Indian sports wrap, September 11: Prime Volleyball League gets ready for fourth season with 10 teams

VOLLEYBALL

Prime Volleyball League gets ready for fourth season with 10 teams

Getting ready for the fourth edition of the Prime Volleyball League (PVL) to be staged in Gachibowli Indoor Stadium in Hyderabad from October 2, with the enhanced field of 10 teams following the addition of Goa Guardians, the organisers were excited about growing the game in the country.

“The league has grown very well through the last three editions. It has strengthened Indian volleyball as all the players of the national team are part of the league. India is ranked 54 in the world. We are trying to take the game to more people this season and have tied up with youtube for live streaming of matches,” said Tuhin Mishra, the Managing Director of Baseline Ventures that masterminds the league.

Pointing out that the president of the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) Fabio Azevedo of Brazil was present in every edition of PVL, sporting Indian attire, Tuhin said that the international federation was keen about the growth of volleyball in India.

“They pay the national coach Dragan Mihailovic who is doing a great job”, said Tuhin.

Looking at the league, he took the name of David Lee, the coach of the Bengaluru Torpedoes, who has the rich experience of having won the Olympic gold and bronze medals. The presence of such eminent coaches was viewed as a healthy way forward for the Indian volleyball ecosystem.

“The Kolkata team has the coach from Iran, Naser Shahnazi. And Iran is the best volleyball team in Asia after Japan,” said Tuhin.

The CEO of PVL, Joy Bhattacharjya, said that volleyball was a simple game, that was like a combination of chess and geometry.

“The angles make the game lively. The volleyball players jump higher than the basketball players. And it is a very technical sport,” said Joy.

The fact that the Indian team had finished runner-up to Iran in the CAVA Championship recently, apart from the Under-19 team winning the bronze, were viewed as clear indicators of India emerging as a force in the region.

“The Indian team can play the Olympics in 2032. We do have a strong chance by 2036,” said Tuhin, suggesting that the strong work at the grassroots level and the tremendous passion for the game in many pockets across the country, augured well for the future of the game.

– Team Sportstar

GOLF

Inaugural IGPL: Bhullar joins Binu in lead with card of 71

Gaganjeet Bhullar lived up to his top billing with a steady 1-under 71 that carried him to the top and into a share of the first place with overnight leader Shaurya Binu on day two of the inaugural IGPL Invitational golf tournament on Thursday.

Bhullar (70-71) and Binu (69-72) were both tied at 3-under as the opening event of the IGPL Tour hung in balance, with two others Kapil Kumar and Harendra Singh, at 1-under and two shots behind in tied third place.

Six others were at even par on a course that did not yield many low scores and resulted in a tightly bunched leaderboard ahead of the final day.

No less than 10 players were within three shots of each other as the fight to become the first IGPL champion got intense.

Making it even more exciting was the presence of a woman pro, Jahanvi Bakshi, who was tied fifth with five others and just three behind the leaders. A win for her would be historic and do wonders for Jahanvi as she slowly makes her way back from injuries over the last few years.

Attracting a lot of attention on a crowded leaderboard were two debutant professionals, Kartik Singh (73-71) and Veer Ganapathy (72-72).

Kartik, Veer and Jahanvi were tied fifth alongside Sanju Kumar, local man Ranjit Singh and Saarthak Chibber, who bounced back on the second day with the day’s best of 69 after a 75 on the first day.

Bhullar opened with a bogey but rallied with birdies on the second and the fourth before turning in a series of pars. He birdied the 12th but gave back that gain on the 14th with a bogey for a 71 that took him to 3-under.

Binu, who began the day as the sole leader at 3-under, threatened to pull away from the field with early heroics. He was on song with three birdies against one bogey in the first seven holes.

After the turn, he added another one on the 12th to go three-under for the day and six-under for the tournament.

Then he struck a disastrous patch with a bogey-double bogey-bogey from the 14th to the 16th and went 1-over par. A birdie on the 17th was like a balm ahead of the final day. After 69 on the first day, he finished par on the second day.

Kartik’s card suggests a roller-coaster of a round with five birdies and three bogeys. However, till the 16th, which he birdied, he was cruising and gunning for the lead at 2-under total. Then came the putting woes as he bogeyed the closing two holes to fall back to even par three behind the leaders.

Lying tied third were Kapil Kumar, who hails from a golfing family, and Harendra Gupta, whose love for and success at the Chandigarh Golf Club is almost unrivalled.

The top woman in the field after two days was Jahanvi, the older sister of Hitaashee, also an IGPL player, who is teeing up in Switzerland this week.

Six players, including Kartik and Veer, were among the large bunch in tied fifth place.

– PTI

PGTI Nexgen: Sanjeev Kumar registers maiden victory

Local lad Sanjeev Kumar came up with a five-under 65 in the third and final round to register his maiden victory in the PGTI Nexgen golf tournament at the Lucknow Golf Club on Thursday.

After being three shots off the lead overnight, Sanjeev capitalised on his knowledge of the course in coming up with a bogey-free effort.

The champion had an overall seven-under 203 that helped him collect the winner’s cheque of Rs.2,54,300.

Umed Kumar was two shots behind in the second place and got Rs.2,14,300.

“I played my best golf today. Playing on my home turf, I had the advantage of knowing where to land my shots,” said Sanjeev, who is leading the Order of merit with Rs.7,08,740.

After the completion of the seventh Nexgen event, it will have a break and resume in November. The Order of Merit winner of the Nexgen series will get a direct entry into the PGTI tour next year.

– Kamesh Srinivasan

SQUASH

PSA Challenger: Veer Chotrani qualifies for final

Top seed Veer Chotrani eased past Ming Hong Tang of Hong Kong 11-3, 11-6, 11-6 in the semifinals of the HCL $9,000 PSA Challenger squash tournament at the Otters Club on Thursday.

In the final, Veer will play Chi Him Wong of Hong Kong.

The women’s final will be between top seed Amina El Rihany of Egypt and Tanvi Khanna. Amina had to fight her way past Ching Hei Fung in a four-game duel that lasted nearly an hour. Tanvi trailed 7-11, 4-5 when the second seed Akanksha Salunkhe retired.

– Kamesh Srinivasan

Published on Sep 11, 2025