TENNIS
Canada Open: Rohan Bopanna-Ebden lose in pre-quarterfinals
Rohan Bopanna in partnership with Olympic champion Matthew Ebden of Australia was beaten 4-6, 6-3, [10-7] by Hugo Nys and Jan Zielinski in the doubles pre-quarterfinals of the $8,122,428 ATP tennis tournament in Montreal, Canada.
The second-seeded Indo-Aussie pair which had a bye in the first round collected 90 ATP points and $29,140.
In the €74,825 Challenger in Bonn, Germany, Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan and Vijay Sundar Prashanth beat the second seeds Jakob Schnaitter and Mark Wallner 7-5, 7-6(6) to reach the doubles final.
The results:
-Team Sportstar
HPCL Mittal AITA tournament: Neeraj Yashpaul beats Parv Nage in final
Top seed Neeraj Yashpaul outplayed qualifier Parv Nage 6-0, 6-3 in the men’s final of the HPCL Mittal Rs.200,000 AITA ranking tennis tournament at the CLTA Complex on Friday.
Anjali Rathi won the women’s title, beating Sahira Singh for the loss of five games.
The results (finals):
- Team Sportstar
FOOTBALL
Punjab FC signs Manish Timsina as goalkeeping coach
Punjab FC on Friday announced the hiring of Manish Timsina as their goalkeeping coach ahead of the upcoming Indian Super League season.
Timsina is an AFC/FAM Goalkeeping ‘A’ and ANFA ‘A’ Diploma Licenced Coach.
Timsina, the current goalkeeping coach of the Nepal national side, had also worked in a similar role with I-League side Gokulam Kerala during the 2023-24 season.
The 36-year-old has gained immense coaching experience in Nepal, India, and Malaysia.
Timsina’s maiden senior assignment was being the head coach of the Morang DFA in 2018 before being appointed as the Nepal U-15 national team’s goalkeeping coach.
Timsina was then roped in by Gokulam in 2021, helping the side secure the I-League title that season.
Commenting on signing by PFC, Timsina said, “I am thrilled to begin this new journey with Punjab FC. The squad has a strong group of goalkeepers, and I am eager to work with each of them to elevate their game.” Timsina will be working with PFC goalkeepers -- Ravi Kumar, Jaskaranbir Singh, Abujam Penand Singh and Muheet Shabir.
PFC’s Football Director Nikolaos Topoliatis welcomed Timsina, “We are pleased to have Timsina join us as the goalkeeping coach.
“With a young and talented group of keepers under his guidance, we are confident in his ability to help the team compete for all three trophies and to develop our young keepers to reach their full potential.”
- PTI
Subroto Cup: Betkuchi High School beats Navodaya Vidyalaya
A goal each from Muskan, Sangita, Roshmi and Mary helped Betkuchi High School, Guwahati, to a 4-0 victory over Navodaya Vidyalaya school, Meghalaya, in a group-A league match of the 63rd Subroto Cup under-17 girls football tournament at the GD Goenka World School ground on Friday.
The Assam team made the quarterfinals from the group, and was joined by The Porompat Sabal Leikai High school, Imphal, from group-C.
The quarterfinal matches, two each will be played at the Ambedkar Stadium and the KIIT Global School, Gurugram, on Saturday.
The results (league):
- Team Sportstar
Rajasthan new champion of Junior Girls’ National Football Championship 2024-25 Tier 2
Rajasthan won its first National state level title in 60 years when it defeated host Karnataka 3-1 in the final of the Junior Girls’ National Football Championship 2024-25 Tier 2 at the Sporting Planet Lovedale School Ground in Belgaum, Karnataka, on Friday, August 9, 2024. The winners led 2-0 at half-time.
The last time Rajasthan bagged a trophy was in 1964, defeating Assam in the final of the Junior Boys’ National Football Championship for the Dr. BC Roy Trophy in Ajmer.
In a well-contested encounter, a fine volley by Manju Kanwar and two well-executed free-kicks by skipper Sanju Kanwar made all the difference as Rajasthan picked up three goals against Karnataka’s one to emerge triumphant.
In a match in which Karnataka initially held a slight edge, Rajasthan shot ahead in the 23rd minute when striker Manju Kanwar found the target with a measured volley, for which Karnataka goalkeeper Prayukta Arya had no answer.
The second goal was the result of a cleverly taken free-kick by Manju Kanwar in the 36th minute that sailed over the goalkeeper’s head to help Rajasthan consolidate the lead.
Despite the first-half setbacks, Karnataka didn’t look a beaten lot and attacked regularly to pull one back in the 63rd minute. As the Rajasthan goalkeeper Munni failed to collect a ball cleanly, Ruthu Sreenandan was quick to push in from close.
But what probably took the fight out of Karnataka was the third goal by Rajasthan, another product of a free kick taken by Manju Kanwar. Prayukta Arya was well positioned to collect the ball, but it slipped out of her hands at the last moment to roll into the goal.
In the group league, Rajasthan defeated Maharashtra, Tripura and Pondicherry before beating Sikkim in a tie-breaker in the semifinals.
-Team Sportstar
GOLF
Janneya, Guntas bag title in IGU UP State Ladies & Junior Girls Golf tournament
Janneya A Dasanniee of Gujarat emerged the overall winner of the UP State Ladies & Junior Girls Golf Championship 2024 in Noida.
Janneya carded a 4-over 148 (73-75) in two rounds to top Category A (Under-18) in the tournament organised by Indian Golf Union at the Noida Golf Club.
There was a three-way tie for the runner-up spot between Sri Lanka’s Kaya Daluwatte, Kashika Misra of Odisha and Anvvi Dahhiya of Haryana at 7-over 151.
Chandigarh’s Guntas Kaur Sandhu bagged the title in Category B (Under-15) firing a card of four-over 148 (72-76).
Haryana’s Yogya Bhalla was the runner-up with a score of 10-over 154.
- PTI
Arjun Sharma cards six-under to take lead in Mysuru Open golf
Arjun Sharma fired a superb six-under 64 in round two that propelled him into lead with a halfway score of 13-under 127 in the Mysuru Open 2024 here on Friday.
Arjun (63-64), who was overnight tied second and one off the lead, enjoyed a terrific first nine as he produced a hole-in-one on the 15th and sank three more birdies before the turn.
The 31-year-old from Greater Noida, searching for his maiden win, then had a steady front-nine with a one birdie on the seventh and no dropped shots.
Kartik Sharma’s 63 and scores of 64 by Bengaluru’s Shaurya Binu and Chandigarh’s Akshay Sharma placed them in a three-way tie for the second place at 12-under 128.
Overnight leader Aman Raj (67) slipped to fifth place at 11-under 129. The cut went at four-under 136 as 52 professionals and an amateur made the cut.
Seventeen-year-old Veer Ganapathy of Bengaluru was the only amateur to make the cut.
Veer, who was tied second after round one, struck a 68 on day two to drop to 12th position at nine-under 131.
Delhi’s Kshitij Naveed Kaul returned an error-free nine-under 61, the lowest round of the tournament so far, to end the day in tied 13th place at eight-under 132.
- PTI
SURFING
Covelong Classic 2024: Tamil Nadu surfers stamp authority, Ramesh Budhial keeps Karnataka’s hopes alive on day 2
Tamil Nadu surfers continued with their dominance on day two of the Covelong Classic 2024 - the final leg of the national surfing championship of the Surfing Federation of India.
That three-day surfing championship, on its second day, saw top surfers from across the country vie for a spot in the semifinals scheduled for the final day on 10th August 2024. Tamil Nadu’s Harish, with his skilled manoeuvres and acrobatic flair on the waves, impressed the judges in round two early in the morning scoring the highest score of the day at 12.20 points.
In the quarterfinals of the Men’s Open category a total of 16 surfers advance to the semifinals with Tamil Nadu’s Sivaraj Babu, topping the charts with a total of 11.66 points. Defending National Champion and the champion of Covelong Classic 2023 Srikanth D finished right behind the leader at 11.50 points while Ramesh Budhialwith a score of 8.40 is the lone hope for Karnataka at the Covelong Classic 2024.
The action on the second day began early, kicking off with a fierce battle for a quarterfinal slot in Round 2 of the Men’s Open category. Tamil Nadu’s Harish M was the star of the day, capturing everyone’s attention with his skilful manoeuvres and acrobatic flair on the waves. His stellar performance earned him a score of 12.20, the highest of the day.
Fellow Tamil Nadu surfer Sivaraj Babu also packed an impressive performance scoring a total of 11.17 points. Other notable surfers who advanced to the quarterfinals included Kishore Kumar (11.0), Sanjay Selvamani (10.50), Srikanth D (10.27), Sanjaikumar S (8.67), Ajeesh Ali (8.50), Ramesh Budhial (8.40), Nithishvarun T (8.30), Tayin Arun (8.13), Surya P (7.77), Raghul P (7.70), Ruban V (7.67), Ragul Govind (7.20), and Manivannan T (6.03).
The day continued with the quarterfinals of the Men’s Open category, which was almost an all-Tamil Nadu affair, as 15 out of the 16 surfers were from the host state. Sivaraj Babu and Srikanth D delivered outstanding performances, earning scores of 11.66 and 11.50, respectively. Joining them in the semi-finals are Ajeesh Ali (9.33), Sanjaikumar S (8.84), Ramesh Budhial (8.13), Kishore Kumar (7.83), Akilan S (7.77), and Harish M (7.04).
Speaking after earning the highest scores of the day, Harish M, “I’m thrilled to have earned the highest score of the day despite the tough and challenging conditions. The weak tides caused delays, but I’m glad to have secured my spot in the semi-finals. I’m aiming to keep up my performance tomorrow, even though the pressure is on with the strong competition I’ll be facing”.
The last day of the Covelong Classic will be packed with action, featuring the semi-finals and finals in the Men’s Open, Women’s Open, Groms 16 & Under Boys, and Groms 16 & Under Girls categories. The day will end with the prize distribution ceremony.
SQUASH
National squash championship: Velavan Senthilkumar beats Veer Chotrani
Top seed and defending champion Velavan Senthilkumar fought his way past Veer Chotrani 11-8, 4-11, 12-10, 12-10 in the men’s semifinals of the 80th HCL National squash championship at the Bombay Gymkhana on Friday.
In the final, Velavan will be challenged by second seed Abhay Singh who overcame a slow start to beat Mahesh Mangaonkar in four games.
The women’s final will be between top seed and defending champion Anahat Singh and Akanksha Salunkhe.
The results (semifinals):
- Team Sportstar
CUE SPORTS
Parikh, Wadhawan in main draw of Western India Billiards and Snooker Championship
The seasoned Railways cueist Siddharth Parikh and Samay Wadhawan made it to the main draw of the Western India Billiards and Snooker Championship in Mumbai on Friday.
Parikh got the better of Kolhapur’s Anil Kumar with an authoritative 4-0 (75-1, 75-0, 78-16, 76-15) win during his senior snooker third round match at the Khar Gymkhana.
National Sports Club of India’s Wadhawan recorded a similar 4-0 win (65-13, 54-40, 70-38, 66-25) against Mohsin Achhava from Gujarat to make the main round.
Railways’ Nikhil Ghadge overcame Mumbai’s Kalpesh Mevada 4-2 (29-70, 42-27, 55-21, 21-57, 61-24, 55-41) to advance further into the main round along with Aurangabad’s Chetan Rajarwal and Vishal Gehani.
Rajarwal compiled a break of 47 in the second frame and went on to defeated Mumbai’s Alam Shaikh 4-1 (64-36, 60-22, 67-78, 60-50, 60-20), while Gehani scraped past Andhra Pradesh’s Sagar Jain 4-2 (2-46, 65-16, 45-28, 64-32, 35-65, 79-49) in third round encounters.
Results: Round 3
- PTI
Comments
SHARE