Indian sports wrap, September 23: Dinesh Karthik named India captain at Hong Kong Super Sixes; Esha, Rana top shooting trials
CRICKET
Dinesh Karthik appointed captain of Team India for the Hong Kong Sixes 2025
Cricket Hong Kong, China, on Tuesday announced that veteran Indian cricketer Dinesh Karthik will lead Team India in the upcoming prestigious Hong Kong Sixes 2025, scheduled to be held from November 7 to 9, 2025.
“It is an absolute honour leading Team India at the Hong Kong Sixes, a tournament with such rich history and global recognition,” Karthik said.
The Hong Kong Sixes tournament features teams of six players each taking part in six-over matches. Team India’s side in 2024 featured names including Robin Uthappa, Manoj Tiwari, Shahbaz Nadeem, and Stuart Binny.
“I look forward to leading a group of players who have such incredible records to their credit, and together we will aim to bring joy to the fans and play cricket that is both fearless and entertaining,” Karthik added.
At the 2025 edition, the wicketkeeper-batter will be joined by Ravichandran Ashwin, who confirmed his participation in the tournament earlier this month.
– Team Sportstar
MP widens lead against Himachal in Dr (Capt.) K. Thimmappiah Memorial Tournament
Madhya Pradesh furthered Himachal Pradesh’s misery, stretching its lead to a humongous 454 runs by Stumps on the third day of the semifinals of Dr (Capt.) K. Thimmappiah Memorial Tournament at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Tuesday.
After Kumar Kartikeya’s six-wicket haul (six for 54) helped dismiss Himachal for 204 in the first innings, MP made 233 for one in the second essay, with Harsh Gawli unbeaten on 121 (208b, 10×4, 2×6).
In the other last-four clash, KSCA Secretary’s XI staged a creditable comeback, reducing Goa to 168 for eight after having conceded a first-innings lead of 62. Abhishek Ahlawat scalped four wickets (four for 63) and helped limit Goa’s lead to 230 with a day’s play left.
The scores (semifinals): Goa 338 in 94.4 overs & 168/8 in 73 overs (Abhishek Ahlawat 4/63) vs. KSCA Secretary’s XI 276 in 97.1 overs (Lochan S. Gowda 88, Kruthik Krishna 95)
Madhya Pradesh 425 in 141.2 overs & 233/1 in 66 overs (Harsh Gawli 121 batting, Yash Dubey 76) vs. Himachal Pradesh 204 in 57.2 overs (Siddhant Purohit 43, Akash Vashisht 49, Kumar Kartikeya 6/54).
– Team Sportstar
SHOOTING
Esha Singh, Samrat Rana ace in 10m air pistol at National Shooting Selection Trials
World Cup gold medallist Esha Singh beat Sainyam by 1.7 points to top 10m air pistol in the National Shooting Selection Trials that concluded at the Madhya Pradesh Academy on Tuesday.
Anjali Shekhawat took third place ahead of Sakshi Suryavanshi, Muskan, Pranjali Dhumal, qualification topper Neeraj Kaur (580) and Niveditha Nair.
Samrat Rana won the men’s air pistol, beating Ujjawal Malik by 0.4 points. Olympic medalist Sarabjot Singh came third.
Qualification topper Sharvan Kumar, who had shot 593, one short of the world record score by Jin Jongoh of Korea that has stayed unbroken since 2009, finished eighth.
Subhash Sihag, Omprakash Mitharval, Parmod and Ajendra Singh Chauhan were the others to make it to the final.
The results:
10m air pistol: Men: 1. Samrat Rana 243.9 (583); 2. Ujjawal Malik 243.5 (585); 3. Sarabjot Singh 222.8 (587).
Women: 1. Esha Singh 240.6 (579); 2. Sainyam 238.9 (577); 3. Anjali Shekhawat 216.5 (579).
-Kamesh Srinivasan
FOOTBALL
Amenity Public School, Farook Higher Secondary School set for Subroto Cup U-17 final showdown
The semifinals of the 64th Subroto Cup International Football Tournament Junior Boys (U-17) produced two gripping encounters.
Amenity Public School (CBSE) edged past ASC Centre, Army Boys Company 1-0, while Farook Higher Secondary School (Kerala) got the better of RMSA School (Mizoram) with the same margin.
Raziio’s decisive strike for Amenity in the 67th minute sealed its passage to the final.
The second semifinal, defined by tight defending and quick counterattacks, Asmil’s goal in the 61st minute proved enough to book the Kerala-based side’s spot in the title clash.
The two finalists will now have a go at each other in the summit clash on Thursday, September 25.
-Team Sportstar
Tennis
Riya beats Gao Xinyu; Ankita, Rutuja enter doubles semifinals of 2025 Jingshan Tennis Open
Qualifier Riya Bhatia knocked out the fifth seed Gao Xinyu with a score of 6-4, 1-6, 6-3 in the first round of the 2025 Jingshan Tennis Open in Jingshan, China, on Tuesday.
Riya, who has already assured herself of 22 WTA points, including seven for qualification, will play Jia-Jing Lu of China in the pre-quarterfinals.
Karman Thandi, returning to the professional circuit after an injury lay-off, went down in the second set tie-break to Anastasia Kulikova of Finland in the first round.
Karman progressed into the doubles quarterfinals in partnership with Valeria Savinykh. Rutuja Bhosale and Ankita Raina also sailed into the doubles quarterfinals with a 6-1, 6-3 win over a Korean-Chinese combination.
The results:
$160,000 WTA, Jingshan, China:
Singles (first round): Riya Bhatia bt Gao Xinyu (Chn) 6-4, 1-6, 6-3; Anastasia Kulikova (Fin) bt Karman Thandi 6-3, 7-6(0).
Doubles (pre-quarterfinals): Valeria Savinykh & Karman Thandi bt Anastasia Kulikova (Fin) & Jessica Pieri (Ita) 4-6, 5-2 (retired); Rutuja Bhosale & Ankita Raina bt Na-Ri Kim (Kor) & Chengyiyi Yuan (Chn) 6-1, 6-3.
$15,000 ITF women, Kayseri, Turkey:
Singles (first round): Ana Grubor (Can) bt Madhurima Sawant 6-2, 7-6(5).
Doubles (pre-quarterfinals): Harshali Mandavkar & Noelani Teso (Jpn) bt Hind Al-Mudahka & Muubaraka Al-Naimi (Qat) 6-2, 6-2.
-Kamesh Srinivasan
$15,000 ITF women’s tennis tournament: Paavanii Paathak defeats Pooja Ingale; Prathyusha Rachapudi trumps Aditi Rawat
Paavanii Paathak stroked with intensity to oust Pooja Ingale 6-4, 6-3 in the first round of the $15,000 ITF women’s tennis tournament at the Tennis Project, Baliawas, on Tuesday.
After having played such a sparkling match against Paola Lopez in the second round last week at the same venue, this was a dampener for Pooja who had the game to call the shots.
However, Paavanii played with conviction and sported a better degree of focus to prevail in a baseline battle.
Paavanii will meet the winner of the match between third seed Elena Jamshidi and Sofia Suslova.
In another match, Prathyusha Rachapudi capitalised on her diligent training at the venue for the last few days to beat the talented left-hander Aditi Rawat in straight sets.
Prathyusha Rachapudi was fluent in her victory over Aditi
Rawat in the ITF women’s tennis tournament in Gurugram on Tuesday.
| Photo Credit:
Kamesh Srinivasan
Prathyusha Rachapudi was fluent in her victory over Aditi
Rawat in the ITF women’s tennis tournament in Gurugram on Tuesday.
| Photo Credit:
Kamesh Srinivasan
Prathyusha will next meet the winner of the match between Saumya Vig and Eva Desvignes.
The results:
Singles (first round): Jiho Shin (Kor) bt. Harshini Nagaraj 6-3, 6-3; Shihomi Leong (Mas) bt. Aarnavi Tomar 6-0, 6-0; Prathyusha Rachapudi bt. Aditi Rawat 6-4, 6-3; Paavanii Paathak bt. Pooja Ingale 6-2, 6-3.
Doubles (pre-quarterfinals): Akanksha Nitture & Soha Sadiq bt. Mahika Khanna & Sahira Singh 6-0, 6-2; Eva Desvignes (Sgp) & Elsa Wan (Mas) bt. Danica Fernando & Riya Sachdeva 6-1, 6-1; Mirudhula Palanivel & Janani Ramesh bt. Abhaya Vemuri & Apurva Vemuri 6-2, 2-6, [10-8]; Carolann Delaunay (Cal) & Paola Lopez (USA) bt. Maria Mikhailova & Sofia Suslova 7-5, 6-1.
-Kamesh Srinivasan
MOTORSPORT
Atiqa Mir narrowly misses out on podium finish in Slovakia
India’s racing sensation Atiqa Mir finished an impressive fourth after being in the running for a famous victory for the majority of the action-packed race in the Champions of the Future Academy (COFTA) karting series here.
Atiqa showed exemplary race craft to put herself in a winning position before narrowly missing out on a podium finish in round 4.1 of COFTA, a series which is keenly tracked by the top brass of the F1 Academy. The 10-year-old, who won in the DAMC series in Dubai earlier this month, is the first Indian to be supported by Formula 1 and is part of the F1 Academy DYD program.
Atiqa finished just 0.32 seconds behind the race winner in the mini category, reflecting the highly competitive nature of a male-dominated grid at Slovakia Karting Centre.
It was the first time that an Indian driver managed a top-four in the championship history and was the highest finish by a female in the ongoing season. In the second race of the weekend, Atiqa was running in a comfortable third place until she got hit from the back by another competitor on lap seven, forcing her off the track and as a result she lost multiple places to finish 11th.
Reflecting on her weekend, the AKCEL GP driver said: “I was so close to the win and the podium but happy at the same time with my progress and performance against this top European Grid. It’s nice to see all the hard work and training paying off.”
“It was an incredible drive by Atiqa against this quality of drivers. Her hard work is beginning to pay off now. She along with her team of coaches, trainers and mechanic worked incredibly hard to achieve this result. Atiqa is probably the least experienced on the grid and yet is able to give such performances,” said Asif Nazir Mir, a Formula Asia Vice Champion who travels with his daughter to races around the world
Atiqa had made history last year in this championship by becoming the first Indian to get a podium the Mini Under 10 category at Round 6 in Abu Dhabi
-PTI
BADMINTON
Meghana Reddy into main draw of Korean Open
Indian shuttler Meghana Reddy entered the main draw of the Korea Open Super 500 badminton tournament after registering straight-game wins in the qualifiers on Tuesday.
The 21-year-old defeated Chinese Taipei’s Pei Chu Chen 21-6, 21-18 in the first round, before beating Japan’s Ririna Hiramoto 21-19, 22-20 in the second to secure her spot in the main draw of the USD 475,000 event.
She will take on Tonrug Saeheng of Thailand in the first round.
All other Indians competing in the qualifiers failed to advance to the main event.
In men’s singles, Shivansh lost 12-21, 21-17, 12-21 to Lu Wei Hsuan of Chinese Taipei.
The pair of Nitin Kumar and Harsh Rana was defeated 11-21, 17-21 by Bao Xin Da Gu La and Yu Hsang Chou of Chinese Taipei, while Shivansh and Pranave Chandel lost 15-21, 6-21 to Hung Bing Fu and Fu Syuan Liu in the men’s doubles qualifiers.
-PTI
Published on Sep 23, 2025