SQUASH
Abhay-Velavan pair gets top billing in Asian Doubles Squash
The Indian pair of Abhay Singh and Velavan Senthilkumar has been given top billing in the men’s doubles event of the Asian Doubles Squash Championship, which begins here on Thursday.
Abhay also features in the mixed doubles with stalwart Joshna Chinappa. The duo is seeded third among 15 teams, while Rathika Suthanthira Seelan and Pooja Arthi R are the fifth seed in women’s doubles.
The two pairs won this year’s National Championships, which was revived after 17 years.
- PTI
VOLLEYBALL
22nd Asian Women’s U20 Championship: India stuns Hong Kong 3-2, through to round of last 8
India stuns Hong Kong 3-2, through to round of last 8 | Photo Credit: X | AVC
India bounced back from losing the first two sets to beat Hong Kong, China in well-fought five sets 16-25, 22-25, 25-20, 25-16, 15-7 to finish second in Pool B and join Japan in the round of last 8 in the 22nd Asian Women’s U20 Volleyball Championship at the Jiangmen Sports Center Gymnasium on Wednesday.
Opposite Arasu Ananthi scored a match-high 24 points from 22 kills and two aces, while outside hitter and skipper Kavita and Kaenwar Raksha Vinod contributed 21 and 11 points, respectively. Tang Sum Yuen led Hong Kong, China with 19 points including 17 kills from 50 attempts.
India and Hong Kong had lost their opening match to Japan and both sides faced a must-win situation in this match. However, following the win, India advanced to the round of last 8, while Hong Kong was relegated to classification round for 9th-12th places.
-Team Sportstar
FOOTBALL
Debjit Majumder signs a two-year contract with East Bengal FC
Goalkeeper Debjit Majumder joined Emami East Bengal FC on a two-year contract that will be active until the end of the 2025-26 season.
This will be Majumder’s third stint with the Red & Gold Brigade after he previously represented the club in the 2011-12 and the 2020-21 seasons.
East Bengal FC Head Coach, Carles Cuadrat said, “Debjit has been a highly experienced goalkeeper in the ISL and the I-League. I know him from my early years in India, around 2016, and since then he has been performing with solidity and a great personality. His work-rate will add more value to our goalkeeping department and strengthen our defensive levels.”
Majumder had an exceptional 2023-24 season, accumulating 1,980 minutes of playing time and registering five clean sheets across 19 ISL, one Kalinga Super Cup and two Durand Cup matches. The Uttarpara-born custodian played a key part in helping Chennaiyin FC reach the playoffs and recorded the best saves-per-match ratio (66 saves in 19 matches – 3.47) in ISL 2023-24 (minimum 50 saves). Last season, Majumder also set the record for making the most saves (11) in a single match in ISL history.
-Team Sportstar
GOLF
Modest start for Diksha at Aramco Series London golf
India’s Diksha Dagar, who is recovering from a stiff neck which forced her to withdraw from the Italian Open last week, made a modest start with 2-over 75 to be placed tied 60th at the Aramco Series golf tournament here.
Paris Olympics-bound Diksha, a two-time winner on the Ladies European Tour, had an up-and-down round with three birdies, three bogeys and a double bogey on Par-5 13th hole at the on the Par-73 Centurion Golf Club.
Diksha was lying T-60 though the position will change as more than half the field was yet to finish their first round.
Diksha is the only Indian to have featured in a winning team in Aramco Series and that also came at the Aramco Series London in 2021.
Of the other two Indians in this week’s elite field at the one million dollar event, Tvesa Malik, who lost a play-off last week, was 1-over through three holes and Pranavi Urs was yet to start.
-PTI
TENNIS
ITF Tournament: Vaidhei Chudhari loses first round
Vaidehi Chaudhari was beaten 7-6(4), 6-4 by Alicia Smith of Australia in the first round of the $25,000 ITF women’s tennis tournament in Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand, on Wednesday.
The results:
$15,000 ITF men, Tianjin, China
Singles (first round): S Mukund bt Yang Xiaoyin (Chn) 6-3, 6-4.
$15,000 ITF men, Store, Slovenia
Singles (first round): Lukas Pokorny (Svk) bt Manas Dhamne 6-7(3), 6-1, 6-2.
$15,000 ITF men, Hillcrest, South Africa Singles (first round): Ishaque Eqbal bt Patrik Oplustil (Cze) 4-6, 7-6(0), 6-3.
Doubles (pre-quarterfinals): Ishaque Eqbal & Aryan Shah bt Sergio Badini & Maximilian Figl (Ita) 6-1, 6-4.
$15,000 ITF men, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand Singles (first round): Adil Kalyanpur bt Yamato Sueoka (Jpn) 6-3, 6-4.
$15,000 ITF men, Ust-Kamenogorsk, Kazakhstan Singles (first round): Rakhim Ibrakhimov (Uzb) bt Nitin Kumar Sinha 6-2 (retired); Shinji Hazawa (Jpn) bt Karan Singh 6-4, 6-4.
$60,000 ITF women, Montpellier, France
Doubles (pre-quarterfinals): Amandine Hesse & Selena Janicijevic (Fra) bt Jenny Lim (Fra) & Vasanti Shinde 6-2, 7-5.
$25,000 ITF women, Hillcrest, South Africa Singles (first round): Verena Meliss (Ita) bt Paavanii Paathak 6-1, 6-0.
Doubles (pre-quarterfinals): Amanda Elkin (Mex) & Haine Ogata (Jpn) bt Sofia Avataneo (Ita) & Ashmitha Easwaramurthi 6-3, 6-3; Matilde Mariani & Beatrice Stagno (Ita) bt Alicj Formella (Pol) & Paavanii Paathak 6-1, 6-2; Shria Atturu (USA) & Smriti Bhasin bt Grace Koenig & Erin McKenzie (RSA) 5-7, 6-3, [10-7]; Isabella Kruger & Zoe Kruger (RSA) bt Elena Jamshidi (Den) & Soha Sadiq 6-0, 6-3.
$25,000 ITF women, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand Singles (first round): Alicia Smith (Aus) bt Vaidehi Chaudhari 7-6(4), 6-4; Ayumi Koshiishi (Jpn) bt Sonal Patil 6-2, 6-7(6), 6-3; Ayano Shimizu (Jpn) bt Akanksha Nitture 6-0, 3-6, 6-3; Hikaru Sato (Jpn) bt Priyanshi Bhandari 6-1, 6-0.
-Kamesh Srinivasan
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