Indian sports wrap, September 16: Australian hockey legend Jay Stacy appointed HIL team Kalinga Lancers coach
HOCKEY
Legendary Australian hockey player Jay Stacy was on Tuesday appointed head coach of Hockey India League side Vedanta Kalinga Lancers for the upcoming edition of the tournament, which was revived earlier this year.
He will take over from German coach Valentin Altenburg, who led the side in the previous campaign.
The 57-year-old tactician made 321 international appearances for Australia and was part of the national side that won three Olympic medals (silver, Barcelona 1992; bronze, Atlanta 1996; and bronze, Sydney 2000), besides gold at the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur and the 1999 Champions Trophy.
Stacy retired in 2000 as Australia’s most capped international player.
The Australian has worked as a coach across clubs and domestic circuits in Australia, the Netherlands, and Belgium, and also served as head coach of the Mumbai franchise during the 2016 and 2017 editions of the HIL.
He takes over the responsibility after being head coach of the Australian junior team since 2022.
“I am excited to begin a new chapter with Vedanta Kalinga Lancers and am thrilled to be returning to the Hockey India League, which has evolved significantly since my earlier stint. I am sure this will be another exciting experience for me,” said Stacy in a statement.
The next edition of HIL will tentatively be held in January-February 2026.
-PTI
TENNIS
Laxmisiri Dandu goes past Paavanii Paathak in Baliawas
Laxmisiri Dandu on way to her three set victory over
Paavanii Paathak in the ITF women’s tennis tournament in Gurugram on
Tuesday.
| Photo Credit:
Kamesh Srinivasan
Laxmisiri Dandu on way to her three set victory over
Paavanii Paathak in the ITF women’s tennis tournament in Gurugram on
Tuesday.
| Photo Credit:
Kamesh Srinivasan
Laxmisiri Dandu capitalised on her wild card to battle her way past Paavanii Paathak 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the first round of the $15,000 ITF women’s tennis tournament at the Tennis Project, Baliawas, on Tuesday.
Laxmisiri will next play the winner of the match between third seed Akanksha Nitture and Prathyusha Rachapudi.
With only four main draw singles matches in action on the day, Soha Sadiq was the other Indian to progress, as the eighth seed tackled the gutsy game of Bela Tamhankar with considerable poise and purpose to win in straight sets.
The results:
Singles (first round):
Soha Sadiq bt Bela Tamhankar 6-4, 6-0; Laxmisiri Dandu bt Paavanii Paathak 3-6, 6-3, 6-2; Shihomi Leong (Mas) bt Sonal Patil 6-1, 6-2; Michika Ozeki (Jpn) bt Aarnavi Tomar 6-0, 6-1.
Doubles (pre-quarterfinals):
Elena Jamshidi (Den) & Maria Mikhailova bt Laalitya Kalluri & Prathyusha Rachapudi 6-2, 6-4; Diva Bhatia & Sai Samhitha bt Pooja Ingale & Sandeepti Singh Rao 6-3, 1-6, [10-2]; Mahika Khanna & Sohini Mohanty bt Aakruti Sonkusare & Sahira Singh 6-1, 7-6(3); Carolann Delaunay (Cal) & Paola Lopez (USA) bt Kashish Bhatia & Aditi Rawat 6-1, 6-2.
– Team Sportstar
Published on Sep 16, 2025