Indian sports news wrap, November 20

Here are all the major developments from Indian sports on November 20, 2022.

Purav Raja (right) and Divij Sharan won their second title of the season. | Photo Credit: AFP (FILE)

TENNIS

Dominik clinches ITF men’s tennis tournament title

Fourth seed Dominik Palan beat Ryuki Matsuda of Japan 6-4, 6-4 in the final of the $25,000 ITF men’s tennis tournament organised by MSLTA at the GA Ranade Centre on Sunday.

It was the third singles title for the 22-year-old Palan, and his second of the season. It was second victory over Matsuda, as he had beaten the Japanese in the second round last week in Indore, in three sets.

The results (final): Dominik Palan (Cze) bt Ryuki Matsuda (Jpn) 6-4, 6-4.

-Kamesh Srinivasan

Purav, Divij win doubles title in Helsinki

Purav Raja and Divij Sharan defeated Reese Stalder and Petros Tsitsipas 6-7 (5), 6-3, [10-8] in the doubles final of the €67,960 Challenger tennis tournament in Helsinki, Finland.

It was the second title of the season for Purav and Divij, who collected 90 ATP points and €3,950.

In the ITF women’s event in Nairobi, Sravya Shivani won the doubles title in partnership with Celine Simunyu of Ireland. It was the first title of the season for Sravya.

€67,960 Challenger, Helsinki, Finland

Doubles (final): Purav Raja & Divij Sharan bt Reese Stalder (USA) & Petros Tsitsipas (Gre) 6-7(5), 6-3, [10-8].

$15,000 ITF women, Nairobi, Kenya

Doubles (final): Celine Simunyu (Irl) & Sravya Shivani bt Sabastiani Leon (USA) & Divine Dasam Nweke (Ngr) 6-4, 7-6(3); Semifinals: Celine & Sravya bt Angela Okutoyi (Ken) & Smriti Bhasin 5-7, 7-6(3), [10-4].

$25,000 UTR Pro women, Dubai, UAE

Positional play-off: Stefania Bojica (Rou) bt Sai Samhitha 6-4, 4-6, 6-0.

- Kamesh Srinivasan

SHOOTING

Thiruvananthapuram all set to host the 65th National Shooting championships

Three months ago, the Vattiyoorkavu Shooting Range resembled an abandoned warehouse with overgrown grass and weeds. 

The Shooting Range was in disuse for the last two years after serving as the Covid First line treatment centre when the pandemic was at its peak in Kerala.

Now it is a beehive of activity with the tranquility of the serene surroundings broken by staccato sound of gun shots fired by the shooters.

Almost all leading shooters in the country have descended here to participate in the 65th National Shooting championships which will begin on Monday. The shooters are coming back after a rich haul of medals in the recent ISSF World championships held in Cairo and Osijek respectively.

Olympians Manu Bhaker and Deepak Kumar will be seen in action in the women’s 50m 3P and 10m Air rifle events respectively on the first day of the championships. 

Kerala’s Elizabeth Susan Koshy after three year hiatus from the sports is making a comeback in her favourite 50m 3P event. She has been training hard at the Gagan Narang’s Academy in Hyderabad for this event. However, Anjum Moudgil, who is among the world’s best in 50m 3P event, and Tejaswini Sawant are expected to fight it out for the top positions in the event. 

After a less than impressive performance in the Tokyo Olympics,the Asian Games is the next big stop for the Indian shooters and in that context, the national championships is an important stop over for them.

-Praveen Chandran

CHESS

Rajiv, Senthil add six and two points in Asia Road Racing C’ship finale

Buriram, Thailand: India’s ace rider Rajiv Sethu added six points after finishing the final race of Asia Production 250cc (AP250cc) class of ARRC in the top 10 at Chang International Circuit here on Sunday.

After starting on the grid at the 18th position, Rajiv moved up by a position in lap one itself. Taking advantage of the wet race and few crashes, he continued to gain positions and reached at 10th spot in Lap 8.

From there on, he maintained positive momentum and crossed the chequered line at 10th position.

Senthil Kumar, on the other hand, scripted a massive recovery after going out of track in Lap 2 following his seventh position start.

Senthil finished the race at 14th position, securing two points.

After the final round, Rajiv closed the championship with 37 points, finishing in the top 15, while Senthil ended with 13 points.

Overall, the IDEMITSU Honda Racing India closed the season in top-10.

“Today was the final race and I had no option other than delivering my best. With the wind and rainy weather, all our proportions and mathematics got changed. My focus was not to rush but maintain a steady position in the race,” Rajiv said in a release.

“From my previous experience and training, I countered all the challenges and achieved points and positions for the team. Taking all the learnings home, I shall be practicing more and creating new strategies to mark another achievement for the team.”

-PTI