Indian sports news wrap, August 24
Here are all the major updates and results from Indian sports on August 24.
Published : Aug 24, 2023 17:22 IST , CHENNAI - 7 MINS READ
The Indian women’s visually challenged cricket team created history by becoming the first team to reach the final of the International Blind Sports Federation World Games 2023. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
The major developments from the world of sports on August 24 where Indians took part are as follows:
TENNIS
Rishab, Digvijay into semifinals in ITF tournament in Chinese Taipei
Rishab Agarwal beat Jesse Delaney of Australia 6-7(4), 6-2, 6-4 to move into the quarterfinals of the $25,000 ITF men’s tennis tournament in Tainan, Chinese Taipei, on Thursday.
Rishab was joined by Digvijay Pratap Singh in the quarterfinals.
RESULTS
€36,000 Challenger, Augsburg, Germany
$25,000 ITF men, Tainan, Chinese Taipei
$15,000 ITF men, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand
$40,000 ITF women, Hong Kong
$15,000 ITF women, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand
$15,000 ITF women, Baku, Azerbaijan
-Kamesh Srinivasan
CRICKET
Indian women’s visually challenged cricket team enters final
The Indian women’s visually challenged cricket team created history by becoming the first team to reach the final of the International Blind Sports Federation World Games 2023.
Visually challenged cricket at the IBSA World Games debuted last week. The Indian women’s team played its opening game on August 20 against Australia.
India won the meeting by eight wickets, kicking off its campaign in style. It restricted Australia to 59 for six and chased the target down quite easily.
In the next game versus England, India went ballistic and scored 268 for two in 20 overs, with Gangavva H striking a 60-ball 117, as the English lost the contest by 185 runs.
The third fixture on Wednesday saw India pummel Australia by 163 runs, continuing its dominance.
The Indians will battle it out in the title showdown on Saturday. Before the final, the Women in Blue play their final league tie versus England on Thursday.
As for the men, India plays the semifinals on Friday.
- PTI
Maharaja Trophy: Shivamogga Lions loses to Mangalore Dragons by 15 runs
Shivamogga Lions lost its third match on the trot, succumbing to Mangalore Dragons by 15 runs in the Maharaja Trophy KSCA T20 at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Thursday.
Asked to bat first, the Dragons were powered by Thippa Reddy’s blitzkrieg (82, 47b, 11x4, 2x6). He combined for crucial partnerships with M.G. Naveen (16, 10b) and Aniruddha Joshi (34, 20b, 4x4, 1x6), for the fourth and fifth wickets respectively, pushing the total closer to 200.
A wholesome bowling performance later on, where all six of those who rolled their arms over picked up at least a wicket, helped the Mangaluru side restrict the Lions to 176 for nine and secure the win.
The Shivamogga side’s middle and lower-order batters threw their bats around, with Abhinav Manohar (25, 16b, 1x4, 2x6), Pranav Bhatia (39, 18b, 2x4, 4x6) and Kranthi Kumar (21, 7b, 5x4) scoring brisk runs. But they were left with too much to do.
In the second encounter of the day, Gulbarga Mystics extended Bengaluru Blasters’ misery, handing the side its eighth loss in as many matches, beating it by five wickets.
Put into bat, the Blasters could only score 113, with no batter other than D. Nischal (36, 33b) crossing 20. Sharan Goud, the player of the match, picked up two wickets (4-0-28-2). The Mystics then made quick-work of the target with more than five overs to spare.
Brief scores: Mangalore Dragons 191/7 in 20 overs (Thippa Reddy 82, Aniruddha Joshi 34, Aditya Somanna 3/38) bt Shivamogga Lions 176/9 in 20 overs (Rohan Kadam 25, Abhinav Manohar 25, Pranav Bhatia 39); PoM: Thippa Reddy.
Bengaluru Blasters 113 in 19.3 overs (D. Nischal 36, Abhilash Shetty 3/19, D. Avinash 3/22) lost to Gulbarga Mystics 114/5 in 14.5 overs (Macneil Noronha 28, R. Smaran 29); PoM: Sharan Goud.
Friday’s matches: Bengaluru Blasters vs. Mysuru Warriors; Hubli Tigers vs. Shivamogga Lions.
-N. Sudarshan
MOTORSPORT
Coimbatore to host FMSCI National Racing Championship from Saturday
The new season of the iconic JK Tyre FMSCI National Racing Championship (JKNRC) will be held on August 26 and 27 at the Kari Motor Speedway.
It will be the 26th season of the championship that has given recognition to numerous renowned Indian drivers like Narain Karthikeyan, Armaan Ebrahim, Karun Chandhok, Arjun Maini, Kush Maini and many others.
Over the years, it has given a platform to aspiring drivers from all parts of the country to make it big in motorsport, and this year too the event will witness pan-India participation from both male and female drivers. The opening round consists of the LGB Formula 4, which would have the most economical Indian-made single-seater racing car, powered by a carbureted 1298cc Suzuki engine and featuring a 5-Speed Gearbox and a chrome molybdenum tubing frame.
In the male category competing would be Amir Syed (Ahura Racing), Diljith TS (Dark Don Racing), Raghul Rangasamy (MSport) and Ruhaan Alva (MSport), whereas a couple of females - Mira Erda (Msport) and Anushriya Gulati (Dark Don Racing) - would also showcase their talent.
The females would also participate in the JK Tyre Novice Cup for amateurs. Fifteen-year-old Aashi Hanspal (MSport) from Mumbai and Ahura Racing pair of Priyanka Vijay from Bangalore and Avani Veeramaneni from Hyderabad would be the ones to watch out for.
It would be followed by the two-wheeler Royal Enfield Continental GT Cup for both amateur and professionals, which would have specially race-prepared Continental GT-R650s, powered by Royal Enfield’s 648cc parallel-twin engine.
The girls will also participate in the two-wheeler category as Aisvariya V and Logapriya S from Coimbatore will be battling it out in the 250 Cup.
Speaking ahead of the competition, Sanjay Sharma (Head, Motorsport - JK Tyre) said, “JK Tyre’s commitment to fostering motorsports inclusively across the nation remains unwavering. Our championships have consistently delivered thrilling results. Given the impressive lineup this year, we anticipate an array of surprises on the track.”
- PTI
HOCKEY
MCC-Murugappa Gold Cup All-India hockey tournament: Railways starts with a big win
Former champion Indian Railways put up a ruthless display on the opening day of the 94th MCC-Murugappa Gold Cup All-India hockey tournament here on Thursday, with a 9-1 rout of Central Secretariat in a Group-A match.
Former India forward Yuvraj Walmiki, struck four goals. Earlier, in a Group-B contest, Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu (HUTN) and CAG played out a 1-1 draw.
Railways literally crushed the hopes of its opponent pretty much in the first two quarters by scoring five goals with Yuvraj scoring three out of them.
Pratap Lakra opened the floodgates as early as in the fourth minute with a fierce penalty corner strike that hit the left side of the roof. Four more goals followed in a matter of 13 minutes and it looked like Secretariat would have little or no chance and it stayed that way till the last minute.
In the HUTN-CAG clash, both the teams were initially wary of each other, and it took a while—till the second quarter—for the teams’ to get the hang of the other’s game.
TN, comprising mostly youngsters, played well within itself, and its defence appeared rock solid for most part. CAG gradually picked up speed in the second half, with some aggression from its midfield and forwards.
HUTN was the first off the blocks when M. Dhanush deflected one off a penalty corner strike by Sahil in the second quarter. CAG equalised through a fine backhander by Abharan Sudev in the third quarter.
The results:
-K. Keerthivasan
CHESS
National chess championship: Sethuraman stays ahead despite a draw
S. P. Sethuraman may have struggled to hold Aronyak Ghosh to a draw but the result was good enough to keep him in the lead following a series of favourable results in the ninth round of the National chess championship here on Thursday.
Following a 32-move draw on the top board, Sethuraman gained from the result of the second board. Neelash Saha, despite holding an edge, drew by a three-fold repetition of the position against Diptayan Ghosh.
Another result that benefitted Sethuraman was the defeat of P. Iniyan to N. R. Vignesh on the third board.
When the dust settled down, Sethuraman was ahead with eight points, half-a-point ahead of Neelash Saha, Aronyak Ghosh, Diptayan Ghosh, N. R. Vignesh and Vishnu Prasanna.
The results:
-Rakesh Rao