Indian sports wrap, July 18: Ganguly nominated for Mohun Bagan, East Bengal awards

Here are all the major updates, scores, and results of Indians in the world of sports on July 18.

FILE PHOTO: Former BCCI President Sourav Ganguly speaks during a promotional event, in Kolkata. | Photo Credit: PTI

CRICKET

Ganguly nominated for Mohun Bagan, East Bengal awards

Former India captain and BCCI president Sourav Ganguly has been nominated for this year’s Mohun Bagan Ratna Award, the club announced after its meeting on Thursday.

Ganguly will be conferred the award, the highest sporting laurel instituted by the club, on the Mohun Bagan foundation day on July 29. Bimal Mukherjee, captain of Mohun Bagan’s first Calcutta Football League winning team (in 1939), will be given the Lifetime Achievement Award posthumously. Dimitiri Petratos and Manvir Singh have been nominated as the best footballer and the best forward for their performance in the previous season (2023-24) while Avilin Ghosh has been named the best cricketer.

On the same day that Mohun Bagan club decided to honour Sourav Ganguly with its highest decoration, traditional rival East Bengal aslo announced its decision to nominate the former Indian captain for “Bharat Gaurav”, which is the highest award instituted by the club. Ganguly will be conferred the “Bharat Gaurav” on East Bengal foundation day on August 1. East Bengal will be announcing the other categories on a later date. 

The Awardees (2023-24 season)

Mohun Bagan Ratna - Sourav Ganguly; Lifetime Achievement Award - Bimal Mukherjee; Best Footballer (Senior) - Dimitri Petratos; Best Cricketer (Senior) - Avilin Ghosh; Best Forward (senior) - Manvir Singh; Best Youth Footballer - Suhail Ahmad Bhat; Best Athlete - Karunamoy Mahato; Best Hockey Player - Sourabh Pashine; Best Fan of the Year - Bapi Maji and Ajoy Pasawan; Best Referee - Dilip Sen.

-Amitabha Das Sharma

SQUASH

Chotrani, Semwal top seeds in Maharashtra Open

Veer Chotrani and Anjali Semwal are the top-seeded players in the men’s and women’s draws respectively in Bombay Gymkhana 47th Maharashtra State Open Squash Tournament starting on July 20.

Rahul Baitha is seeded second while Mahesh Mangaonkar and Om Semwal are the men’s joint third and fourth seeds.

In the women’s competition, Sunita Patel is seeded second and the joint third-fourth seeds are Aradhya Porwal and Rani Gupta.

Siddhant Rewari is the top seed in boys’ under-19 top while Reiva Nimbalkar is the girls’ under-19 number one seed.

Seeding:

Men’s: 1. Veer Chotrani, 2. Rahul Baitha, 3/ 4. Mahesh Mangaonkar & Om Semwal.

Women’s: 1. Anjali Semwal, 2. Sunita Patel, 3/ 4. Aradhya Porwal & Rani Gupta.

Boys’ U-19: 1. Siddhant Rewari, 2. Kushal Vir Singh, 3/ 4. Aditya Chandani & Vivaan Bhatia.

Girls’ U-19: 1. Reiva Nimbalkar, 2. Aryaa Dwivedi, 3/ 4. Durga Hiru Paradhi & Harshini Pandey.

Boys’ U-17: 1. Darshil Parasrampuria, 2. Ishaan Dabke, 3/ 4. Arjun Ramdas & Varun Shah.

Girls’ U-17: 1. Rudra Singh, 2. Karina Phipps, 3/ 4. Vyomika Khandelwal & Eesha Shrivastava.

- PTI

Bawa, Anahat to spearhead India challenge in World Junior squash team events

Shaurya Bawa and Anahat Singh will spearhead India’s challenge in the boys’ and girls’ team events respectively at the World Junior Squash Championships in Houston starting Thursday.

Bawa, who won a bronze in singles, will be teaming up with Yuvraj Wadhwani, Ayaan Vaziralli and Arihant KS, while women’s National champion Anahat, quarterfinalist in singles, will combine with Unnati Tripathi, Nirupama Dubey and Shameena Riaz.

The boys meet Kuwait and the girls take on Chinese Taipei in the opening rounds.

- Team Sportstar

TENNIS

Bhambri makes semifinal at Gstaad ATP Tournament

Yuki Bhambri in partnership with Albano Olivetti beat Matwe Middelkoop and Denys Molchanov 6-3, 6-4 to reach the doubles semifinals of the €651,865 ATP tennis tournament in Gstaad, Switzerland, on Thursday.

In the semifinals, the third-seeded Indo-French pair will meet fifth seeds Sander Arends and Robin Haase.

In the $742,350 ATP tennis tournament in Newport, USA, Anirudh Chandrasekar and Arjun Kadhe knocked out the top seeds Nathaniel Lammons and Jackson Withrow 6-3, 3-6, [10-7] in the doubles pre-quarterfinals.

- Team Sportstar

The scores:

€2,047,730 ATP, Hamburg, Germany

Doubles (pre-quarterfinals): Kevin Krawietz & Tim Puetz (Ger) bt Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan & Vijay Sundar Prashanth 6-1, 6-4.

€651,865 ATP, Bastad, Sweden

Singles (pre-quarterfinals): Mariano Navone (Arg) bt Sumit Nagal 6-4, 6-2.

€651,865 ATP, Gstaad, Switzerland

Doubles (quarterfinals): Yuki Bhambri & Albano Olivetti (Fra) bt Matwe Middelkoop (Ned) & Denys Molchanov (Ukr) 6-3, 6-4.

$742,350 ATP, Newport, USA

Doubles (pre-quarterfinals): Anirudh Chandrasekar & Arjun Kadhe bt Nathaniel Lammons & Jackson Withrow (USA) 6-3, 3-6, [10-7]; Andre Goransson (Swe) & Sem Verbeek (Ned) bt Joshua Parris (GBR) & Ramkumar Ramanathan 6-3, 4-6, [10-8].

$41,000 Challenger, Astana, Kazakhstan

Doubles (pre-quarterfinals): Seita Watanabe & Takeru Yuzuki (Jpn) bt Sai Karteek Reddy & Khumoyun Sultanov (Uzb) 6-4, 6-4.

$15,000 ITF men, Uslar, Germany

Doubles (pre-quarterfinals): Jasper Camehn (Ger) & Daniel De Jonge (Ned) bt Raghav Jaisinghani & Avi Shugar (USA) 7-6(6), 6-1.

$15,000 ITF men, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand

Singles (pre-quarterfinals): James Watt (Nzl) bt Dhakshineswar Suresh 6-7(8), 7-6(2), 6-1; Vishnu Vardhan bt Krittin Koaykul (Tha) 6-0, 6-1.

$100,000 ITF women, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain

Singles (pre-quarterfinals): Linda Fruhvirtova (Cze) bt Rutuja Bhosale 2-6, 7-6(6), 6-3.

$60,000 ITF women, Evansville, USA

Singles (first round): Tara Moore (GBR) bt Shrivalli Bhamidipaty 7-6(3), 6-4; Sahaja Yamalapalli bt Anna Frey (USA) 1-6, 6-2, 6-2.

$40,000 ITF women, Nottingham, Britain

Singles (pre-quarterfinals): Ankita Raina bt Amelia Rajecki (GBR) 6-2, 4-6, 6-0.

$15,000 ITF women, Casablanca, Morocco

Singles (pre-quarterfinals): Angella Okutoyi (Ken) bt Vaishnavi Adkar 3-6, 6-3, 6-3.

$15,000 ITF women, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand

Singles (pre-quarterfinals): Salakthip Ounmuang (Tha) bt Vanshita Pathania 6-2, 6-0.

$15,000 ITF women, Monastir, Tunisia

Singles (pre-quarterfinals): Victoria Gomez (Esp) bt Tanisha Kashyap 6-2, 4-1 (retired).

HOCKEY

Hockey men’s and women’s sub junior South Zone championship begin on Friday

The second edition of Hockey India’s sub junior men’s and women’s South Zone championship involving six teams will be held at Kollam in Kerala from Friday.

Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Puducherry and Kerala are the six teams in men’s and women’s categories in the competition.

The format of the tournament will be round-robin wherein all teams will play against each other once. The top two teams will advance to the final after the end of the first round whereas the third and fourth placed sides will battle for third-place finish.

“This championship is not only about winning but also about learning and growing as players. It provides a crucial platform for young players to showcase their skills and gain valuable experience,” HI president Dilip Tirkey said in a statement.

On the first day, Andhra Pradesh will take on Puducherry, Karnataka will face Telangana, while Tamil Nadu will lock horns with Kerala in the men’s category.

In the women’s section, Telangana will compete with Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu will face Puducherry, and Kerala will take on Karnataka.

- PTI

Devi Priya scores six goals as Manipur Hockey thrash Assam

Manipur Hockey powered to a 12-0 win against Assam Hockey with Devi Mutum Priya leading the scoring efforts by pumping in six goals in the 2nd Hockey India Junior Men & Women East Zone Championship here on Thursday.

In another women’s match, Hockey Jharkhand crushed Hockey Bihar 10-0 with Mundu Sukarmani (15, 23, 43) emerging the highest goal-scorer. Hockey Bengal faced some stiff challenge before overcoming Hockey Association of Odisha 3-0.

In the men’s section, Hockey Association of Odisha scored a hard-fought 2-0 win over Hockey Jharkhand. Hockey Bihar registered a 7-2 victory over Assam Hockey with Atit Kumar (2, 30) scoring a brace.

Manipur Hockey boys beat Hockey Bengal 2-1 with the latter taking the lead through captain Singh Vivek Kumar (4th min), who converted a penalty corner before Khangembam Somikant Singh (27) and Captain Silheiba Lisham (40) scored to complete a comeback victory.

GOLF

Amateurs Saanvi and Mannat chase leader Vidhatri in 9th leg of WPGT

Two promising amateurs -- Mannat Brar and Saanvi Somu -- were hot on the heels of Vidhatri Urs, playing only her third event as a professional, in the ninth leg of the Hero Women’s Pro Golf Tour here on Thursday.

Vidhatri shot 2-under 69 after a first-round 68 to get to 5-under 137 and one clear of amateur Saanvi Somu, who repeated her first-round score of 69 to get to 4-under 138 at the Clover Greens.

Mannat, who has been a teammate of both the leaders on India teams at international amateur events, also shot 69 like Vidhatri and Saanvi.

Sneha Singh, winner of the 2023 Order of Merit, with 72, was fifth, while Gaurabi Bhowmick, who had the day’s best card of 3-under 68, moved up to sole sixth place.

Tvesa leads Indian challenge at Dutch Ladies Open

Tvesa Malik will lead the Indian challenge at this week’s Dutch Ladies Open, which is taking place at Hilversumsche Golf Club.

Tvesa will have Vani Kapoor and Ridhima Dilawari for company as India’s top star on the LET, Diksha Dagar, has taken a break ahead of the Olympic Games in Paris.

The 300,000 Euro event is the last LET event before the Olympics, where India will be represented by Aditi Ashok and Diksha.

- Team Sportstar

WRESTLING

IndusInd Bank and IIS Vijayanagar come together for ‘Wrestle for glory’ scheme

IndusInd Bank has launched the Wrestle for Glory scheme in collaboration with the Inspire Institute of Sports (IIS) in Vijaynagar, Bellary.

The scheme aims to empower 50 female wrestlers from across the country by providing them with fully-funded scholarships at the IIS facility.

As part of the program, the talented young wrestlers will get expert coaching, sports science resources, equipment, nutrition, eduction and a supportive ecosystem to propel them towards success on the global stage.

“We are delighted to launch ‘Wrestle for Glory’ with Inspire Institute of Sport, which is a testament to our unwavering commitment to drive diversity and inclusivity in Indian sports, thereby empowering the athletes,” said Sanjeev Anand, in-charge of IndusInd for Sports.

“We are happy to extend our association with IndusInd Bank for our girls wrestling programme, which has witnessed tremendous growth over the last few years,” said the CEO of IIS, Rushdee Warley.

CYCLING

National Cycling Championships to be held in Chennai in November

The first senior national track cycling (men & women) championships will be held in the Velodrome situated at Tamil Nadu Physical Education and Sports University campus in the month of November, Maninder Pal Singh, Secretary of Cycling Federation of India said on the sidelines of HCL Cyclothon, here on Thursday.

The Cyclothon event, organised by Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu (SDAT) and Cycling Federation of India, will begin at Mayajaal Multiplex on October 6 in three categories (professional, amateur and green ride).

Unveiling of jersey at the HCL Cyclothon event here on Thursday. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

“Things are looking up in Chennai when it comes to professional cycling. The dates of the (Senior Nationals) will be released in 10 days’ time. The Nationals will see the highest number of participations as Northern Eastern states will also be taking part,” said Maninder, while speaking to the media.

Onkar Singh, Secretary of Asian Cycling Confederation, said the India will bid for the Asian road racing championships tentatively in 2026. “The bids will close in February 2025. We have our meeting in March next year we will discuss. It all depends on the Central Government,” said Onkar.

- Team Sportstar

RUGBY

DHL Express and Rugby India launch DHL STAR program to nurture young athletes

DHL Express has formed a new CSR partnership with the Indian Rugby Football Union (Rugby India), the official governing body for rugby in India to launch the DHL STAR program. The program aims to identify, develop, and empower talented young rugby players in India, eventually creating a large pool of talented athletes for the Indian national team.

DHL Express has formed a new CSR partnership with the Indian Rugby Football Union to launch the DHL STAR program. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

Through a three-phase process, participants are identified by Rugby India’s scouts from national tournaments. The shortlisted players receive intensive training camps led by esteemed professionals like World Rugby Hall of Famer Waisale Serevi from Fiji, who will serve as Head Coach, and Juandre Naude, from South Africa, as the Assistant Coach.

- Team Sportstar

MOTORSPORT

Quintal becomes 1st Indian rider to compete at World Superbike Championships

Rider Kavin Quintal is all set to make a historic debut at the WorldSBK SSP300 competitions and become the first Indian rider to participate in a World Superbike Championship.

The 19-year Chennai star, Quintal, will be filling in for the Irish team Retro Traffic Kawasaki’s main rider, Spaniard Daniel Mogeda, who suffered an injury after leading the Supersport 300 class.

Quintal is currently competing in the European Stock Championship within the FIM JuniorGP and in the Asia Road Racing Championship.

“It is a great opportunity that I will try to learn and enjoy at the same time. I will be able to show my maximum level together with a great team that surrounds this structure. I would like to thank the team for this opportunity,” Quintal said.

- PTI