Indian sports wrap, September 6: Three Indians in contention for gold medals at World Wushu Championship
WUSHU
India shines at World Wushu Championship in Brazil
India has had a strong show at the 17th World Wushu Championship in Brazil so far with three women entering the finals and two men advancing to the knockout stages.
In the women’s category, Aparna showcased brilliant skills, defeating Tharisa Dea Florientina from Indonesia in 52 kg category to secure her place in the final, according to a release shared by Wushu Association of India.
Aparna will next face Ngo Thi Bhuong Nga from Vietnam in the gold medal bout on Sunday.
In 60kg category, Kareena Kaushik displayed exceptional strength and strategy to overcome Nathalia Briquesi Silva from Brazil in her semifinal clash. She will battle against China’s Xiaowei Wu for the title.
Shivani stunned Ekaterina Valchuk from Russia with her dominant performance and confirmed her spot in the 75kg final, where she will battle with Shahrbano Mansouriyaan Semiromi from Iran.
Among men, Sagar Dahiya entered the semifinal after a commanding show in 56kg category and will face Carlos Baylon Jr from Philippines for a place in the final on Sunday.
In 75 kg, Vikrant Baliyan will compete in the quarterfinal against Gensheng Jin from China, aiming to join his teammates in the medal rounds.
– PTI
SQUASH
Nafees, Rudra clinch U-19 titles at Indian Junior Open
Yusha Nafees and Rudra Singh clinched the boys’ and girls’ under-19 titles respectively at the Indian Junior Open Squash Championships.
Nafees, who was part of India’s bronze medal-winning squad at the Asian Junior Team Championships earlier this year, rallied to defeat Rachit Shah in a five-game thriller to secure the top prize at the Rajasthan Squash Academy.
In the girls’ U-19 final, Rudra got the better of Vyomika Khandelwal in straight games.
Results (all finals):
Boys U-19: Yusha Nafees (5/8) bt Rachit Shah (5/8) 8-11, 5-11, 11-8, 11-5, 11-2.
Girls U-19: Rudra Singh (5/8) bt Vyomika Khandelwal (5/8) 11-7, 13-11, 11-2.
Boys U-17: Subhash Choudhary (1) bt Raghav Vashishtha (5/8) 11-8, 11-4, 10-12, 11-2.
Girls U-17: Sehar Nayar (3/4) bt Saanvi Kalanki (3/4) 12-10, 11-1, 11-6.
Boys U-15: Shreyansh Jha (1) bt Harshal Rana (2) 14-12, 11-5, 11-8.
Girls U-15: Aadya Budhia (5/8) bt Vasundhara Nangare (1) 12-10, 11-7, 10-12, 11-7.
Boys U-13: Shayan Samtani (1) bt Abhyuday Arora (2) 11-5, 11-2, 12-10.
Girls U-13: Shanaya Parasrampuria (5/8) bt Nandikasree Kalaivanan (5/8) 11-7, 11-7, 11-6.
Boys U-11: K Haribala (3/4) bt Tilakvir Kapoor (1) 11-9, 12-10, 8-11, 6-11, 11-9.
Girls U-11: Alia Kankaria (2) bt Keerti Pradha Junivar Bala (1) 10-12, 11-8, 11-9, 16-14.
Boys U-9: Amaay Mahajan bt Darsh Mehrotra 13-11, 11-6, 11-6.
Girls U-9: K Tulasi Mira bt Lakshanya Rajawat 12-10, 11-6, 11-4.
– PTI
TABLE TENNIS
Focus on Manush Shah, Payas Jain as UTT Ranking event returns to Delhi after 13 years
The spotlight will be on defending champion Manush Shah and local favourite Payas Jain when the second UTT National Ranking Table Tennis Championships return to the capital after 13 years on Sunday.
The absence of top paddlers Manav Thakkar, G Sathiyan and Sreeja Akula has not dimmed the scale of the competition, which has drawn close to 3,000 entries across 12 categories — surpassing the 2,587 entries at the season opener in Vadodara.
The championships will open with the men’s and women’s singles, where Shah (RBI) and Anusha Kutumbale (Railways) — winners in Vododara — will look to extend their winning form.
Manav, India’s only men’s player in the world top-50, and Sathiyan are recovering from injuries ahead of the Asian Championships in Bhubaneswar next month, while Sreeja, the lone Indian woman in the top-50, has opted out to focus on the continental event.
Their absence opens up the field for emerging talents to make a mark.
Manush will face tough tests from Jain, who will enjoy home support. He had reached the semifinals at Vadodara. Then there are Sudhanshu Grover and Yashansh Malik, who have the wherewithal to beat the best in business on a given day.
Among women, Anusha will face strong competition from Diya Chitale, runner-up Swastika Ghosh, Yashaswini Ghorpade and Taneesha Kotecha.
Harmeet Desai, SFR Snehit and Akash Pal also add depth to the men’s draw, while a new crop of Under-19 talent — Ankur Bhattacharjee, Divyansh Srivastava, P.B. Abhinand and Syndrela Das will aim to make an impression.
The junior sections (U-17, U-15, U-13, U-11) will once again showcase the sport’s grassroots strength.
– PTI
Published on Sep 06, 2025