (66) were tied fourth.

The 2026 Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific Championship will be held in Wellington, New Zealand.

-Press Trust of India

SHOOTING

NRAI completes second technical education course

The National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) successfully completed the second ISSF Electronic Scoring Target (EST) course at the Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Range, Tughlakabad, on Sunday.

The five-day course had 32 participants, including three from Nepal and one from Sri Lanka.

The first course was held from February 24 to 28 at the same venue and the integrated course dealt with the technicalities of rifle and pistol.

The course was conducted by Jadranka Strukic of Croatia, Khaled Aljerayed of Kuwait and Pawankumar Singh. The course combined theoretical instruction with practical exercises, to ensure full comprehension of EST operations.

As part of the technical education exercise, the participants will have to go through five mandatory internships as officials in NRAI-sanctioned tournaments.

“This is the largest batch in a course that I have conducted anywhere in the world. The EST license is very important for officials who aspire to work as rifle and pistol jury members in international competitions. It is also mandatory for anyone wishing to work in the results, timing and scoring (RTS) team at ISSF events to hold a valid EST license. This certification ensures officials are fully trained to handle the latest technology with precision and confidence,” said Jadranka Strukic.

“This course is a significant step towards strengthening the technical capabilities of our officials. As the use of electronic scoring systems becomes standard across major competitions, it is vital to build a strong, skilled workforce capable of precision and fairness at every level,” said NRAI president Kalikesh Singh Deo.

The NRAI president thanked the ISSF, the Asian Shooting Confederation (ASC) and Olympic Gold Quest (OGQ) for their support in the conduct of the course.

“We look forward to further strengthening these partnerships as we continue developing world class expertise in the sport,” he said.

-Kamesh Srinivasan