GOLF
Diksha, Pranavi and Vani ready for Aramco Series Korea
Diksha Dagar would look to ensure that her current form fetches her a title after three top-10 finishes this season when she spearheads the Indian challenge in the Ladies European Tour’s Aramco Team Series golf competition next week.
Diksha will be joined by Pranavi Urs and Vani Kapoor, while Tvesa Malik waits on the reserve list at number three.
The Aramco Team Series will be held in South Korea for the first time from May 10-12 at the New Korea Country Club. The format will see 36 teams of three professionals and an amateur compete for the team title.
It will be a strong field led by world no.8 Charley Hull of England. The Brit is gunning for her first title of the year.
This will be the first the Ladies European Tour event to be organised in South Korea.
Diksha already has a noteworthy finish in Aramco Series Tampa where she was tied sixth and her other Top-10s came in Lalla Meryem Cup (9th) and Joburg Ladies Open (T-3).
Last year Diksha won the Tipsport Czech Ladies and was tied third at the Hero Indian Open and the Amundi German Masters. Overall, she had nine individual top-10 finishes and was third on the LET Order of Merit.
Pranavi, a winner of the Order of Merit on the Hero Women’s Pro Golf Tour, has played five events this season and has a best finish of fifth at the Lalla Meryem Cup. She was also in the team that was sixth in Aramco Series Tampa.
Vani will be playing her first Aramco Series event this year. Last year she missed the cut in Florida and London.
Hull will captain one of the 36 teams that will go head-to-head.
Hull will be joined by South Korea’s very own Hyo-Joo Kim and United States’ Danielle Kang. The tournament has a prize fund of USD one million.
-PTI
BOXING
ASBC Asian U-22 & Youth Boxing Championships 2024: Jadumani, Ajay shine as four Indians advance to semifinals
Indian boxers Mandengbam Jadumani Singh, Nikhil, Ajay Kumar and Ankush registered impressive victories to move into the men’s U-22 semi-finals at the ASBC Asian U-22 & Youth Boxing Championships 2024 in Astana, Kazakhstan on Thursday.
Jadumani led India’s charge with a convincing 5-0 over Bhutan’s Phuntsho Kinley in the 51kg quarter-finals bout. Nikhil (57kg) put up a similar display of dominance, securing a 4-0 win over Uzbekistan’s Bakhtiyorov Ayubkhon to continue India’s winning momentum.
Ajay (63.5kg) and Ankush (71kg) won their respective bouts with a referee stop the contest (RSC) decisions. Ajay won the bout in the first round itself against Mongolia’s Damdindorj P while Ankush wrapped up his match in the third round against Korea’s Lee Ju Sang.
Meanwhile, Ashish went down fighting 2-3 against Oyun Erdene E of Mongolia in the men’s 54g quarter-finals
The U-22 semi-finals will be played on Saturday.
Dhruv Singh (80kg), Guddi (48kg) and Poonam (57kg) will be in action later tonight in the U-22 quarter-finals.
Late on Wednesday, Aryan (92kg), Nisha (52kg), Akansha Phalaswal (70kg) and Rudrika (75kg) won their respective quarter-finals in the youth category.
Friday will see the 22 youth Indian boxers, including 10 men, competing in the semi-finals.
Brijesh Tamta (48kg), Aryan (51kg), Sagar Jakhar (60kg), Yashwardhan Singh (63.5kg), Sumit (67kg), Priyanshu (71kg), Rahul Kundu (75kg), Sahil (80kg), Aryan (92kg) and Lakshay Rathi (+92kg) will fight in the men’s section while Annu (48kg), Laxmi (50kg), Nisha (52kg), Tamanna (54kg), Yatri Patel (57kg), Nikita Chand (60kg), Shrushti Sathe (63kg), Parthavi Grewal (66kg), Akansha (70kg), Rudrika (75kg), Khushi Pooniya (81kg) and Nirjhara Bana (+81kg) will be in action in the women’s section.
The prestigious tournament has been witnessing high-voltage action with the presence of 390-plus boxers from more than 24 countries, fighting for the medals across 25 weight categories.
The finals for the youth and U-22 category will be played on May 6 and 7 respectively.
- Team Sportstar
TENNIS
Rohan Bopanna’s academy launches tennis programme for underprivileged children
Aimed at empowering underprivileged children, India’s top tennis player Rohan Bopanna has picked 25 such kids from the remote areas of Majuli Island and Bongaigaon in Assam, for support.
The collaborative initiative between Rohan Bopanna Tennis Academy (RBTA) and Kamal India Foundation UK will provide comprehensive tennis training to the selected kids who are aged between 9 and 11.
The kids underwent a skill and fitness assessment process and were handpicked by reigning Australian Open champion Bopanna.
The selected players will relocate to Bengaluru, where they will be provided with state-of-the-art infrastructure, a world-class tennis curriculum, experienced coaching faculty, boarding & lodging within the school campus, education, and guidance from Bopanna himself at RBTA.
“We are thrilled to partner with Kamal India Foundation UK to bring this transformative opportunity to talented young individuals who may not otherwise have had access to such resources,” Bopanna was quoted as saying in a press release.
“Through this program, we aim to not only nurture their athletic talents but also empower them with education and life skills that will shape their future,” said Bopanna, who recently became the oldest world number one on the ATP Tour.
- PTI
ITF Women’s tennis: Prarthana Thombare in doubles quarterfinals
Prarthana Thombare in partnership with Arianne Hartono saved two match points to beat Ma YeXin and Mananchana Sawangkaew 6-7(1), 6-4, [13-11] in the doubles pre-quarterfinals of the $100,000 ITF women’s tennis tournament in Gifu,, Japan, on Thursday.
The results
€205,000 Challenger, Cagliari, Italy
$82,000 Challenger, Guangzhou, China
$15,000 ITF women, Monastir, Tunisia
$100,000 ITF women, Bonita Springs, USA
$100,000 ITF women, Gifu, Japan
$25,000 ITF women, Hammamet, Tunisia
$15,000 ITF women, Monastir, Tunisia
-Kamesh Srinivasan
FOOTBALL
Gokulam Kerala signs Uruguya’s Chaves
Gokulam Kerala has signed Uruguayan midfielder Martin Chaves for the next season.
The 25-year-old has played for clubs like NorthEast United, Churchill Brothers, and Rajasthan United. He joins the two-team I-League champion, having represented Churchill last season.
“I am very happy to join a club like Gokulam Kerala FC,” Chavis said. “Those of us who have already been to India know how big Gokulam is here in the I-League. Let’s hope this year we achieve the goal of winning the league and being able to be in the ISL next year.
-P. K. Ajith Kumar
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