SHOOTING
Trap shooter Bhowneesh finishes fifth in Shotgun World Cup
Paris Olympics quota winner Bhowneesh Mendiratta found the going tough in the trap finals, finishing fifth in the ISSF World Cup for Shotgun here on Saturday.
The 23-year-old from Faridabad, who was in joint lead with four others after the first three rounds of qualification with a score of 73 out of 75 on Friday, came up with identical scores of 24 each in the remaining two rounds of qualification on Saturday.
Bhowneesh aggregated 121 out of 125 over the two days of qualification, which saw him make the six-shooter finals at joint fourth position.
However in the finals, the Indian shooter erred and became the second marksman to get eliminated, shooting down 24 clay pigeons out of 30.
Veteran Italian marksman and two-time world champion, Fabbrizi Massimo, won the gold medal with a score of 46/50, overcoming Australia’s 27-year-old world champion James Willett (43/50), who had to settle for silver.
Top Kuwaiti marksman Khaled Almudhaf bagged the bronze medal with a score of 34/40.
The other two Indians in the 69-strong field, Zoravar Singh Sandhu and Prithviraj Tondaimal, finished 16th and 17th respectively with identical scores of 117.
On Friday, Zoravar and Prithviraj were placed 16th and 23rd among the contenders, after shooting scores of 71 and 70, respectively.
RESULTS
Trap
-PTI
TENNIS
AITA National series juniors: Samiksha beats Samaira in girls’ final
Samiksha Dabas beat top seed Samaira Malik 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 in the girls final of the AITA National series under-18 tennis tournament at the Joygaon Academy on Saturday.
Vansh Nandal won the boys title, beating Rishi Sadeeshkumar 7-6(2), 6-2.
The results (finals):Under-18 boys- Vansh Nandal bt Rishi Sadeeshkumar 7-6(2), 6-2; Under-18 girls- Samiksha Dabas bt Samaira Malik 5-7, 6-4, 6-4.
-Kamesh Srinivasan
Zeeshan Ali receives the ITF award for coaches
Zeeshan Ali, the coach of the Davis Cup team, has been presented the ITF award in recognition of his services to the game.
“Zeeshan Ali was honoured with an Award for Services to the Game in the Coaches category for his long and outstanding contribution to tennis teaching both nationally and internationally, and we congratulate him on receiving this award”, wrote the ITF president, David Haggerty, in his letter sent along with the award to the All India Tennis Association (AITA).
The AITA president Anil Jain, secretary general, Anil Dhupar, former president Anil Khanna, along with other senior members felicitated Zeeshan Ali by presenting him the award received from the London office of the ITF.
Davis Cup coach Zeeshan Ali (middle) being felicitated by the All India Tennis Association (AITA) president Anil Jain in Delhi. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
“The well-deserved honour highlights Zeeshan’s tireless efforts, dedication, expertise in nurturing talent, shaping champions, and elevating the game of tennis”, said Anil Dhupar in his appreciation of Zeeshan.
“I am honoured to get this prestigious award for all the years of hard work. I thank the AITA for recommending my name. My father, the late Akhtar Ali, who was my coach as well as the Davis Cup coach, would have been extremely proud to see me receive this award. I thank my wife and children for being pillars of strength over the years, and I owe a lot of my success to them”, said Zeeshan.
Zeeshan had wound up his successful coaching academy in Dubai to serve the national cause. He heads the National Tennis Centre (NTC) in the Capital, apart from being the Davis Cup coach. As a player, he was ranked a career best 126 on the ATP computer, and had won the national title seven times. He also competed in the Seoul Olympics and was part of the Indian team that won gold in the Asian Games in 1994. He was the Asian junior champion and was ranked as high as world No. 2 as a junior.
-Kamesh Srinivasan
Balaji, Jeevan lose Challenger final
Top seeds Sriram Balaji and Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan were beaten 7-6(5), 6-3 in the doubles final by Petr Nouza and Andrew Paulson in the doubles final of the €73,000 Challenger tennis tournament in Skopje, Macedonia, on Saturday.
The champion team collected 75 ATP points and €4,250. The Indian pair won 50 points and €2,450.
In the $15,000 ITF men’s event in Addis Ababa, Rishab Agarwal beat second seed Eric Vanshelboim of Ukraine 6-7(4), 6-2, 6-0 to make the final.
SD Prajwal Dev lost the other semifinal in three sets to the top seed Benjamin Lock of Zimbabwe, but won the doubles title in partnership with Nitin Kumar Sinha.
The results:
€73,000 Challenger, Skopje, Macedonia
Doubles (final): Petr Nouza & Andrew Paulson (Cze) bt Sriram Balaji & Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan 7-6(5), 6-3.
$15,000 ITF men, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Singles (semifinals): Benjamin Lock (Zim) bt SD Prajwal Dev 3-6, 6-4, 6-2; Rishab Agarwal bt Eric Vanshelboim (Ukr) 6-7(4), 6-2, 6-0.
Doubles (final): SD Prajwal Dev & Nitin Kumar Sinha bt Alec Beckley & Kris Van Wyk (RSA) 6-3, 6-0.
$15,000 ITF women, Monastir, Tunisia
Doubles (final): Lauryn John-Baptiste (GBR) & Yasmin Mansouri (Fra) bt Sharmada Balu & Lamis Aziz (Egy) 6-3, 6-1;
Doubles (semifinals): Sharmada & Lamis bt Chiraz Bechri (Tun) & Yasmin Ezzat (Egy) 6-3, 3-6, [11-9].
$15,000 ITF women, Recife, Brazil
Singles (quarterfinals): Konishi Silva (Bra) bt Smriti Bhasin 7-5, 7-6(1).
-Kamesh Srinivasan
National sub-junior champonship: Arnav defeats Sahita in boys’ final
Arnav Paparkar beat Samarth Sahita 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the boys final of the Ramesh Desai memorial National sub-junior tennis championship at the KDLTA Complex on Saturday.
In the girls’ final, Sai Janvi beat Rishitha Basireddy in straight sets.
The results (finals): Under-16 boys: Arnav Paparkar bt Samarth Sahita 2-6, 6-3, 6-2; Doubles: Praneel Sharma & Aditya Mor bt Aradhya Kshitij & Sriniketh Kannan 6-3, 6-4; Under-16 girls: Sai Janvi bt Rishitha Basireddy 7-5, 6-2; Doubles: Nainika Bendram & Sejal Bhutada bt Aakruti Sonkusare & Aishwarya Jadhav 6-3, 6-4.
-Kamesh Srinivasan
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