Indian sports wrap, February 29

Here are all the updates, results and developments from the world of Indian sports on February 29.

Karthi.S (Blue jersey-5) in action. | Photo Credit: JOTHI RAMALINGAM B

TENNIS

Shrivalli exits ITF tournament after defeat against Cabaj

Shrivalli Bhamidipaty got off to a flying start but lost her serve rhythm and lost 1-6, 6-3, 7-6(5) by the towering Jacqueline Cabaj Awad of Sweden in the pre-quarterfinals of the Federal Bank $25,000 ITF women’s tennis tournament at the Tennis Project, Baliawas, on Thursday.

For someone who serves big, and strokes with authority, Shrivalli had two aces and 15 double faults in the match that spanned two hours and 30 minutes.

Jacqueline played well right through and made less mistakes to reach the quarterfinals. She had to do less in terms of winning points or breaking serve, and Shrivalli slumped to defeat, making three double faults in the third set tie-break.

The Swede will challenge second seed Ankita Raina who came through a tough encounter against Zeel Desai in straight sets.

The best match, in terms of high-quality play, was the one between Sahaja Yamalapalli and Riya Bhatia. Sahaja was gritty as she recovered from being 3-5 down in the first set, when she eventually saved a set point in the tie-break, for a 7-6(8), 7-5 victory in two hours and 45 minutes.

While serving for the match at 5-4, Sahaja missed three match points, as Riya stroked brilliantly to fight till the end with her explosive strokes backed by heavy grunts.

Sahaja will challenge top seed Dalila Jakupovic of Slovenia who negotiated her way past the young Vaishnavi Adkar 7-6(1), 6-3.

RESULTS

Singles (pre-quarterfinals): Dalila Jakupovic (Slo) bt Vaishnavi Adkar 7-6(1), 6-3; Sahaja Yamalapalli bt Riya Bhatia 7-6(8), 7-5; Justina Mikulskyte (Ltu) bt Yasmine Mansouri (Fra) 6-1, 7-6(4); Ekaterina Kazionova bt Anastasia Gasanova 3-6, 7-5, 6-4; Yeonwoo Ku (Kor) bt Fanny Ostlund (Swe) 4-6, 6-2, 7-5; Zhibek Kulambayeva (Kaz) bt Rinon Okuwaki (Jpn) 6-4, 6-3; Jacqueline Cabaj Awad (Swe) bt Shrivalli Bhamidipaty 1-6, 6-3, 7-6(5); Ankita Raina bt Zeel Desai 7-6(4), 6-3.

Doubles (quarterfinals): Zhibek Kulambayeva (Kaz) & Ankita Raina bt Akiko Omae & Ikumi Yamazaki (Jpn) 7-5, 7-6(9); Riya Bhatia & Michika Ozeki (Jpn) bt Anastasia Gasanova & Ekaterina Yashina 6-4, 6-4; Yeonwoo Ku (Kor) & Diana Marcinkevica (Lat) bt Ekaterina Kazonova & Yasmine Mansouri (Fra) 6-4, 6-3; Jacqueline Cabaj Awad (Swe) & Justina Mikulskyte (Ltu) bt Shrivalli Bhamidipaty & Vaidehi Chaudhari 3-6, 6-4, [10-8].

-Kamesh Srinivasan

Bhambri-Haase advance to Dubai Tennis Championships semifinals, Bopanna-Ebden ousted

Yuki Bhambri and Robin Haase beat third seeds Jamie Murray and Michael Venus 6-4, 7-6(1) in the doubles quarterfinals of the $3,113,270 ATP tennis tournament in Dubai on Thursday.

However, the top seeds, Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden were beaten 10-8 in the super tie-break by Ariel Behar and Adam Pavlasek in the quarterfinals.

RESULTS

$3,113,270 ATP, Dubai, UAE Doubles (quarterfinals): Ariel Behar (Uru) & Adam Pavlasek (Cze) bt Rohan Bopanna & Matthew Ebden (Aus) 3-6, 6-3, [10-8]; Yuki Bhambri & Robin Haase (Ned) bt Jamie Murray (GBR) & Michael Venus (Nzl) 6-4, 7-6(1).

$15,000 ITF men, Kish Island, Iran

Singles (first round): Savely Ivanov bt Ishaque Eqbal 6-4, 6-0; Samuil Konov (Bul) bt Adil Kalyanpur 6-4, 2-6, 7-5.

Doubles (quarterfinals): Ishaque Eqbal & Adil Kalyanpur bt Amir Badi & Sina Moghimi (Iri) 6-1, 6-2; Rishi Reddy & Gheorghe Schinteie (Rou) bt Ivan Kazakov & Maxim Zhukov 6-7(2), 6-4, [10-7].

$15,000 ITF men, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand

Singles (first round): Credit Chaiyanin (Tha) bt Yuvan Nandal 6-4, 6-1.

$15,000 ITF men, Monastir, Tunisia

Singles (first round): Lorenzo Carboni (Ita) bt Chirag Duhan 6-4, 7-5.

Doubles (pre-quarterfinals): Simon Beaupain & Romain Faucon (Bel) bt Chirag Duhan & Jesse Flores (Crc) 6-3, 4-6, [10-5].

$15,000 ITF men, Villena, Spain

Doubles (pre-quarterfinals): Marco Berti & Federico Ianneaccone (Ita) bt Raghav Harsh & Vardhan Karkal 6-1, 6-0.

$15,000 ITF women, Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt

Singles (first round): Irina Balus (Svk) bt Maaya Rajeshwaran 6-0, 6-3; Evgeniya Burdina bt Prathyusha Rachapudi 6-3, 6-3.

Doubles (pre-quarterfinals): Merna Refaat & Sandra Samir (Egy) bt Flavie Brugnone (Fra) & Tanisha Kashyap 6-3, 3-6, [10-1].

$15,000 ITF women, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand

Singles (pre-quarterfinals): Watsachol Sawatdee (Tha) bt Jennifer Luikham 6-2, 1-6, 7-6(4).; First round: Kim Yujin (Kor) bt Bela Tamhankar 6-3, 6-1; Jennifer bt Zhu Chenting (Chn) 6-2, 2-6, 6-2; Carolann Delaunay (Ncl) bt Pooja Ingale 2-6, 6-3, 6-4.

Doubles (pre-quarterfinals): Liu Yanni & Zhang JIale (Chn) bt Jennifer Luikham & Zheng Yizhen (Chn) 7-5, 6-1.

-Team Sportstar

HOCKEY

Karthi to play in CHA super division league

The 59th Chennai Hockey Association super division league will be held at the SDAT-Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium from March 1 to 24. India players, S. Karthi, S. Mareeswaran and most of the players who had played for the Tamil Nadu State in the recently concluded Senior Nationals in Chennai will be taking part.

Fourteen teams divided into two groups are participating in the league and the top two teams from each group will clash in the semifinals.

Speaking to newspersons here on Wednesday, V. Baskaran, CHA president, said the Association is keen to finish the league on time. “There will be no postponements this time as there aren’t any major tournaments clashing with the league. It will definitely be a better league than last time,” he said.

Mohammed Muneer, the tournament director, said CHA is planning to use the services of umpires from other districts of Tamil Nadu to ensure better quality.

The promoted teams are Tamil Nadu Postal and Adyar United.

The teams:

Pool A: ICF, SDAT, AG’s Office, Income Tax, FCI, Southern Railway, Tamil Nadu Postal.

Pool B: IOB, Indian Bank, Tamil Nadu Police, GST & Central Excise, Greater Chennai City Police, SBI, Adyar United.

-Keerthivasan K

MOTORSPORTS

Kush Maini takes pole position in Formula 2 race in Bahrain

FILE PHOTO: Kush Maini in 2019. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Indian racer Kush Maini took pole position for the first FIA Formula 2 race of the year in Bahrain on Thursday.

Kush, driving for Invicta Racing, was on the pace from the start of the session and set a time of 1:41.696 to secure his maiden pole in the F2 championship. He was two-tenths of a second faster than his teammate Gabriel Bortoleto.

It is the second season for the Bengaluru-based racer in the championship, who is currently part of the Alpine F1 team’s young driver development programme. The 23-year-old will start 10th in the reverse grid Sprint Race and start from pole for the Feature race.

-Dipak Ragav

GOLF

Randhawa starts with 69, lies 51st in New Zealand

Veteran Indian golfer Jyoti Randhawa, who plans to divide his time between the Asian Tour and Legends European Tour, got off to a decent start at the New Zealand Open, carding a two-under 69 in the opening round here on Thursday.

The 50-year-old Indian, who is a former Asian Tour No. 1, was placed Tied-51st after the first round in an event that features a Pro-Am format.

Starting from the 10th tee, Randhawa went through the back-nine in a strong four-under 32 and was five-under with a birdie on the first hole.

Then came a crippling triple bogey on Par-4 fifth hole and his score dropped to two-under. He is the only Indian in the field this week.

Another veteran Scott Hend, who has 10 victories, shot a seven-under 64 to take a share of the first-round lead with countryman Matthew Griffin, who won this event in 2016.

Hend made a remarkable recovery from prostate cancer two years ago and last year won on the European Seniors Tour.

The event is being played at two courses, the Remarkables Course and the Coronet Course at Millbrook Resort, just outside Queenstown.

-PTI

Aditi makes even par start to occupy T-23rd place in Singapore

Indian golfer Aditi Ashok, playing her second event on LPGA’s Asian Swing, opened with an action-packed even par round to be placed tied-23rd at the HSBC Women’s Championship golf tournament here.

Aditi, ranked 40th in the world, is lying inside top-25 in the 66-player field in the USD 1.8 million event, being played at the Tanjong Course on the Sentosa Island.

Aditi had five birdies and as many bogeys with eight pars. She found only half the greens in regulations and nine of the 14 fairways.

Last week Aditi was T-31 in Honda LPGA Thailand.

American Sarah Schmelzel, who made 20 cuts in 27 starts with two top-10s in 2023, led the field with 4-under 68, that had five birdies between the first and the eighth holes. Her lone bogey was on the Par-4 12th.

Swede Linn Grant was tied second with 69 alongside World No. 1 Lilia Vu and German Esther Henseleit.

The 29-time LPGA winner, Lydia Ko, looking for a win that will get her into the LPGA Hall of Fame automatically, had a rough start with a 4-over 76 with four bogeys and no birdies.

The Amundi Evian Championship winner Celine Boutier (73) was T-30.

Two-time defending champion Jin Young Ko shot 1-under 71 and is T-10.

This is the 16th edition of the HSBC Women’s World Championship, an event, which is often referred to as “Asia’s Major”.

-PTI

SHOOTING

Palak Gulia tops women’s air pistol shooting trials

(L to R) Shital Desai, Palak Gulia, Suruchi, the toppers in air pistol in the National shooting trials in Bhopal. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Asian Games gold medallist, Palak Gulia beat qualification topper Shital Desai by 1..4 to top women’s air pistol in the third national shooting selection trials at the Madhya Pradesh Academy on Thursday.

The 18-year-old Palak shot 242.0 after qualifying with a modest score of 578. Shital had shot 581. Suruchi placed third ahead of Anjali Shekhawat, Jasmin Kaur, Surbhi Rao, TS Divya and Pranjali Dhumal.

In men’s air pistol, Amit Sharma shot 242.6 in the final to beat qualification topper Sharvan Kumar (586) by 0.4 point. Olympian Gurpreet Singh placed third. Aditya Malha who had also shot 586, Omprakash Mitharval, Ajay Ambawat, Udhayveer Sidhu and Rahul were the others to make the final.

RESULTS

10m air pistol: Men: 1. Amit sharma 242.6 (584); 2. Sharvan Kumar 242.2 (586); 3. Gurpreet Singh 221.7 (582).

Women: 1. Palak Gulia 242.0 (578); 2. Shital Desai 240.6 (581); 3. Suruchi 220.0 (577).

-Kamesh Srinivasan

POLO

Jindal Panther to face Mayfair Polo in Gold Vase polo tournament

Siddhant Sharma scored five goals to help Jindal Panther to a 7-6 victory over 61st Cavalry-Royal Enfield in the last league match of the Radha Mohan Rajinder Mohan Gold Vase polo tournament at the Army Equestrian Centre, Delhi Cantonment, on Thursday.

In the semifinals to be played at the Jaipur Polo ground on Saturday, Jindal Panther will play Mayfair Polo, while Delta Polo will face Rajnigandha Achievers.

RESULTS

Delta Polo 8 (Santiago Marambio 4, Shamsheer Ali 3, Akshai Malik) bt Mayfair Polo 2 (Salim Azmi, Anay Shah).

Jindal Panther 7 (Siddhant Sharma 5, Simran Shergill, Naveen Jindal) bt 61st Cavalry-Royal Enfield 6 (Abhimanyu Pathak 4, VS Kahlon, Hurr Ali).

-Team Sportstar

AQUATICS

Indian 4x200m freestyle relay team clocks ‘Best Indian Time’ at Asian Age Group C’ships

Swimmers Aryan Nehra, Aneesh Gowda, Sajan Prakash and Srihari Nataraj registered the ‘best Indian time’ in the 4x200m freestyle relay on their way to a gold medal finish at the Asian Group Aquatics Championships in Philippines.

The Indian quartet clocked 7:26.64s, bettering the 7:29.04s effort by Aryan, Aneesh, Kushagra Rawat and Tanish George Mathew at the Hangzhou Asian Games last year.

Vietnam (7:29.43s) and Thailand (7:40.37s) won the silver and bronze medals respectively.

Palak Joshi clinched the gold in the girl’s 200m backstroke (B) event with a swim of 2:21.55s while Nithik Nathella (2:03.76s) and Rishabh Das (2:05.73s) took home the silver and bronze medals respectively in the boy’s 200m backstroke (B) event.

In swimming, national record timings are those achieved at the National Aquatic Championships. The times recorded in other meets are called the ‘best Indian time’.

In age-group swimming meets, swimmers over the age of 18 compete in the senior or A events.

Junior swimmers, who are 16-17 years old, compete in the B events, while 14 to 15-year-olds participate in the C category.

-PTI