PICKLEBALL
Double Asian Games gold medalist Gaurav Natekar and SETVI together launch World Pickleball League
India’s growing reputation as a potential racquet sports hub is all set to get a massive boost with the launch of the World Pickleball League (WPBL), the first-ever professional pickleball league, envisaged by Natekar Sports and Gaming (NSG) of former Davis Cup star and Arjuna Awardee Gaurav Natekar and Sony Entertainment Talent Ventures India (SETVI).
The inaugural edition of the league will witness six franchises compete for the title. Each team will have five to eight players including international stars. The league will also mandate the teams to have Indian players and junior players who will form a part of the team to rub shoulders and learn from the best players in the world.
Currently played in over 80 countries, pickleball is extremely popular in the Asia Pacific region and has been growing steadfastly in India in the last few years with over 30,000 amateur players and 8000 registered players across 18 states already playing the sport. The sport requires less space than Tennis and can be played by anyone from the age of seven to 70, making it one of the most popular recreational as well as competitive sports in many parts of the world.
CRICKET
Goswami Ganesh Dutt tournament
A sparkling 135 with 17 fours and four 6s by Madhur Yadav powered Mount Club to a seven-wicket victory over Delhi Wanderers in a pre-quarterfinal match of the 49th all-India Goswami Ganesh Dutt cricket tournament at the Khalsa College ground on Friday.
Madhur’s 82-ball knock helped Mount Club reach the target of 189 with 13.5 overs to spare.
The Kimati Player of The Match award was presented to Madhur. In the quarterfinals, Mount CC will play Sporting CC on May 14. In the first quarterfinal on Saturday, SRK Technology XI will play Delhi Challengers.
The Score:
-Kamesh Srinivasan
SHOOTING
Raiza-Anantjeet miss medal round by two points in Shooting World Cup
Raiza Dhillon and Anantjeet Singh Naruka shot 138 for the ninth place in mixed skeet in the shooting World Cup in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Friday. The duo missed the medal round by two points.
The other Indian team of Ganemat Sekhon and Mairaj Ahmad Khan shot 137 for the 12th spot among 26 teams.
TENNIS
Rutuja Bhosale and Paige Hourigan in final
Rutuja Bhosale in partnership with Paige Hourigan beat Yuki Naito and Naho Sato 6-4, 6-3 in the doubles semifinals of the $60,000 ITF women’s tennis tournament in Fukuoka, Japan, on Friday.
In the final, the Indo-Kiwi pair will play another Japanese team of Haruna Arakawa and Aoi Ito.
The results:
-Kamesh Srinivasan
AITA ranking tournament
Sejal Bhutada beat Saumrita Verma 7-5, 6-4 in the women’s semifinals of the Rs.200,000 AITA ranking tennis tournament at the Ace Academy on Friday.
In the final, Sejal will play Vidhi Jani who fought past Divya Sharma in three sets.
Sejal won the doubles title in partnership with Sahira Singh, beating Bharatiyana Reddy and Saumrita Verma in straight sets.
In the men’s section, Adil Kalyanpur also put himself in line for a double crown. Adil beat third seed Moksh Puri for the loss of two games in the semifinals and won the doubles title in partnership with Maanav Jain.
Second seed Dmitrii Baskov beat fourth seed Ricky Chaudhary in three sets to set up a title clash against sixth seed Adil.
The results:
-Kamesh Srinivasan
AITA National Series Juniors
Third seed Uttam Karthik knocked out top seed Himanish Brinda 6-3, 5-7, 6-2 in the under-16 boys semifinals of the AITA National series junior tennis tournament at the Joygaon Academy on Friday.
In the final, Uttam will play Kushagra Arora who bounced back from a slow start to beat Mohd. Shees in three sets.
The results:
-Kamesh Srinivasan
SQUASH
22nd Asian Team Squash championships
Reigning National men’s champion Velavan Senthilkumar and National women’s semifinalist Rathika Seelan will spearhead the Indian contingent at the 22nd Asian Team Squash championships to be held in Dalian, China, from June 12 to 16, Squash Rackets Federation of India announced here on Friday, after conducting the selection trials at the Indian Squash & Triathlon Academy here.
The 2023 National Games men’s champion Abhay Singh, Rahul Baitha and Suraj Chand complete the men’s line-up, while 2023 National Games women’s silver medallist R. Pooja Arthi, Sunita Patel and Janet Vidhi form the rest of the women’s squad.
The release further said: “Following India’s spectacular performance at the last Asian Games in Hangzhou – with the team securing five medals in a competitive field – the SRFI is focused on promoting younger players with an eye on the 2026 Asian Games in Japan and the sport’s much-awaited Olympic debut in LA ’28.”
-Keerthivasan K
BASKETBALL
INBL Pro Basketball League
The Indian National Basketball League (INBL) Pro, a 45-day league featuring six franchisees was announced at the Thyagaraj Stadium on Friday.
The organisers gave a glimpse of the professional league, scheduled to be played in August-September, with an exhibition match featuring an Australian team against the host.
“We are committed to a world-class professional league that catapults the game to the next level”, said Rupinder Brar, the Founder of INBL and Chairman of Punvec Group.
The CEO of INBL, Parveen Batish, explained that the league in the first year would have six franchisees from Chennai, Gujarat, Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru and Punjab. Each team will have 15 players, including four foreigners and three under-23 players.
The Indian National Basketball League (INBL) Pro, a 45-day league featuring six franchisees was announced at the Thyagaraj Stadium | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
After wide spread scouting, 50 players would be put in a pool for auction, with each team having a cap of two crore rupees.
The league will be played on a double round-robin format with the top four teams reaching the knock-out phase.
It was assured that the women’s league would also follow in due course of time.
“It has been a three-year journey for us to reach here”, said the INBL CEO, about hosting a number of events across the country from 2021. The former captain of the Indian basketball team, Vishesh Bhriguvanshi was excited about the launch.
-Kamesh Srinivasan
Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh shine in National Junior Basketball Championship
Defending champion Uttar Pradesh scored a thrilling 103-98 victory over Chandigarh in a group-A league match of the 74th National Junior Basketball Championship at the Emerald Heights International School courts on Friday.
In the women’s section, host Madhya Pradesh beat Kerala 77-55, thanks to the fine work of Kushi Pal Singh and Ananya Maheshwari.
The results (league):
Men:
Women:
FOOTBALL
Super League Kerala
The Super League Kerala (SLK) unveiled its six franchisees at an event in Kochi on Friday.
The Travancore Princess Gowri Lakshmi Bayi, tennis great Mahesh Bhupathi, former Benfica player and current chairman of Australian A-League club Brisbane Roar FC Kaz Patafta, Director of Kannur International Airport M.P. Hassan Kunhi were among notable attendees.
Kochi Pipers FC, Thrissur Roar FC, Malappuram FC, Calicut FC, Thiruvananthapuram Kombans FC and Kannur Squad FC are the six clubs which will play the inaugural edition which will start in September.
Bhupathi, who also co-owns teams in tennis, table tennis and chess leagues, is the owner of Kochi Pipers while Patafta is among the owners of Thrissur Roar FC. Lakshmi Bayi and Sahadulla are the co-owners of Thiruvananthapuram Kombans.
The SLK is planned at three venues: Kochi’s Nehru Stadium, Kozhikode’s EMS Corporation Stadium and at Malappuram’s Payyanad Stadium in Manjeri.
Kochi Pipers FC, Thrissur Roar FC, Malappuram FC, Calicut FC, Thiruvananthapuram Kombans FC and Kannur Squad FC will play the inaugural edition which will start in September. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Franchise owners and co-owners:
-Stan Rayan
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