Indian sports news wrap, March 18

Here are all the major updates in Indian sports on March 18.

Published : Mar 18, 2023 12:13 IST - 1 MIN READ

Rohan Bopanna of India, left, and Matthew Eden of Australia in action. (File Photo)
Rohan Bopanna of India, left, and Matthew Eden of Australia in action. (File Photo) | Photo Credit: AP
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Rohan Bopanna of India, left, and Matthew Eden of Australia in action. (File Photo) | Photo Credit: AP

TENNIS

Bopanna-Ebden pair through to Indian Wells final

Rohan Bopanna and his Australian partner Matthew Ebden defeated the local pair of John Isner and Jack Sock 7-6(6), 7-6(2) to reach the men’s doubles final of the Indian Wells Masters on Friday.

The Indo-Australian pair, which won its first title together last month in Doha, will face the top-seeded Dutch-British pair of Wesley Koohlof and Neal Skupski in the summit clash of the ATP1000 event on Saturday.

ITF Juniors: Vihaan wins second successive title

Vihaan Reddy won his second successive title as he beat Fateh Singh 6-2, 6-4 in the boys final of the India Tree ITF junior tennis tournament at the Shanti Academy on Saturday.

The 13-year-old Vihaan who trains in San Jose in the US was playing in only his second ITF junior tournament following his triumph in Gurugram last week.

After having toyed with the idea of competing in the under-14 event in Indian Wells, Vihaan’s parents have decided to let him continue to compete in the Indian ITF events in Bhilai and Madurai over the next fortnight.

In five rounds, Vihaan dropped only 16 games in all, and not more than four games in any set.

In the girls final, Albina Kakenova of Kazakhstan beat compatriot Anastasiya Krymkova for the loss of five games.

The results (finals):

Boys: Vihaan Reddy bt Fateh Singh 6-2, 6-4; Girls: Albina Kakenova (Kaz) bt Anastasiya Krymkova 6-1, 6-4.

- Kamesh Srinivasan

Indian Wells ATP: Bopanna, Ebden in final

Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden beat John Isner and Jack Sock 7-6(6), 7-6(2) in the doubles semifinals of the $10,143,750 ATP tennis tournament in Indian Wells, USA.

The Indo-Aussie pair was scheduled to play the top seeds Wesley Koolhof of the Netherlands and Neal Skupski of Britain in the final.

The results:

$10,143,750 ATP, Indian Wells, USA

Doubles (semifinals): Rohan Bopanna & Matthew Ebden (Aus) bt John Isner & Jack Sock (USA) 7-6(6), 7-6(2).

$15,000 ITF men, Kish Island, Iran

Singles (semifinals): Hazem Naw (Syr) bt SD Prajwal Dev 6-1, 6-4.

- Kamesh Srinivasan

GOLF

Diksha finishes 53rd after disappointing final round

Indian golfer Diksha Dagar had a disappointing outing at the Aramco Team Series Singapore, finishing tied 53rd on Saturday.

The lone Indian in the field, Diksha had two birdies but also had three bogeys and two double bogeys in a round of 5 over 77.

She finished tied 53rd, a sharp drop from her overnight tied 29th.

Earlier her team had finished 19th in the team contest.

Pauline Roussin fired a sensational round of 64 (-8) to seal a four-shot victory. The 22-year-old had a flawless final day at Laguna National Golf Resort Club where she rolled in eight birdies on the final day.

It took until the seventh hole for the Frenchwoman to make her first birdie, but she then rolled in four consecutively on holes nine through to 13.

Roussin got on another roll making three birdies on the trot on holes 14, 15 and 16 to reach a total of 15-under-par and win the Individual crown in Singapore.

It was a second LET title for Roussin, who won the 2021 Didriksons Skatfo Open just weeks after turning professional. And the now two-time LET winner believes she has learned so much in the 18 months since her last victory.

“My mom was on the bag for the first time; this week it was my boyfriend. I think it tells a lot about the mindset that I want to keep on the course. It’s that having fun part and being me, and doing things in a good mood, not letting the game affect that.” American Danielle Kang finished in second place after a final round of 68 (-4) which included an eagle, four birdies and two bogeys.

World number one Lydia Ko ended the week in third place on 10-under-par after a 66 (-6) on the third day.

Swedish pair Elin Arvidsson and Linn Grant finished the week in fourth place on seven-under-par alongside Czechia’s Klara Davidson Spilkova.

-Press Trust of India

MOTORSPORT

Gaurav Gill takes lead in APRC Asia Rally

Three-time champion Gaurav Gill and co-driver Aniruddha Rangnekar piloted the Subaru Impreza with admirable control in difficult conditions and garnered a comfortable lead at the end of second day in the FIA APRC Asia Rally Cup.

“I am overwhelmed to see such a great response and so many entries for this year’s APRC India Leg. The MMSC has done a wonderful job in conducting the round and I would like to congratulate Gaurav Gill and hope that he goes all the way tomorrow,” Vamsi Merla, promoter of Indian leg of APRC, said.

Behind the Toyota pair, Karna Kadur and his navigator Nikhil Pai, last year’s winners of the Asia Rally Cup, were in the third place, followed by Kolkata’s former ERC winner in his class, Amittrajit Ghosh (co-driver Ashwin Naik) and Bengaluru brothers Chetan Shivram (co-driver Dilip Sharan).

-Press Trust of India

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