Indian Sports Wrap, June 26: List of probables announced for SAFF U-17 men’s Championship camp

Here are all the major updates, scores, and results of Indians in the world of sports on June 26.

AIFF named 31 probables for the U17 national camp in preparations for the SAFF U17 Men’s Championship 2024. | Photo Credit: AIFF

FOOTBALL

Probables announced for SAFF U-17 Men’s Championship camp

All India Football Federation (AIFF), on Wednesday, June 26, 2024, named 31 probables for the U-17 national camp to be held in Srinagar from July 8 in preparations for the SAFF U-17 Men’s Championship 2024.

The seven-nation tournament will be played in Bhutan from September 18 to 28. India are clubbed with Maldives and Bangladesh in Group A, while Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka are in Group B.

Once the SAFF campaign is over, the squad will continue to train in Srinagar for the 2025 AFC U-17 Asian Cup Qualifiers to be played in October 2024 in Thailand.

Several players among the probables were part of the Indian squad that won the SAFF Men’s U-16 Championship in Bhutan last September.

Head coach Ishfaq Ahmed said, “I feel excited by the prospect of coaching these talented bunch of youngsters. Most of these players were playing in the U-17 youth league, the others have been picked up by our scouts.

“It is good that the camp will be held in Srinagar. Since the tournament is in Bhutan, the boys will get used to playing in high altitude during the camp.”

The list of probables:

Goalkeepers: Rohit, Aheibam Suraj Singh, Nandan Ray.

Defenders: Thongram Rishikanta Singh, Lekhachandra Phairembam, Mohammed Kaif, Asher Rebello, Yaipharemba Chingakham, Usham Thoungamba, Chingtham Renin Singh, Karish Soram, Abdul Salha, Jodric Abranches.

Midfielders: Ngamgouhou Mate, Lunkhongam Chongloi, Kishor Tiwari, Laishram Suraj Singh, Levis Zangminlun, Banlamkupar Rynjah, Mohammad Sami, Vishal Yadav, Manbhakupar Malngiang, Mohammad Shameel, Mohammad Arbash, Brahmacharimayum Sumit Sharma.

Forwards: Ginminhao Khongsai, Prem Hansdak, Ahongshangbam Samson, Lairenjam Bharat, Hemneichung Lunkim, Dhriten Mehra.

Head coach: Ishfaq Ahmed.

-Team Sportstar

PICKLEBALL

AIPA-affiliated 100 pickleball courts to be set up in next two years

All India Pickleball Association-affiliated 100 courts will be set up in next two years across the country in a bid to bolster the growth of the game.

In a partnership announced between AIPA, the pickleball governing body in the country and KheloMore, a digital platform founded by former India cricketer and national selector Jatin Paranjape, an amount of Rs 5 crore would be invested to set up these courts.

“This collaboration underscores both organisations’ dedication to fostering the growing interest in pickleball by providing top-notch facilities accessible to players of all skill levels,” a release said.

Pickleball players will be able to use KheloMore’s online booking system, real-time updates on court availability and a community network.

“The collaboration with KheloMore is a significant milestone for grassroots development of pickleball in tier 2 and tier 3 cities in India. With this substantial investment, we aim to build world-class facilities and nurture a vibrant community of pickleball players,” AIPA president Arvind Prabhoo said.

Paranjape said, “AIPA is to pickleball what BCCI is for Indian cricket, we are sure this partnership will help develop the game on a very large scale in India. This investment aligns with our vision of promoting a healthy and active lifestyle through sports.”

-PTI

TENNIS

Chandril, Lakshit Sood to represent Indian team in ITF World Masters

The Sood twins, Chandril Sood and Lakshit Sood, will represent the Indian team in the over-30 section, along with Pulkit Mishra and Arun Bhosale, in the ITF World Masters tennis championship to be staged in Lisbon and Oeiras in Portugal from August 4.

THE TEAMS

Men: Over-30: Pulkit Misshra, Chandril Sood, Arun Bhosale, Lakshit Sood.

Over-35: Ketan Dhumal, Rahul Belwal, Shrikant Kumawat, Rahul Vora.

Over-40: Mandar Wakankar, Abhijeet Muzumdar, Ravindra Pandey, Girish Mishra.

Women: Over-30: Monica Menon, Meenu Shukla, Jyoti, Sanjana Raval.

Over-35: Nikunj Kamal, Tulsi Mehta, Harpreet Bajpai, Rinku Kumari.

Over-40: Priyanka Mehta, Mansi Sharma, Kapila Parekh.

- Kamesh Srinivasan

Bhambri, Olivetti loses in quarterfinals of ATP tournament in Calvia

Yuki Bhambri and Albano Olivetti went down fighting 6-7(21), 4-6 to the top seeds Nathaniel Lammons and Jackson Withrow of USA in the doubles quarterfinals of the 1,005,340 ATP tennis tournament in Calvia, Spain, on Wednesday.

The Indo-French pair won €8,630 and 45 ATP points.

THE RESULTS

€1,005,340 ATP, Calvia, Spain

Doubles (quarterfinals): Nathaniel Lammons & Jackson Withrow (USA) bt Yuki Bhambri & Albano Olivetti (Fra) 7-6(21), 6-4.

$25,000 ITF men, Hillcrest, South Africa

Singles (first round): Alec Beckley (RSA) bt Aditya Balsekar 6-2, 6-0.

$15,000 ITF men, Ust-Kamenogorsk, Kazakhstan

Singles (first round): Cengiz Aksu (Tur) bt Nitin Kumar Sinha 6-3, 6-1; Siddharth Vishwakarma bt Boris Pokotilov 7-6(3), 6-0; S.D. Prajwal Dev bt Maxim Shin (Uzb) 6-4, 6-4; Alexander Chepik bt Karan Singh 6-2, 6-7(8), 7-6(7).

$40,000 ITF women, Palma Del Rio, Spain

Doubles (pre-quarterfinals): Rutuja Bhosale & Sophie Chang (USA) bt Ruth Llaverias (Esp) & Demi Tran (Ned) 7-5, 6-1.

$15,000 ITF women, Los Angeles, USA

Doubles (pre-quarterfinals): Olivia Center & Kate Fakih (USA) bt Jessical Failla (USA) & Sahaja Yamalapalli 6-4, 6-4.

$15,000 ITF women, Monastir, Tunisia

Doubles (pre-quarterfinals): Gala Arangio (Arg) & Izabelle Persson (Swe) bt Aaddi Gupta & Dilana Rsovac (Aus) 6-0, 6-3.

$15,000 ITF women, Hong Kong

Singles (first round): Zhang Ying (Chn) bt Vanshita Pathania 6-1, 6-1; Hiromi Abe (Jpn) bt Saumya Vig 6-1, 6-0.

Doubles (pre-quarterfinals): Dang Yiming (Chn) & Anastasia Zolotareva bt Svetlana Shusteva & Saumya Vig 6-2, 6-2; Yuyun Chen (Tpe) & Gaeul Jang (Kor) bt Shefali Arora & Nnaomi Hagi (Hkg) 6-3, 6-1.

- Kamesh Srinivasan

SQUASH

Yusha Nafees leads strong Indian challenge into Asian Junior squash quarters

Yusha Nafees led a strong Indian challenge into the quarterfinals of the 31st Asian Junior Individual Squash Championships in Islamabad on Wednesday as seven of his compatriots also won their second-round matches across various age-groups.

Sixth-seeded Nafees beat Iranian Md Saleh Akhani 11-7, 11-5, 11-6 in the boys’ U-17 section, while second seed Shiven Agarwal defeated local challenger Rayyan Bahadur 11-9, 11-1, 11-5 in the boys’ U-15 category.

Other Indian second round results:

Boys – U-13: Dhruv Bopana lost to Huzaifa Shahid (Pak) 9-11, 9-11, 4-11. Girls – U-13: 4-Goushika M bt Maliha Shah (Pak) 11-3, 11-3, 11-3; 2-Aadya Budhia bt Sadia Zahoor Khan (Pak) 11-2, 11-6, 11-1; U-15: 8-Anika Dubey bt Wong Suet Ling (HK) 11-5, 11-1, 11-4; 9-Diva Shah bt Chung Ka Yau (HK) 9-11, 11-6, 11-3, 11-9; U-17: 6-Unnati Tripathi bt Kavithma Senomi Silva (SL) 11-3, 11-4, 11-4; U-19: 5-Nirupama Dubey bt Abhitha Shanmuganathan (Mas) 11-4, 11-9, 11-8; 8-Shameena Riaz lost to Anrie Goh (Mas) 5-11, 1-11, 2-11.

-Team Sportstar

CRICKET

Mukesh Kumar’s five-wicket haul (five for 23) and Writtick Chatterjee’s all-round showing (two for 26, 50 not out) guided Sobisco Smashers Malda to a six-wicket win over Lux Shyam Kolkata Tigers in a semifinal match of the Bengal Pro T20 League at the Eden Gardens here on Wednesday.

The Scores:

At Eden Gardens: Men (semifinals): Lux Shyam Kolkata Tigers 105/9 in 20 overs (Mukesh Kumar 5/23) lost to Sobisco Smashers Malda 109/4 in 16.3 overs (Writtick Chatterjee 50 n.o., Writam Porel 42).

-Y.B. Sarangi