TENNIS
Monte Carlo Masters: Bopanna-Murray pair progresses to semifinals
Rohan Bopanna and his British partner Jamie Murray, a former world number one in doubles, continued their impressive run to reach the semifinals of the Monte Carlo Masters on Friday.
Bopanna and Murray beat the third-seeded Spanish-Argentine pair of Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos 7-6 (8), 7-6 (8) in the quarterfinal clash that lasted one hour 59 minutes.
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The Indo-British pair had defeated seventh seeds Wesley Koohlof of the Netherlands and Murray's compatriot Neal Skupksi 2-6, 6-3 [12-10] in its first-round match before successfully getting past the all-American duo of Taylor Fritz and Sebastian Korda with a 6-4, 6-7 (7), [10-7] win in pre-quarterfinals.
In the semifinals, Bopanna and Murray will face the top-seeded American-British duo of Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury.
- Nihit Sachdeva
Junior Davis Cup: India beats Kazakhstan, faces Japan in final
Rushil Khosla provided a breathtaking touch to India’s qualification for the World Group as he underlined his athleticism and stroking ability in beating Danir Kaldybekov 7-5, 6-0 that ensured a final entry for the host in the Asia-Oceania Junior Davis Cup under-16 boys tennis tournament at the DLTA Complex in New Delhi on Friday.
With the top three teams from the region qualifying for the world stage, India assured itself of a berth by winning the two singles, and conceding defeat in the inconsequential doubles.
Bushan Haobam had earlier battled for two hours and 40 minutes and had recovered from being down 2-4 in the third set to win 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 against Amir Omarkhanov.
Captain Sajid Lodi provided the energy and guidance to Bushan when he was struggling in the third set to eventually pull him to a memorable victory. The messages conveyed firmly with a strong throat by the captain helped Bushan provide a strong foundation for the host.
In the second rubber, Rushil did have anxious moments in the first set, but once he got a grip on the contest, he just blew away the Kazakh with his crafty game and heavy top spin drives.
In the other semifinal, the Japanese put up a brilliant fare to deny the final berth for Australia.
The Aussies did remarkably well to win the second singles through Hayden Jones after losing the first set 1-6. That was Australia at its fighting best, but in the decisive doubles, the Japanese nosed ahead 10-6 in the super tie-break.
With the goal achieved, it should be interesting to see how well India tackles Japan in the final on the morrow.
- Kamesh Srinivasan
SHOOTING
Mehuli Ghosh emerged on top in women’s air rifle in the third National shooting selection trials as she beat Tilottama Sen 16-8 at the Dr. Karni Singh Range, Tughlakabad, on Friday.
Qualification topper Elavenil Valarivan (632.0) finished third ahead of Shreya Agrawal, Zeena Khitta, Natasha Jhaveri, Ramita and Shreya Saksena.
In the junior event, Zeena Khitta topped by beating Ramita. Nancy who placed third in juniors, topped the youth section by beating Isha Taksale 16-4.
- Kamesh Srinivasan
GOLF
Madappa rises to T-12, Diksha T-60 at Asian Mixed Stableford Challenge
India's Viraj Madappa shot five birdies against one bogey for a fine third round to be placed placed T-12, with one more round to go in the Trust Golf Asian Mixed Stableford Challenge golf tournament in Pattaya, Thailand on Friday.
The other Indians -- Rashid Khan (21 points) had five birdies against three bogeys in the third round and was T-36, while Veer Ahlawat (21 points), with an eagle and three birdies against one bogey, was also T-36.
Shiv Kapur, with five birdies against two bogeys and a double, added five more points to get to 16 and was T-56.
The lone Indian woman in the fray, Diksha Dagar had three birdies against two bogeys and was T-60 with a total of 15 points. Tvesa Malik had missed the cut.
- PTI
Yuvraj Singh Sandhu wins PGTI Players Championship
Yuvraj Singh Sandhu continued his red-hot form with his third win in five months at the Rs. 50 lakh TATA Steel PGTI Players Championship in Chandigarh on Friday.
Sandhu (70-67-65-69), playing at his home course, shot a resolute three-under 69 in the final round to end up with a one-stroke victory at 17-under 271. The 25-year-old, who bagged his second win of the 2022 season and a prize money cheque worth Rs. 8,08,250 to go along with it, consolidated his position in the PGTI Order of Merit despite continuing to be ranked second.
Bangladesh’s Md Zamal Hossain Mollah (67-66-69-70), the joint overnight leader along with Sandhu, missed his 15 feet birdie putt by a whisker on the final hole and thus the opportunity to take the match into a playoff.
- PTI
Gangjee misses cut in year's first outing in Japan
India's Rahil Gangjee gave away a double bogey on the very last hole of his second round to miss the midway cut at the Kansai Open Golf Championship in Hyogo, Japan on Friday.
The lone Indian on the Japan Tour had rounds of 70 and 74 and at two-over 144 he missed the cut, which fell at one-under.
- PTI
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