Indian sports wrap, September 5: Sports Minister felicitates Paralympics 2024 athletes

Here are all the major updates, scores, and results of Indians in the world of sports on September 5.

Sports Minister Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya with the first batch of athletes on their return from the Paralympics in Paris. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

ATHLETICS

Paralympics 2024: Sports Minister felicitates returning para athletes

The first batch of athletes from the Paralympics in Paris, including bronze winner Deepthi Jeevanji, was felicitated by the Union Sports Minister, Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya, here on Thursday.

In the ongoing Paralympics in France, India has already reached an all-time record of 24 medals including five gold, and looks set to comfortably get past the goal of 25 medals, as predicted by the double Paralympic gold medallist, Devendra Jhajaria, the president of the Paralympic Committee of India (PCI).

The Sports Minister expressed his admiration and appreciation of the athletes and said that sports was not just about winning medals.

“Each one of you has overcome the challenges life has presented and emerged as winners. You are all an inspiration to millions of youth across India,” Dr. Mandaviya said.

World champion and Asian Para Games champion, Deepthi said that she was happy to win a medal on her Paralympic debut, but promised to try and win the gold next time.

- Team Sportstar

FOOTBALL

Lord Krishna Senior Secondary School triumphs in Subroto Cup Group H encounter

Lord Krishna Senior Secondary School, Haryana, beat Tripura Sports School 2-0 to confirm its place in the quarterfinals from Group-H in the 63rd Subroto Cup junior boys football tournament on Thursday.

The results (league):

Group-A: Sri Lanka SchoolsFootball Association bt Sainik School, Arunachal Pradesh, 3-0; Numaligarh HSS, Assam, bt Maharana Pratap Sports College, Dehradun, 8-0.

Group-B: RMSA HS, Mizoram, bt Bangladesh Krira shikkha Protishtan, 1-0;Government SSS, Punjab, bt JNV Hansiadih, Jharkhand, 2-1.

Group-D: Amenity Public School, Uttarakhand, bt Guru Gobind Singh Sports College, Uttar Pradesh, 2-1; DG NCC Bengal Battalion bt Government SSS, Soreng, Sikkim, 8-0.

Group-E: Farook HSS, Kerala, bt Modern School, Barakhamba Road, 5-2; Minerva Public School, Mohali, bt The Army Public School, Delhi, 4-0. Group-H: Krida Prabodhini, Pune, bt Tyndale Biscoe School, Srinagar, 5-0; Lord Krishna SSS, Haryana, bt Tripura Sports School, 2-0.

- Team Sportstar

Punjab FC Signs Defender Likmabam Rakesh on Loan ahead of new season

Punjab FC announced the signing of left-back Likmabam Rakesh Singh on loan from Kerala Blasters for the upcoming 2024-25 season. The defender has signed on a one-year loan deal from the Kerala club which had signed him in June this year.

Rakesh primarily plays as a left back but can also play as a center back and he will add depth to the defence of the club. He will be the second player to sign on loan from Kerala Blasters after Nihal Sudheesh was also signed for this season.

Speaking about the extensions, Technical Director of Punjab FC, Nikolaos Topoliatis said, “Rakesh is a player with a lot of potential. He possesses a lot of energy and pace and that will be essential for the team this season. He will also provide the depth in defence, which is important for a long season.”

- Team Sportstar

TENNIS

Sriram Balaji through to semifinal of Seville Challenger

N Sriram Balaji in partnership with Guido Andreozzi of Argentina beat Alexander Donski of Bulgaria and Tiago Pereira of Portugal 7-6(4), 7-6(4) in the doubles quarterfinals of the $148,625 Challenger tennis tournament in Seville, Spain, on Thursday.

The results:

$148,625 Challenger, Seville, Spain

Doubles (quarterfinals): Guido Andreozzi (Arg) & Sriram Balaji bt Alexander Donski (Bul) & Tiago Pereira (Por) 7-6(4), 7-6(4); Pre-quarterfinals: Andreozzi & Balaji bt Remy Bertola (Sui) & Maxime Janvier (Fra) 6-3, 6-2.

$133,250 Challenger, Shanghai, China

Doubles (quarterfinals): Rithvik Bollipalli & Arjun Kadhe bt Blake Bayldon & Thomas Fancutt (Aus) 6-1, 6-2.

€74,825 Challenger, Cassis, France

Doubles (quarterfinals): Manuel Guinard & Matteo Martineali (Fra) bt Siddhant Banthia & Bruno Navarro (Esp) 6-3, 6-4.

$82,000 Challenger, Istanbul, Turkey

Doubles (quarterfinals): Egor Agafonov & Ilia Simakin bt Michael Geerts (Bel) & Divij Sharan 7-6(5), 6-0.

$25,000 ITF men, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand

Singles (pre-quarterfinals): Leo Borg (Swe) bt Dheeraj Srinivasan 6-4, 6-2; S Mukund bt Credit Chaiyarin (Tha) 6-1, 6-2.

Doubles (quarterfinals): Nick Chappell (USA) & Sai Karteek Reddy bt Tomohiro Masabayashi (Jpn) & Thantub Suksumrarn (Tha) 7-6(4), 3-6, [12-10].

$15,000 ITF men, Tashkent, Uzbekistan

Singles (pre-quarterfinals): Vishnu Vardhan bt Aleksei Mokrov 6-4, 7-6(0); Sidharth Rawat bt Evgeny Karlovskiy 6-2, 6-3.

Doubles (quarterfinals): Adil Kalyanpur & Vishnu Vardhan bt Kazuma Kawachi (Jpn) & Maxim Shin (Uzb) 6-0, 6-2; Petr Bar Biryukov & Grigoriy Lomakin (Kaz) bt Dev Javia & Rishi Reddy 6-7(3), 6-4, [10-8].

$100,000 ITF women, Incheon, Korea

Doubles (quarterfinals): Arianne Hartono (Ned) & Prarthana Thombare bt Momoko Kobori & Ayano Shimizu (Jpn) 6-4, 2-6, [11-9].

$25,000 ITF women, Punta Cana, Dominican Republic

Singles (pre-quarterfinals): Sahaja Yamalapalli bt Ariana Arseneault (Can) 6-4, 6-3.

$25,000 ITF women, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand

Singles (pre-quarterfinals): Vaidehi Chaudhari bt Monique Barry (Nzl) 6-2, 6-3; Shrivalli Bhamidipaty bt Paris Corley (USA) 6-3, 6-1.

$15,000 ITF women, Monastir, Tunisia

Singles (pre-quarterfinals): Zeel Desai bt Kseniya Yersh 6-7(7), 7-6(2), 6-3.

Doubles (quarterfinals): Matilde Mariani (Ita) & Celine Simunyu (Irl) bt Jennifer Luikham & Prisha Vyas (USA) 4-6, 6-2, [10-2].

HOCKEY

PSPB, RSPB open campaign with easy wins in Hockey India Inter-Department C’ship

Defending champions Petroleum Sports Promotion Board (PDPB) and Railway Sports Promotion Board (RSPB) opened campaigns with comfortable wins on the first day of the Hockey India Senior Men Inter-Department National Championship here on Thursday.

An upset was recorded, however, by Steel Plant Sports Board (SPSB) whose young side defeated an experienced All India Police Sports Control Board 2-1 (AISCP) outfit.

For SPSB, Abdul Qadir struck the opening goal in the 29th minute and Alok Kandulna doubled the lead in the 53rd. AISCP were able to pull one back through Simranjit Singh five minutes later in the 58th but that was the only goal they managed.

PSPB defeated Central Secretariat 5-0 in a Pool A contest following goals from Talwinder Singh (4), Armaan Qureshi (33) , Rosan Minz (41) and two goals Shilanand Lakhra (26, 56).

In Pool B contest, RSPB went on a spree as they blanked Sports Authority of Gujarat - Hockey Academy 13-0.

Results:

Pool A: Petroleum Sports Promotion Board 5 (Talwinder Singh 4; Shilanand Lakhra 26, 56; Armaan Queshi 33; Rosan Minz 41) bt Central Secretariat 0.

Pool A: ITBP Central Hockey Team 4 (Roshan 41, 47; Anil 49, 55) drew with Central Board of Direct Taxes 4 (Vikash Choudhary 23; Nachappa Ir 30; Pranam Gowda TM 52; R Manikandan 60).

Pool B: Railway Sports Promotion 13 (Pardeep Singh 7, 17, 52; Shivam Anand 9, 11; Darshan Vaibhav Gawker 12; Joginder Singh 13; Shesh Gowda BM 26, 29, 40; Simranjot Singh 37; Yuvraj Walmiki 55; Gursahibjit Singh 58) bt Sports Authority of Gujarat – Hockey Academy 0.

Pool B: All India Police Sports Control Board 1 (Simranjit Singh 58) lost to Steel Plant Sports Board 2 (Abdul Qadir 29; Alok Kandulna 53).

- PTI

RUGBY

ASMITA Rugby League to kick off on September 7

Rugby India will kick off the second edition of the ASMITA Rugby League, under the aegis of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (MYAS) and the Sports Authority of India (SAI). The first leg of the season will be held at Solani River Rugby Ground in Haridwar Road, Roorkee, Uttarakhand, on September 7-8.

A total of 24 women’s teams are expected to participate in the two-day tournament.

“The ASMITA League is an exceptional initiative by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, that saw a tremendous turnout in its inaugural edition (2023) with over 3,400 athletes participating. Young female rugby players in the country now have a vibrant, new platform for them to engage with the sport. We would like to thank the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports and the Sports Authority of India for their continued support and trust” Rahul Bose (President), Indian Rugby Football Union, said.

- Team Sportstar