Asian Indoor Games: Sasikiran among the leaders

With three rounds remaining, Sasikiran reached 3.5 points and became part of the four-player leaders’ pack including top seeded Vietnamese Le Quang Liem, 14th seed Dao Thien Hai and fifth seeded Chinese Lu Shanglie.

K. Sasikiran leads the competition, with three others, with 3.5 points after four rounds.

Third seed K. Sasikiran scored two successive victories and shared the lead with three others after four rounds at the Asian Indoor Games in Ashgabat on Friday. With three rounds remaining, Sasikiran reached 3.5 points and became part of the four-player leaders’ pack including top seeded Vietnamese Le Quang Liem, 14th seed Dao Thien Hai and fifth seeded Chinese Lu Shanglie. Surya Sekhar Ganguly  won both rounds of the day to share the fifth spot at three points. World champion Tan Zhongyi led the women's category with a ‘perfect’ score after four rounds. Ninth seed Tania Sachdev (3) shared the fourth spot with six others. S. Vijayalakshmi (2), the 11th seed who suffered her second loss, was placed 21st. The results (involving Indians):-

Men (fourth round): K. Sasikiran (3.5) bt Enamul Hossain (Ban, 2.5); Surya Sekhar Ganguly (3) bt Mollah Abdullah Al Rakib (Ban, 2); (third round): Ali Muhammad Lutfi (Ina, 2) lost to Sasikiran; Semetry Tologontegin (Kgz, 1) lost to Ganguly. Women (fourth round): Alexander Samagonova (Kgz, 2) lost to Tania Sachdev (3); Wadima Humaid Alkalbani (UAE, 1) lost to S. Vijayalakshmi (2); (third round): Tania drew with Sarasadat Khademalsharieh (Iri, 2); Vijayalakshmi lost to Shamima Akter (Ban, 2.5).