MOTORSPORT
Nikhil J clocked a blistering 1:25.094 to beat fancied Dhruva Chandrashekar who managed only 1:26.267 in the INAC1 800 to 1650cc class finals, while Nikeetaa Takkale excelled as a woman driver, in the FMSCI Indian National Autocross Championship 2024 (INAC).
The two fastest drivers in the class saw tough competition in the top INAC1 class.
This is the first of the 12 Nationals organised by FMSCI which completed the Nationals 2024 and Indian champions were declared.
Philippos Matthai clinched the title in the INAC1 1651 to 2400cc being the only driver in the fray. The championship finals also highlighted outstanding performances from Dhruva, Mazdayar Vatcha, Nikhil J, Daksh Gill, and Nikeetaa, among others, across various categories.
Dhruva’s triumph in the INAC 2 Open Class, with a timing of 1:26:738 in VW Polo underscored the intensity of competition, with his closely contested victory against Philippos and Nikeeta, showcasing the pinnacle of racing excellence.
In INAC 3-Open Class, Mazdayar emerged victorious with a standout performance of 1:30.657, with Goa’s Amey Desai coming in second with a time of 1:31.277 followed by Praveen Dwarkanath with a time of 1:33.474.
In the women’s category of Time Attack event, Pune’s Nikeeta secured first position with a time of 1:31.380 followed by Tarushi Vikram with 1:32.988 and Nikita Nair coming in 3rd with 2:01.456.
INAC results (Provisional)
INAC Open: 1. . Philippos Matthai 1:26.000; 2. Uday Pilani 1:28.909; 3. Naveen Puligilla 1:32.422;
INAC 1 (800 to 1650cc): 1. Nikhil J 1:25.094; 2. Dhruva Chandrasekhar 1:26.267; 3. Arshad Pasha 1: 26.854;
INAC1 (1651 to 2400cc): 1. Philippos Matthai 1:26.489;
INAC2 Open: 1. Dhruva Chandrasekhar 1:26.738; 2. Philippos Matthai 1:26.759; 3. Nikeetaa Takkale 1:29.736.
INAC2 (800 to 1400cc): 1. Arshad Pasha 1:2.840; 2. Mazdayar Vatcha 1:32.228; 3. Kiran Reddy 1:32.336.
INAC2 (1401 to 1650cc): 1. Arshad Pasha 1:27.564; 2. Nikhil J 1:27.606; 3. Dhruva Chandrasekhar 1:28.142.
INAC3 (Open): 1. Mazdayar Vatcha 1:30.657; 2. Ameya Desai 1:31.277; 3. Praveen Dwarakanath 1:33.474.
4wd Open: 1. Daksh Gill 1:27.786; 2. Sravan Kumar Kuttoor 1:33.222; 3. Mazdayar Vatcha 1:34.002.
-Team Sportstar
HOCKEY
Arjan Singh memorial hockey tournament to begin on Thursday
The 5th edition of Marshal of the Air Force Arjan Singh Memorial Hockey tournament will be held from April 25 to 30 at 3 Base Repair Depot (BRD) of the IAF here.
Twelve teams are participating in the tournament including two from overseas -- Bangladesh and Sri Lanka Air Force. The tournament will be played on league and knockout basis.
Addressing a news conference at 3 BRD here, Air Vice Marshal Sartaj Bedi said: “We look forward to expanding the tournament in the times to come with able guidance from Hockey India.” When asked if the tournament has lived up to its expectations of uplifting the game to a highly competitive level comparable to international standards, he said, “Definitely, we found that our team has been performing increasingly better.
“It also gives us an opportunity to interact with peer forces from friendly foreign countries as well as learn from the teams of other participants taking part in the tournament,” he said.
Asked if the tournament in its future editions can see an increase in the number of foreign participants, Bedi said, “Definitely, for sure. It is on our agenda. We are looking at getting four foreign teams”.
The tournament will be played at Raghbir Singh Bhola Hockey Ground, 3 Base Repair Depot, Air Force Station, here.
Notably, Air Force Sports Control Board has been organising the prestigious hockey tournament in the memory of legendary late Marshal of the Air Force Arjan Singh at 3 BRD, Air Force Station, Chandigarh since 2018.
On the occasion, Bedi also unveiled the trophy of the 5th edition of the tournament.
Group Captain Amit Dhami, Organising Secretary of the tournament, in his presentation briefed about the tournament.
He said that in addition to two foreign teams, the teams of Indian Air Force, Chandigarh XI, State Bank of India, Punjab & Sind Bank, Central Industrial Security Force, Punjab Police, Army XI, Indian Navy, Indian Railways and Rail Coach Factory will participate.
The matches will be held among the teams divided in four pools.
The winning team will get a prize money of Rs 3 lakh, while the runner-up will be given Rs 2 lakh.
Air Marshal R K Anand, Air Officer Incharge (Administration) will be the chief guest for the opening ceremony, while Air Chief Marshal V R Chaudhari, chief of the Air Staff will preside over the closing ceremony on April 30.
An icon of India’s military history, Arjan Singh had successfully led a young IAF during the 1965 Indo-Pak war.
The only officer to attain the highest post of Marshal of the Air Force equivalent to the Army’s five-star field marshal, Singh was a fearless and exceptional pilot who had flown more than 60 different types of aircraft.
Singh passed away on September 16, 2017, at the age of 98.
-PTI
TENNIS
National wheelchair championship: Kundaragi beat Kannupayan in men’s pre-quarterfinals
BM Kundaragi beat fourth seed Sathasivam Kannupayan 9-8(6) in the men’s pre-quarterfinals of the second National wheelchair tennis championship at the DLTA Complex on Wednesday.
In another match, Abdul Gafar beat eighth seed S Sureshkumar 9-5.
The results:
Men (pre-quarterfinals): Kartik Karunakaran bt M Malayadri 9-0; M Gabriel bt BR Pandurangaswamy 9-3; BM Kundaragi bt Sathasivam Kannupayan 9-8(6); Anil D Almeida bt S James Alexander 9-8(3); Abdul Gafar bt S Sureshkumar 9-5; Balachandar Subramanian bt DN Hanumanthappa 9-0; Mariappan Durai bt K Kesavan 9-1; Shekar Veeraswamy bt M Arul 9-0.
-Kamesh Srinivasan
Tennis
Sriram Balaji and Andre Begemann enter quarterfinal in Rome
Sriram Balaji and Andre Begemann beat Nikola Gacic and Bart Stevens 6-3, 6-4 in the doubles pre-quarterfinals of the €74,825 Challenger tennis tournament in Rome, Italy, on Wednesday.
In the $100,000 ITF women’s event in Tokyo, Japan, Prarthana Thombare and Arianne Hartono beat Rebecca Marino and Carol Zhao 2-6, 6-3, [10-4] in the doubles pre-quarterfinals.
The results:
€74,825 Challenger, Rome, Italy - Doubles (pre-quarterfinals): Sriram Balaji & Andre Begemann (Ger) bt Nikola Cacic (Srb) & Bart Stevens (Ned) 6-3, 6-4.
$25,000 ITF men, Santa Margherita di Pula, Italy - Singles (pre-quarterfinals): Andrea Picchione (Ita) bt Manas Dhamne 7-5, 6-0.
$15,000 ITF men, Shymkent, Kazakhstan - Singles (pre-quarterfinals): Vladyslav Orlov (Ukr) bt Chirag Duhan 6-4, 6-2; Maxim Shin (Uzb) bt Yuvan Nandal 6-2, 6-2; Dev Javia bt Grigoriy Lomakin (Kaz) 4-6, 6-3, 6-4; Aryan Shah bt Sergey Fomin (Uzb) 7-5, 6-0.
Doubles (pre-quarterfinals): Chirag Duhan & Karan Singh bt Yuvan Nandal & Manish Sureshkumar 5-7, 6-4, [10-6]; SD Prajwal Dev & SAi Karteek Reddy bt Savely Ivanov & Dmitri Vasilev 6-0, 6-1.
$100,000 ITF women, Tokyo, Japan - Doubles (pre-quarterfinals): Arianne Hartono (Ned) & Prarthana Thombare bt Rebecca Marino & Carol Zhao (Can) 2-6, 6-3, [10-4].
$60,000 ITF women, Charlottesville, USA - Doubles (pre-quarterfinals): Elvina Kalieva & Ann Li (USA) bt Kateryna Volodko (Ukr) & Sahaja Yamalapalli 7-6(3), 5-7, [10-6].
$40,000 ITF women, Lopota, Georgia - Doubles (quarterfinals): Ekaterine Gorgodze (Geo) & Ankita Raina bt Aglaya Fedorova & Kira Pavlova 6-2, 5-7, [10-7].
$40,000 ITF women, Wuning, China - Singles (first round): Rutuja Bhosale bt Zhu Chenting (Chn) 6-0, 6-2.
$15,000 ITF women, Shymkent, Kazakhstan - Singles (first round): Ariana Gogulina (Kaz) bt Saumya Vig 6-4, 1-6, 6-2; Soha Sadiq bt Ashmitha Easwaramurthi 4-0 (retired).
Doubles (pre-quarterfinals): Gozal Ainitdinova & Zhanel Rustemova (Kaz) bt Ashmitha Easwaramurthi & Elina Nepliy 6-1, 2-6, [10-4].
$15,000 ITF women, Monastir, Tunisia - Doubles (pre-quarterfinals): Vaishnavi Adkar & Lamis Aziz (Egy) bt Wang Shuoran & Zhang Jin (Chn) 6-3, 6-4; Diva Bhatia & Zeel Desai bt Britney Chiu (USA) & Eliessa Vanlangendonck (Bel) 7-5, 6-3.
-Kamesh Srinivasan
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