Indian sports news wrap, April 26

Here are all the major updates in Indian sports on April 26.

Published : Apr 26, 2023 16:46 IST , CHENNAI - 4 MINS READ

FILE PHOTO: Indian tennis player Mukund Sasikumar.
FILE PHOTO: Indian tennis player Mukund Sasikumar. | Photo Credit: Ragu R / The Hindu
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FILE PHOTO: Indian tennis player Mukund Sasikumar. | Photo Credit: Ragu R / The Hindu

TENNIS

ATP Seoul Challenger: Mukund Sasikumar loses in opening round

Mukund Sasikumar lost in the opening round of the ATP Challenger Tour event in Seoul on Wednesday.

Mukund went down 4-6, 7-6(11), 0-6 to fellow qualifier Yasutaka Uchiyama of Japan in two hours 35 minutes.

READ - Bopanna on 2023 Asian Games: Happy to partner singles specialists like Ramkumar or Nagal

The fourth-seeded pair of Anirudh Chandrasekar and N Vijay Sundar Prashanth lost 7-5, 3-6, [6-10] to Canadian-Australian duo of Gabriel Diallo and Aleksandar Vukic.

However, Arjun Kadhe and Purav Raja progressed to the quarterfinals with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Ecuador’s Emilio Gomez and USA’s Brandon Holt.

At the Challenger event in Rome, third-seeded duo Yuki Bhambri-Saketh Myneni progressed to the quarterfinals after Italians Francesco Forti and Francesco Maestrelli gave a walkover.

RESULTS
ATP Rome Challenger
Doubles, First Round: [3] Yuki Bhambri/Saketh Myneni bt Francesco Forti/Francesco Maestrelli (ITA) via walkover
ATP Seoul Challenger
Singles, First Round: [Q] Yasutaka Uchiyama bt [Q] Mukund Sasikumar 6-4, 6-7(11), 6-0
Doubles, First Round: Arjun Kadhe/Purav Raja bt Emilio Gomez (ECU)/Brandon Holt (USA) 6-2, 6-4; Gabriel Diallo (CAN)/Aleksandar Vukic (AUS) bt [4] Anirudh Chandrasekar/N Vijay Sundar Prashanth 5-7, 6-3, [10-6]
ITF W40 Calvi
Singles, First Round: Naiktha Bains (GBR) bt [8] Ankita Raina 7-6(5), 6-4
ITF M25 Jakarta
Singles, First Round: [4] Digvijay Pratap Singh bt [Q] Credit Chaiyarin (THA) 3-3 retd.; M Rifqi Fitriadi (INA) bt S D Prajwal Dev 6-4, 6-1
Doubles, First Round: [2] Parikshit Somani/Ray Ho (TPE) bt S D Prajwal Dev/Wishaya Trongcharoenchaikul (THA) 6-4, 3-6, [10-7]
ITF W25 Nottingham
Singles, First Round: [8] Rutuja Bhosale bt Jia-Jing Lu (CHN) 6-4, 6-4
ITF W15 Monastir
Singles, First Round: [Q] Vaishnavi Adkar bt [Q] Jiaqi Wang (CHN) 6-3, 6-2; [Q] Delia Gaillard (FRA) bt [4] Jennifer Luikham 7-6(9), 7-6(2)

- Team Sportstar

AITA women’s tournament: Vanshika Choudhary reaches semifinal

Vanshika Choudhary sustained her good run and found her way past Samriti Punyani 3-6, 6-0, 6-2 in the quarterfinals of the Rs. 100,000 AITA women’s tennis tournament at the Joygaon Academy on Wednesday.

Vanshika, who had beaten top seed Sandeepti Singh Rao in straight sets in the pre-quarterfinals, will play fifth seed Sonal Patil in the semifinals. The other semifinal will be between second seed Sahira Singh and third seed Kashish Bhatia.

In doubles, Aditi Rawat and Ishi Maheshwari made the semifinals by beating second seeds Divya Bhardwaj and Shefali Arora 6-2, 7-5.

Results (quarterfinals):
Singles: Vanshika Choudhary bt Samriti Punyani 3-6, 6-0, 6-2; Sonal Patil bt Prapti Soni 6-0, 6-1; Kashish Bhatia bt Medhavi Singh 7-5, 6-0; Sahira Singh bt Shireen Ahamed 6-4, 6-3.
Doubles: Medhavi Singh & Shireen Ahamed bt Riya Mardaraj & Aarushi Raval 6-2, 7-5; Sonal Patil & Chandana Potugari bt Sahira Singh & Anahat Pannu 7-5, 2-6, [10-8]; Kashish Bhatia & Samriti Punyani bt Poorvi Bhatt & Ritu Rai 6-0, 6-3; Aditi Rawat & Ishi Maheshwari bt Divya Bhardwaj & Shefali Arora 6-2, 7-5.

-Kamesh Srinivasan

AITA super series juniors: Aarjun Pandit beat Kunsh Kakkar to reach semifinal

Third seed Aarjun Pandit pipped Kunsh Kakkar 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(6) in the under-18 boys quarterfinals of the Rajesh Patel Memorial AITA super series junior tennis tournament at the Tennis Vidyalaya on Wednesday.

In the girls section, Divya Sharma fought her way past Samaira Kohli 5-7, 6-4, 6-2 in the quarterfinals.

Results (quarterfinals):
Under-18 boys: Deepam Malik bt Ananya Gohari 6-1, 6-2; Mayank Sharma bt Varun Singh 7-5, 6-2; Aarjun Pandit bt Kunsh Kakkar 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(6); Rian Sharma bt Arnav Yadav 6-3, 6-2.
Under-18 girls: Tamanna Takoria bt Nafeesa Zafar 6-0, 6-0; Divya Sharma bt Samaira Kohli 5-7, 6-4, 6-2; Neelakshi bt Khushi Gaur 6-3, 6-1; Presha Shanthamoor bt Kaavya Nayyar 6-2, 6-3.

-Kamesh Srinivasan

MOTORSPORT

Jaden becomes only Indian in six years to finish on podium in British F4

Young Indian racer Jaden Pariat of Argenti Motorsport displayed his talent by finishing on the podium in the first round of the ROKiT British F4 Championship at Donington Park in Leicestershire.

He is only the second Indian to get an international podium in a Tatuus F4 car after Kush Maini in 2017.

“The podium is being hailed as a big milestone for the younger generation looking to break-through to higher levels of Formula racing. We are overwhelmed by the congratulatory messages and thank everyone who stood by us,” said Atikur Rehman, a former Indian national rally star and the force behind Jaden, who last year took a rookie podium in one of the two rounds he took part.

Showing good pace, the teenager from Northeast India, hopes to impress in his first full year in the series.

Joined by lucky Lyca Radio competition winners who enjoyed VIP access to the British F4 paddock, Jaden took a podium and did not disappoint his guests.

- PTI

GOLF

Avani grabs lead at Asian Games trials, Khalin in front among men

Avani Prashanth carded a stunning 6-under 66 to move to the top after the second round of the Indian Golf Union-run Asian Games golf trials here.

Amateur Avani, who became the first Indian in more than four decades to win the individual honours at the queen Sirikit Cup in February, rose from a 2-under 70 in the first round to get to 8-under 136 at the Royal Calcutta Golf Club.

Avani was followed by another Karnataka golfer, Pranavi Urs, who followed up her first round 70 with a 5-under 67 and moved into second place at 7-under 137 and was one shot behind Avani.

In the men’s section, Khalin Joshi maintained his top spot as Karnataka golfers dominated the day. Khalin added 68 to his first round 67. At 9-under 135 he is two shots clear of the 2016 Olympian SSP Chawrasia (69-68) and the in-form Aman Raj (69-68) who are tied second at 7-under 137 each.

Two spots each are up for grabs in the men’s and women’s section as Aditi Ashok among women and Anirban Lahiri and Shubhankar Sharma among men are slated to get automatic spots for the Asian Games to be held in China in September-October. Avani had four birdies and one bogey on each side of the RCGC. She had four birdies in six holes between the fourth and the ninth on the front nine and then birdied 11th and added three in a row from 13th to 15th.

Pranavi had a modest even par 36 on the front nine but sizzled on the back nine with three birdies and an eagle for 5-under 31. Pranavi has postponed the start of her season on the Epson Tour in the US to play the trials.

Khalin Joshi played a bogey-free 68 and stayed in front as Chawrasia, playing on his home course, had a run of three birdies in a row in the middle of the round and he had five birdies against one bogey in his 68.

Aman Raj, who won once on the PGTI earlier this season and had two Top-10 finishes in European Challenge Tour events in Bengaluru, also had three birdies in a row from eighth to tenth and overall had six birdies and two bogeys.

The 2010 Asian Games team silver medallist, Rashid Khan (69-69) was sole fourth, while Yuvraj Sandhu (69-70) and Ajeetesh Sandhu (68-71) were tied fifth. Overnight leader among women Amandeep Drall, dropped on the second day despite 2-under 70. Amandeep is now 6-under 138 and lying third, while Tvesa Malik, looking to regain her form, added 69 to her first round 70 and was fourth at 5-under 139.

Diksha Dagar (69-74), starting the day at second, slipped on the second day and is now fifth at 1-under 143 and Vani Kapoor (76-69) is sixth at even par 144.

-PTI

Gandas, Shubhankar gear up for Korea Championship

Manu Gandas will join Shubhankar Sharma for the Korea Championships as the DP World Tour returns to the country for the first time in a decade.

Gandas, winner of the Indian PGTI Order of Merit in 2022, which earned him full playing rights on the DP World Tour, has now made seven starts on the Tour with modest results as he has made the cut in three of them with tied 28th finish at the Thailand Classic being his best.

“It has been a tremendous experience playing with some of the best names in Europe and on so many different courses,” said Gandas, who is also looking to play as the season moves to Europe next month.

“I am gaining a lot of experience and am slowly finding my feet on the DP World Tour. I had a good outing in Thailand, where I played all four rounds under par.

“At some of the other events, it has sometimes been close, but as the season gets on I am sure it will get better,” added Gandas, who played a lot of junior and amateur golf with Sharma.

Meanwhile Sharma after a superb Top-10 finish in Abu Dhabi in January has not been able to capture that form except when he was tied for 13th at the Hero Indian Open.

“It’s a long season, and I am sure things will get better,” said Sharma recently.

Poland’s Adrian Meronk, the first golfer from his country to play at the Augusta National at the Masters earlier this month, is hoping to build on an exciting season that has included his second DP World Tour victory.

-PTI

India’s Chouhan to tee up in Abu Dhabi Challenge

Om Prakash Chouhan, who registered a brilliant win in his maiden appearance at a European Challenge Tour event last month, will make his first overseas appearance when he tees up at the Abu Dhabi Challenge at Abu Dhabi Golf Club from Thursday.

Chouhan, a seasoned player on the domestic Tour back in India, won the Duncan Taylor Black Bull Challenge in Bengaluru when the Challenge Tour returned to India after a decade.

The win has given Chouhan full playing rights on the Challenge Tour till the end of 2024.

Chouhan is also aiming to try and get one of the 20 cards that are available to the top Challenge Tour players at the end of the season. With one win in his bag, Chouhan is ninth on the Order of Merit.

Chouhan will play the first round with Zimbabwean Benjamin Follet-Smith, who won the season’s first Challenge Tour event in South Africa, and Italy’s Lorenzo Scalise, who has finished in Top-5 three times on Challenge Tour this season.

The Challenge Tour returns to the UAE for the first time since 2018 as part of the long-term partnership between the European Tour group and Emirates Golf Federation.

The field in Abu Dhabi this week has 19 former DP World Tour winners including seven-time DP World Tour winner Álvaro Quirós and five-time winner David Howell.

-PTI

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