Indian sports wrap, November 20: Amardeep Malik fires 67 to take first-round lead in Digboi

GOLF

Amardeep Malik fires 67 to take first-round lead in Digboi

Noida’s Amardeep Malik fired a solid five-under 67 to take the first-round lead at the IndianOil SERVO Masters at the Digboi Golf Links here on Wednesday.

Former champion Honey Baisoya of Delhi, Pune’s Divyansh Dubey, Bangladesh golfer Jamal Hossain, Bengaluru’s Syed Saqib Ahmed and Panchkula’s Abhishek Kumar were all tied for second place at four-under 68.

Deven Bhumij was the highest-placed among the Digboi-based professionals after he returned a round of 73 to be tied 50th.

Delhi’s Sachin Baisoya, last week’s winner in Jaipur, was one of the five players bunched in tied seventh place at 69.

Two of the prominent names participating this week, Angad Cheema and Udayan Mane, struck scores of 72 to be tied 36th.

Amardeep, a two-time winner on the PGTI, mixed six birdies with a bogey during his opening round, as he was glad to be back in the mix after a couple of ordinary weeks on tour.

He found his groove as far as his hitting was concerned as he struck his tee shots well and landed his approaches within five to 10 feet of the flag on at least three occasions.

-PTI

Nayanika takes one-shot leader over Hitaashee and Jasmine in 15th Leg of Hero WPGT

Nayanika Sanga, looking for her maiden win on the Hero Women’s Pro Golf Tour, carded a solid four-under 68 to take a slender one-shot lead after the opening day in the 15th and final leg of the Tour here on Wednesday.

Nayanika, 20, had seven birdies, including three in a row on the back nine from the 11th to the 13th at the Boulder Hills Golf & Country Club.

She had one shot edge over last week’s winner, Hitaashee Bakshi (69) and Jasmine Shekar (69).

Four players, Amandeep Drall, Gaurika Bishnoi and Sneha Singh, alongside Sri Lankan amateur Kaya Daluwatte, were tied for fourth place with cards of 2-under 70 each.

Nayanika, who turned pro in 2022, had an early bogey on the second, but birdies on the fourth and the eighth ensured she turned in one-under.

A bogey on the tenth pulled her back to even par, but a hat-trick of birdies from the 11th to the 13th and two more on the 15th and 18th with a bogey in between on 16th saw her finish at 68.

Hitaashee had a bogey early on the second but birdies on the fifth, seventh and the ninth holes saw her turn in a healthy 2-under 34. On the back nine, she birdied the 11th and 15th and dropped a shot on the Par-4 13th.

Jasmine Shekar had a super start with four birdies in the first seven holes, but then three bogeys against one birdie between the ninth and the 13th saw her fall back. A closing birdie on the 18th ensured she finished at 69 and was still close to the leader.

Khushi Khanijau (71) was sole eighth while four others, including Vidhatri Urs, Anvitha Narender, Seher Atwal and amateur Srihita Mandava were tied ninth with scores of one-over 73 each.

-PTI

FOOTBALL

Santosh Trophy qualifying: Kerala beats Railways 1-0, Pondicherry wins against Lakshadweep

Kerala scraped through by a goal against Railways as it opened its campaign on a winning note in the Santosh Trophy qualifying tournament on Wednesday.

The host won 1-0 at the Corporation Stadium, thanks to the goal scored by Muhammed Ajsal in the 72nd minute.

It wasn’t the most convincing of shows by Kerala in what was going to be potentially its biggest challenge in the group.

The goal came off an excellent through ball by Nijo Gilbert, following a feeble clearance from the Railway defence. Ajsal slotted the ball neatly into the corner.

Earlier, an old-fashioned hat-trick by Dhileepan helped Pondicherry beat Lakshadweep 3-2. Mohammed scored both goals of Lakshadweep to give his team the  lead twice.

-P.K. Ajith Kumar