Indian sports wrap, September 10: EFI announces selection trials for Jumping Children’s Classics

Here are all the major updates, scores, and results of Indians in the world of sports on September 10.

FILE PHOTO: Yug Shokeen, FEI World Challenge Category B bronze medallist. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

EQUESTRIAN

EFI announces selection trials for FEI Jumping Children’s Classics 2024

Promising riders like Puneet Jhakar, Yug Shokeen, Sreshth Raju Mantena, and Harshvardhan Singh Gulia will take part in the Equestrian Federation of India selection trials on Wednesday for the upcoming FEI Jumping Children’s Classics 2024 event.

The FEI event will take place from September 12-14 at the Embassy International Riding School in Bangalore.

Around 50 of India’s young riders will participate in these events, competing across three age categories; Gold (Age 12-14), Silver (Age 10-14), and Bronze (Age 10-14). 

The EFI CSN Show Jumping event will culminate in the selection of the top four riders in the Silver and Bronze categories, who will then go on to represent India in the prestigious FEI Jumping Children’s Classics 2024 and compete for worldwide team ranking.

The Gold category winners will be ranked globally and if the winners are placed in the top 16 in world ranking, the riders will then get a chance to compete and represent Indian in the finale in Mexico.

“We are thrilled to host these prestigious events, which offer our young riders a chance to compete and demonstrate their exceptional talent. The EFI CSN Show Jumping event and the FEI Jumping Children’s Classics are crucial not only for showcasing our athletes on the global stage but also for bringing together the next generation of national talent and observing their development and progress. We eagerly anticipate witnessing the future stars of Indian equestrian in action,” said Col. Jaiveer Singh, Secretary General, Equestrian Federation of India.

- Team Sportstar

GOLF

Keen tussle on cards as Women’s Pro Golf Tour resumes in Delhi

Hitaashee Bakshi and Sneha Singh will spearhead a strong field in the 11th leg of the Hero Women’s Pro golf tour at the Delhi Golf Club on Wednesday.

Most of the leading Indian women players Like Tvesa Malik, AmandeepDrall, Ridhima Dilawari, Neha Tripathi and Seher Atwal will look to grab their share of the prize purse of 14 lakh rupees.

FILE PHOTO: Sneha Singh | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

The other top players like Diksha Dagar, Pranavi Urs and Vani Kapoor have opted to prepare for the European Tour later in the month.

There will be nine amateurs in the fray, led by Zara Anand who was tied 10th in the recent Junior Asia Pacific championship in Manila. Mannat Brar, the women’s amateurs champion, had done well to qualify for the semifinals of the R&A Juniors event in United Kingdom.

The competition is expected to be strong as the top performers of the domestic tour will get a chance to compete in the Hero women’s Indian Open scheduled next month.

- Kamesh Srinivasan

HOCKEY

SAI, Steel Plants Sports Board make quarters of inter-department national tourney

Sports Authority of India (SAI) and Steel Plants Sports Board entered the quarterfinals from their respective pools after recording contrasting results in the 4th Hockey India Senior Men Inter-Department National Championship in Pune on Tuesday.

On a day of do-or-die battles for qualifications, SAI beat Central Board of Direct Taxes (CDT) 5-1 to claim second spot in Pool A with 9 points behind Petroleum Sports Promotion Board who topped the pool.

Lalit Negi (6th), Neeraj (28th), Pankaj (38th - p.s, 53rd - p.c) and Rajat Minz (54th) scored for SAI. CDT reduced the margin through a Nachappa LR (44th) strike.

Steel Plants Sports Board made it in second position from Pool B after Dena Bank dramatically struck in the final minute to draw the game 3-3.

Pradhan Somanna Pudiyokkada Somaiah converted a penalty corner to help Dena Bank earn a point.

Earlier, Chandanda Aiyanna Nikkin Thimmaiah (4th); Somanna Km (33rd) scored for Dena Bank. For the Steel Plants Sports Board, it was Dilbar Barla (5st); Bara Rabi (53rd) and Abdul Qadir (55th) who scored.

As a result, Steel Plants Board finished with 7 points (4 matches) and qualified for the knockouts.

Pool B had a thrilling finish as the already-qualified Railway Sports Promotion Board faced a tough challenge from All India Police Sports Control Board (AIPSCB). RSPB staged a fightback from a 2-3 deficit to win 4-3.

RSPB ended up unbeaten in Pool B.

RSPB scored through Parampreet Singh (4th - p.c), Yuvraj Walmiki (21st), Darshan Vibhav Gawkar (54th) and Simranjot Singh (56th). Varinder Singh (37th - p.c; 45th) and Haris Mohammad (11th - p.c) struck for the police team.

The loss impacted AIPSCB (6) which missed to qualify after finishing third behind Steel Plants Board (7) by a point.

- PTI

MP, UP, Punjab win in junior hockey

Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram and Punjab produced strong performances and won their respective matches in the 14th Junior Men’s National Hockey Championship in Jalandhar on Tuesday.

In the day’s first match, Madhya Pradesh defeated Chhattisgarh 6-0. Zameer Mohammad (4’, 10’) scored back-to-back goals in the first quarter for Madhya Pradesh. Mohd Anas (46’), captain Ali Ahmad (50’), Viveka Pal (54’) and Tushar Parmar (56’) also scored a goal each to take the game further away from Chhattisgarh.

Uttar Pradesh crushed Chandigarh 8-0. Ajeet Yadav (6’, 9’, 43’) scored a hat-trick for his side whereas Fahad Khan (23’, 40’) struck a brace. Gaurav Yadav (14’), captain Suraj Pal (20’) and Anand Kumar (43’) also scored a goal each for Uttar Pradesh.

Himachal drubbed Goa 11-1 in another one-sided match. Ashish Kumar (4’, 8’, 20’, 23’, 36’, 53’) stood out with a staggering six goals in a single game.

Manipur registered a convincing 7-0 win over Maharashtra in the fourth match of the day while Punjab got the better of Bihar 6-1 in the last match of the day.

- PTI

FOOTBALL

63rd Subroto Cup Junior Boys Final: Meghalaya’s Myngken Christian HSS takes on T.G English School of Manipur

The final of the 63rd Subroto Cup Junior Boys International Football Tournament will see an all Northeast Clash as Myngken Christian Higher Secondary School from Meghalaya takes on T.G English School of Manipur at the Ambedkar Stadium on September 11.

The match will kick-off at 3:30 PM.

- Team Sportstar

Kerala Blasters launch ‘Goal for Wayanad’ campaign, donate Rs 25 lakh to CM’s fund

The Kerala Blasters FC has launched a ‘Goal for Wayanad’ campaign in a gesture of support to the families affected by the recent landslides in the district and has also donated Rs 25 lakh to the Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund (CMDRF).

Through the campaign, the club plans to contribute Rs 1 lakh for every goal scored in the upcoming Indian Super League’s season 11 to the CMDRF towards disaster relief and rehabilitation. The owners of the club have already contributed Rs 1.25 crore to the cause.

Nimmagadda Prasad, the Kerala Blasters FC chairman, along with the club’s director Nikhil B. Nimmagadda and CEO Shushen Vashishth handed over a cheque of Rs 25 lakh to the Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. They also presented a KBFC jersey to the CM and invited him for the coming season.

“We at Kerala Blasters have always prioritised the well-being of our community and remain dedicated to supporting the State during challenging times. These initiatives aim to motivate the football community to unite for a meaningful cause,” said Nikhil.

- Team Sportstar

Super League Kerala: Calicut FC plays out entertaining draw against Thiruvananthapuram Kombans

Calicut’s Richard Agyemang heading in past Kombans’ T.M. Vishnu (yellow shirt) in the Super League Kerala at Kozhikode | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

The last two teams in the inaugural edition of the Super League Kerala made their appearances in front of a fairly big crowd on Tuesday night. Host Calicut FC and Thiruvananthapuram Kombans didn’t disappoint.

They produced a lively game of football that witnessed plenty of end-to-end action. The 1-1 draw was a fair result in the end.

After both sides put each other’s goal under pressure early on, the Kombans drew first blood in the 21st minute, with the speedy Muhammad Ashar finishing off an excellent through ball to the left wing from T.M. Vishnu. The Calicut goalkeeper Vishal Joon did make an attempt to stop it and even got his hands to the ball, but he was beaten by the powerful shot from close in by Ashar.

Twelve minutes later, however, the host made it 1-1. The free-kick,from near the corner-kick was floated neatly into the box by Gani Nigam, was headed in by Richard Agyemang.

The second half also produced a lot of action, but not a goal. The statistics also reflected the scoreline: the teams had 50 percent possession and six shots at the goal each.

The result:

Calicut FC (Richard Agyemang 33) Thiruvananthapuram Kombans (Muhammad Ashar 21).

- P. K. Ajith Kumar

TENNIS

Jasmine enters quarters in AITA women’s tennis tourney

Jasmine Rawat fought her way past Iram Zaidi 6-1, 2-6, 6-2 in the pre-quarterfinals of the Chamunda Rs.100,000 AITA women’s tennis tournament at the Faridabad Academy on Tuesday.

The results (pre-quarterfinals):

Aditi Rawat bt Samriti Punyani 6-1, 7-5

Divya Sharma bt Manya Sharma 6-2, 6-2

Aditi Tyagi bt Eva Raj Sah 6-2, 6-1

Snigdha Patibandla bt Manshi Singh 6-4, 6-2

Prisha Prasad bt Kashish Bhatia 3-3 (conceded)

Shefali Arora bt Bhumika Dahiya 6-0, 7-6(2)

Jasmine Rawat bt Iram Zaidi 6-1, 2-6, 6-2

Riya Sachdeva bt Mahi Trivedi 6-0, 6-2.

- Kamesh Srinivasan

Prachi Malik beats Kashvi Sunil in the girls first round of the ITF junior tennis tournament

Prachi Malik knocked out the second seed Kashvi Sunil 6-2, 6-4 in the girls first round of the ITF junior tennis tournament at the Ahmedabad City Foundation courts on Tuesday.

In the boys section, Vatsal Manikantan beat Akshat Dhull 6-7(12), 7-6(3), 6-4 in the first round.

The results (first round):

Boys: Aarav Chawla bt Swatanter Singh 6-3, 6-0; Om Patel bt Dev Patel 7-5, 6-3; Namit Bhatia bt Rahul Lokesh 7-5, 6-0; Srivaant Mummadi bt Ayaan Choudhary 6-3, 2-0 (retired); Ojas Mehlawat bt Om Verma 1-6, 7-6(4), 6-1; Mannan Agarwal bt Ranvir Singh 6-4, 6-0; Anjan Boorela bt Tanay Sharma 3-6, 7-5, 6-1; Parth Deorukhakar bt Kabir Chothani 6-1, 6-2; Gurbaaz Narang bt Aashravya Mehra 2-6 6-3, 6-2; Rohith Gobinath bt Arnav Yadav 6-2, 4-6, 6-0; Shivtej Shirfule bt Saurish Modi 2-6, 6-3, 7-6(3); Vatsal Manikantan bt Akshat Dhull 6-7(12), 7-6(3), 6-4; Prabir Chavda bt Dhruveer Grover 6-2, 6-3; Pushkal Srivastava bt Aryan Jolly 4-6, 6-4, 6-1; Amit Moond bt Har Sekhon (Aus) 2-6, 6-1, 6-0; Adhiraj Thakur bt Tejas Ahuja 6-2, 6-2.

Girls: Aishwarya Jadhav bt Princy Mandagalla 6-3, 7-6(5); Aahan bt Avipsha Dehury 6-2, 6-4; Pal Upadhyay bt Danica Fernando 6-4 (retired); Avani Chitale bt Divija Manneni 6-3, 6-1; Saiyette Varadkar bt Madhavi Mishra 6-2, 6-3; Disha Kumar bt Anushka Bhola 6-3, 6-4; Shaivi Dalal bt Parthsarthi Mundhe 6-7(5), 6-4, 7-5; Aakruti Sonkusare bt Shatakshika

Sahayak 6-3, 7-6(2); Dia Agarwal bt Savi Panchal 6-3, 2-6, 6-0; Riddhi Shinde bt Tanishca Bhatnagar 6-0, 6-2; Janvi Asawa bt Devanshi Gohil 6-1, 7-6(6); Aleena Farid bt Siya Prasade 6-2, 6-2; Apara Khandare bt Divya Ungrish 6-1, 6-0; Riya Pudiyokkada bt Pia Mistri 6-1, 6-2; Prachi Malik bt Kashvi Sunil 6-2, 6-4.

- Kamesh Srinivasan

Rishab Agarwal loses in first round

Qualifier Rishab Agarwal was beaten 6-2, 6-4 in the first round of the $133,250 Challenger tennis tournament in Guangzhou, China, on Tuesday.

In the $60,000 women’s event in Perth, Australia, Ankita Raina was beaten 6-3, 6-2 in the first round by Ayano Shimizu of Japan.

The results:

$133,250 Challenger, Guangzhou, China

Singles (first round): James McCabe (Aus) bt Rishab Agarwal 6-2, 6-4.

$25,000 ITF men, Bali, Indonesia

Singles (first round): Tanguy Genier (Sui) bt Sai Karteek Reddy 7-5, 6-3; Mathieu Scaglia (Fra) bt Yuvan Nandal 7-5, 6-4; Andre Ilagani (USA) bt Abhinav Sanjeev Shanmugam 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(3); Sidharth Rawat bt Claudio Lumanau (Ina) 6-1, 6-2.

Doubles (pre-quarterfinals): Bogdan Bobrov & Sai Karteek Reddy bt Abhinav Shanmugam & Freek Van Donselaar (Ned) 7-6(1), 6-1; Ali Habib (GBR) & Yuvan Nandal bt Sicheng Li (Chn) & Ethan Terblanche (RSA) 6-4, 6-4.

$15,000 ITF men, Tehran, Iran

Doubles (pre-quarterfinals): S.D. Prajwal Dev & Dev Javia bt Amir Adabjou & Yunes Talavar (Iri) 6-2, 6-0; Raghav Jaisinghani & Arthav Neema bt Parth Aggarwal & Jagmeet Singh 7-6(14), 6-7(5), [12-10].

$15,000 ITF men, Monastir, Tunisia

Doubles (pre-quarterfinals): Maximus Jones (Tha) & Karan Singh bt Alfredo Casso (Mex) & Ricardo Rodriguez-Pace (Ven) 6-1, 6-2.

$15,000 ITF men, Singapore

Doubles (pre-quarterfinals): Yuttana Charoenphon & Natthayut Nithithananont (Tha) bt Shivank Bhatnagar & Taiyo Yamanaka (Jpn) 4-6, 6-3, [10-5].

$60,000 ITF women, Perth, Australia

Singles (first round): Ayano Shimizu (Jpn) bt Ankita Raina 6-3, 6-2.

Doubles (pre-quarterfinals): Talia Gibson & Maddison Inglis (Aus) bt Haruna Arakawa (Jpn) & Shrivalli Bhamidipaty 6-1, 7-6(4).

$15,000 ITF women, Singapore

Singles (first round): Rutuja Bhosale bt Akanksha Nitture 6-3, 6-2.

Doubles (pre-quarterfinals): Ashmitha Easwaramurthi & Kanna Soeda (Jpn) bt Sophie Chua (Sgp) & Madeleine Jessup (Tpe) 6-1, 7-5; Viera Deeperm (Tha) & Elina Nepliy bt Akanksha Nitture & Soha Sadiq 7-6(6), 5-7, [10-4]; Kang Na Hyun & Shin Jiho (Kor) bt Riya Bhatia & Zhang Ying (Chn 7-6(6), 6-2.

ATHLETICS

South Asian Junior Athletics Championships: Indian team looks to cash in on home advantage

Fresh from his record-breaking spree, India’s Sharuk Khan is expected to be one of the top performers during the three-day South Asian Junior Athletics Championships beginning here Wednesday.

Khan is among 62-strong Indian team selected by the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) for the regional competition at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.

Khan, who hails from Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh, holds the national U20 record in 3,000m steeplechase (8:42.06). He plans to further improve his performance here.

“I’m healthy. I should be able to do my best,” he said on the eve of the three-day meet.

Focus will also be on Pooja, national U20 record holder in women’s high jump. Her season and personal best of 1.83m was recorded at the just concluded World Athletics U20 Championships held in Lima, Peru.

Anurag Singh Kaler, Siddharth Choudhary (shot put) and Ritik (discus throw), medal winners at the 2024 Asian U20 Championships held earlier this year in Dubai, are looking ahead to make a good impression in the South Asian Championships.

N Ramesh, chief junior national athletics coach, is also expecting sprinters to dominate relay events.

“Indian 4x100m women’s team had set a national U20 record (45.31 seconds) at the World U20. They should be able to continue their good work here in Chennai,” he said.

Majority of the members of the Indian team had competed in the World Athletics U20 Championships.

“The competition in Chennai will be good exposure for the promising athletes on the home ground,” Ramesh said.

Sri Lanka is also fielding a strong 54-member team. Pakistan (12), Bhutan (5), Nepal (9), Bangladesh (16) and Maldives (15) are the other participating teams. All the teams have arrived here.

- PTI