SQUASH
Ramit Tandon exits Squash World Championships with injury
India’s Ramit Tandon was forced to retire due to an injury in his second-round match against world No 7 Mohamed ElShorbagy at the Squash World Championships in Cairo on Sunday.
World No 36 Tandon was trailing 3-4 in the second game when he sustained a calf injury following an inspiring performance in the opening game which former world champion ElShorbagy won 11-8.
It was Tandon’s first meeting with the former Egyptian-English world No 1.
- Team Sportstar
TENNIS
Prithvi Sekhar wins Slovenia Deaf Open
Prithvi Sekhar won Slovenia Deaf Open. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Unseeded Prithvi Sekhar beat third seed Marino Kegl 7-6(6), 6-0 in the final of the Slovenia Deaf tennis open tournament in Murska Sobota.
It was a commendable fare by Prithvi who won two of his earlier matches after losing the first set in the tie-break, including the one against top seed Jaroslav Smedek of Czech Republic.
Prithvi also outplayed fourth seed Mikael Laurent of France for the loss of one game along the way.
The results (final):
Prithvi Sekhar bt Marino Kegl (Slo) 7-6(6), 6-0; Semifinals: Prithvi bt Jaroslav Smedek (Cze) 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-1; Quarterfinals: Prithvi bt Mikael Laurent (Fra) 6-1, 6-0; Pre-quarterfinals: Prithvi bt Marco Carretta (Ita) 6-7(3), 6-4, 6-3.
-Kamesh Srinivasan
Pradyumna Tomar knocked out fourth seed Arnav Yadav in the ITF junior tennis tournament
Pradyumna Tomar knocked out fourth seed Arnav Yadav 7-6(3), 6-3 in the boys first round of the ITF junior tennis tournament at the Vijay Khand Tennis Arena on Monday.
In the girls section, Tamanna Walia fought her way past Siya Prasade 3-6, 6-1, 7-6(1).
The results (first round):
- Kamesh Srinivasan
FOOTBALL
Kerala Super League offers guidelines to help franchises limit budget to Rs 4.5 crore in debut season
There are many corporate stars with deep pockets among the franchises in the Super League Kerala which has planned a September start.
But Scoreline Sports, the Kerala Football Association’s commercial partner and the Super League’s (SLK) organiser, is advising the new teams to spend wisely.
One hears that the annual franchise fee is Rs 1.5 crore but the SLK has given franchises guidelines to help them limit expenses to Rs 4.5 crore in the league’s debut year.
“A team’s budget will be Rs 4.5 crore and everything will be covered under that, if they go wise,” said Mathew Joseph, the SLK’s CEO, in a chat with Sportstar.
“The Rs 4.5 crore is the advisory, the guideline, but if they go overboard on things like marketing, we will have no control over it.
“We have told them to stick to that because we don’t want franchises to have any excess loss (in the opening year). If they get sponsors or things like that, then it is fine.”
The Super League, a six-team affair to be telecast on Star Sports, will be played in three venues and even that has been worked out to trim expenses.
Stan Rayan
SQUASH
Squash Rackets Federation of India (SRFI) and HCL announce new initiatives in HCL Squash Podium Program
Photo caption: (L to R) Rajat Chandolia, AVP and Head of Brand Strategy, HCL; Sundar Mahalingam, President - Strategy, HCL; N. Ramachandran, Patron - SRFI; Cyrus Poncha, Secretary General - SRFI; Harinder Pal Singh Sandhu, former National champion and Arjuna awardee. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
The Squash Rackets Federation of India (SRFI) and HCL at a press conference on Monday announced new initiatives in their existing HCL Squash Podium Program which was launched in 2019.
Accordingly, there’s this HCL National Doubles Championship that kickstarted at the Indian Squash and Triathlon Academy (ISTA) here on Monday and will conclude on Wednesday (May 15). Thus, the doubles Nationals has been revived after 17 years.
The championship sees top players pairing up - Velavan Senthilkumar and Abhay Singh in the men’s category, Pooja Arthi and Rathika Suthanthira Seelan in the women’s category. Abhay’s pairing up with Joshna Chinappa, and Rathika with Harinder Pal Singh Sandhu in the mixed doubles category.
There will be five PSA Challenger events in new cities including Indore, Kolkata, and Goa. The first event will be held from May 22-27 at the famous Daly College in Indore. Junior National events are to be conducted as well.
- S. Prasanna Venkatesan
N. Ramachandran on Joshna Chinappa having been conferred the Padma Shri
Squash Rackets Federation of India (SRFI) Patron N. Ramachandran on Monday said that Joshna Chinappa having been conferred the Padma Shri is the best encouragement for the young female squash players in the country.
Speaking of Joshna’s achievement at a HCL-SRFI press conference here, he said: “Whenever a sports player gets an award from the Government of India, it is a recognition of your ability in that particular sport. I don’t think anybody will beat Joshna’s record (of the most National titles - 18). Only person whom I can think of is, possibly, Anahat Singh. Joshna has battled injuries all her life, but still continues to play. And her getting a Padma Shri from the government, I think is the best recognition for the sport.
“This is the best encouragement for youngsters from the other gender, an example for all the other female players in India. So, for us, as a sport, it is a fantastic recognition. You have very few players who have got the Arjuna award as well as the Padma Shri. Deepika Pallikal has also achieved it.
“What better recognition do you get for the sport other than the recognition from the Government of India? It means that the sport has developed to such an extent that it is recognized by the government and the player is rewarded for it. And we’re all for it.”
-S. Prasanna Venkatesan
National squash doubles championship: Shiven Agarwal-Anika Dubey triumph over Suraj Chand-Sunita Patel
Shiven Agarwal and Anika Dubey triumphed over Suraj Chand and Sunita Patel, 11-5, 3-11, 11-5, in a 29-minute match in the mixed doubles category of the HCL National doubles squash championship at the Indian Squash and Triathlon Academy (ISTA) here on Monday.
In the women’s doubles, underdogs Sahana Kalaivanan and Sangamitra (both from Tamil Nadu) defeated the seasoned pair of Anjali Semwal and Sunita Patel (both from Maharashtra), 11-10, 11-10, in a nail-biting match that lasted 19 minutes.
The results (day one):
Men: Group-A: Abhay Singh and Velavan Senthilkumar bt Lokesh Subramani and Shiven Agarwal 11-1, 11-2.
Lokesh Subramani and Shiven Agarwal bt Gideon Cyrus and P. Meyyappan 11-8, 11-10.
Group-B: Rahul Baitha and Suraj Chand bt Abhay S. Vasudev and L. Meyyappan 3-11, 11-1, 11-5.
R. Dinesh and S. Kalimuthu bt Abhay S. Vasudev and L. Meyyappan 11-8, 11-3.
Group-C: Guhan Senthilkumar and Vikas G. Mehra bt A. Ijaz Mohammad and Zaad Gani 11-5, 11-6.
B. Balamurugan and Deepak Mishra bt A. Ijaz Mohammad and Zaad Gani 11-1, 11-3.
Group-D: Ravi Dixit and Sandeep Jangra bt Jinesh Surana and Sathish Kumar (Retired) 0-0.
Jamal Sakib and Ranjit Singh bt Jinesh Surana and Sathish Kumar (Retired) 0-0.
Women: Group-A: R. Pooja Arthi and Rathika Suthanthira Seelan bt Ananya Narayan and Anika Dubey 11-1, 11-9.
V. Deepika and Trina Iris bt Ananya Narayan and Anika Dubey 11-10, 6-11, 11-6.
Group-B: Sahana Kalaivanan and Sangamitra bt Anjali Semwal and Sunita Patel 11-10, 11-10.
Janet Vidhi and Nirupama Dubey bt Sahana Kalaivanan and Sangamitra 11-8, 11-5.
Mixed: Group-A: Abhay Singh and Joshna Chinappa bt S. Lokesh and V. Deepika 11-5, 11-3.
Group-B: Harinder Pal Singh Sandhu and Rathika Suthanthira Seelan bt L. Meyyappan and Trina Iris 11-5, 11-1.
Group-C: Shiven Agarwal and Anika Dubey bt Suraj Chand and Sunita Patel 11-5, 3-11, 11-5.
Group-D: Ravi Dixit and Janet Vidhi bt Gideon Cyrus and Sahana Kalaivanan 11-3, 11-6.
Rahul Baitha and Anjali Semwal bt A. Ijaz Mohammad and Kriya Saravanan 11-3, 11-5.
-S. Prasanna Venkatesan
BASKETBALL
Rajasthan knocks out defending champion Uttar Pradesh
Rajasthan knocked out defending champion Uttar Pradesh 84-59 in the semifinals of the 74th National junior basketball championship at the Emerald Heights International School courts on Monday.
After getting off to a strong start in the first quarter and leading 44-28 at half time, Rajasthan warded off a late surge by Uttar Pradesh to reach the title round.
In the final, Rajasthan will take on Chandigarh which shocked host Madhya Pradesh 83-77, after having trailed 55-63 at the end of the third quarter.
In the women’s section, Punjab pipped Maharashtra 68-66 to reach the final against Karnataka which edged out Madhya Pradesh 63-62, avenging its 10-point defeat in the league phase.
The results:
Men (semifinals):
Rajasthan 84 (Mohammed Ishan 26, Mayank Jawa 20, Nitesh Kumar 17, Piyush Choudhary 13) bt Uttar Pradesh 59 (Kunal Kumar Singh 26).
Chandigarh 83 (Gaurav Kumar 28, Himanshu Hooda 22, Sanju Gajbhakae 15) bt Madhya Pradesh 77 (Mohit Jogchand 26, Kirti Raj Singh 17, Ajay 11).
Quarterfinals:
Madhya Pradesh 80 (Kirti Raj Singh 22, Rohan Sejwal 19, Mohit Jogchand 16, Ajay 13) bt Kerala 66 (Jeevan Joby 17, Aswin Krishna 12, Vinay Sankar 10).
Women (semifinals):
Punjab 68 (Nadar Dhillon 23, Komalpreet Kaur 22, Chandana Goutham 14) bt Maharashtra 66 (Aananya Bhavasar 27, Tvisha Sharma 12, Samiksha Patil 10).
Karnataka 63 (Aditi Subramaniam 22, Aadhya Gowda 15, Adhya Nagalingam 12) bt Madhya Pradesh 62 (Ananya Maheswari 14, Gunvi Agarwal 13, Kushipal Singh 11).
-Kamesh Srinivasan
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