Indian Sports News Wrap, December 15

Here are all the major developments in Indian sport on December 15.

Manu Gandas in action on day two of the S.S.P. Chawrasia Invitational at the Royal Calcutta Golf Club on Thursday. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

GOLF

S.S.P Chawrasia Invitational: Manu Gandas emerges sole leader after second round

Manu Gandas of Gurugram assumed the lead with a fine six-under 66 in the second round to tally a creditable nine-under 135 in the inaugural S.S.P. Chawrasia Invitational, at the Royal Calcutta Golf Club on Thursday.

Indian star Anirban Lahiri fired the day’s best score of 65 to be placed second at eight-under 136 while another golfer from Gurugram, Veer Ahlawat struck a 67 to be in third place at six-under 138.

As it happened in the second day’s action, the top three players on the leaderboard - Manu, Anirban and Veer - played together in the same group in the first two rounds. There was only one bogey among the three players in the second round and this set up an interesting contest ahead of the third round when they return together as the leader group.

The PGTI rankings leader Yuvraj Singh Sandhu (70) of Chandigarh was tied ninth at four-under 140 while the tournament host S.S.P. Chawrasia (70) was tied 11th at three-under 141 to be the highest-placed among the Kolkata-based professionals. Ajeetesh Sandhu (70) and Gaganjeet Bhullar (72) were also tied 11th along with Chawrasia. The first round leader Karandeep Kochhar (77) of Chandigarh slipped to tied 20th place and was placed at one-under 143.

- Amitabha Das Sharma

TENNIS

ITF $25k women’s tennis tournament: Shrivalli, Ankita reach quarterfinals in Solapur

Shrivalli Bhamidipaty sustained her good game to get past Sowjanya Bavisetti into the quarterfinals of the Balaji Amines $25,000 ITF women’s tennis tournament at the District Sports Complex in Solapur on Thursday.

Shrivalli led 6-3, 3-0 when Sowjanya retired. In the quarterfinals, Shrivalli will play Priska Nugroho of Indonesia.

Top seed Ankita Raina was the only other Indian player to reach the quarterfinals, as she beat compatriot Zeel Desai in three sets. She will face Ekaterina Yashina who fought her way past Sahaja Yamalapalli 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-4.

In doubles, the No.1 seeds Ankita Raina and Prarthana Thombare will meet Shrivalli and Vaidehi Chaudhari in the semifinals.

RESULTS

Singles (pre-quarterfinals)

Ankita Raina bt Zeel Desai 6-2, 4-6, 6-4; Ekaterina Yashina bt Sahaja Yamalapalli 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-4; Anastasia Kulikova (Fin) bt Ksenia Laskutova 6-2, 6-1; Mananchaya Sawangkaew (Tha) bt Ishwari Matere 6-1, 6-0; Katarina Kozarov (Srb) bt Rutuja Bhosale 6-1, 6-3; Daria Kudahsova bt Elena Jamshidi (Den) 6-1, 6-2; Priska Nugroho (Ina) bt Sanjana Sirimalla 6-2, 6-0; Shrivalli Bhamidipaty bt Sowjanya Bavisetti 6-3, 3-0 (retired).

Doubles (quarterfinals)

Ankita Raina & Prarthana Thombare bt Ines Murta (Por) & Vasanti Shinde 6-4, 4-6, [10-8]; Shrivalli Bhamidipaty & Vaidehi Chaudhari bt Lexie Stevens (Ned) & Valeriya Strakhova (Ukr) 6-1, 4-6, [10-6]; Mananchaya Sawangkaew & Lanlana Tararudee (Tha) bt Pooja Ingale & Ishwari Matere 6-0, 6-3; Priska Nugroho (Ina) & Ekaterina Yashina bt Sravya Shivani & Jennifer Luikham 6-2, 6-3.

- Kamesh Srinivasan

FOOTBALL

I-League: NEROCA holds Gokulam FC to a goalless draw 

Gokulam striker Shijin (right) and NEROCA captain David Simbo engage in a mid-air tussle. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

NEROCA snapped Gokulam Kerala FC’s winning streak at home by holding it to a goalless draw at the Payyanad stadium here on Thursday.

It was a disappointing performance from Gokulam FC, which needed a win to top the table. The home side was outplayed by its spirited rivals and should thank its goalkeeper Shibinraj for salvaging a draw.

The visiting Manipur side wrested control of the midfield early in the first half to put pressure on the Gokulam defence. However, NEROCA strikers weren’t sharp enough to convert the chances that came their way. Gokulam goalkeeper Shibinraj brought out a nice save to deny Lunminlen Haokip in the 26th minute. Gokulam nearly scored against the run of play in the 30th minute when Shijin found space inside the rival box only to see his shot rebound off the far post. Towards the end of the first half, Gokulam’s Cameroon striker Augustine Jr, who was unmarked, blasted out from close.

Gokulam showed more attacking intent in the second half and was able to keep the NEROCA defence on its toes. But Shijin and Bouba Aminou messed up the chances they got inside the box. At the other end, Shibinraj was alert to parry away shots from Lunminlen Halkip and Tangva Ragui as the match drifted to a draw. Gokulam with the draw slipped to third spot with 15 points while NEROCA moved up to the 10th spot with seven points.

- M.R. Praveen Chandran

TENNIS

$15k ITF men’s tennis tournament: Sasikumar Mukund reaches quarters in Sharm El Sheikh

Top seed Sasikumar Mukund sailed past Marat Sharipov 6-1, 6-2 in the pre-quarterfinals of the $15,000 ITF men’s tennis tournament in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, on Thursday.

In the quarterfinals, Mukund will play Grigoriy Lomakin of Kazakhstan.

RESULTS

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

Singles (pre-quarterfinals): Sasikumar Mukund bt Marat Sharipov 6-1, 6-2.

$15,000 ITF men, Monastir, Tunisia

Doubles (pre-quarterfinals): Egor Agafonov & Leonid Sheyngezikht (Bul) bt Jean Badenhorst (RSA) & Shyam Sailesh 6-4, 6-2.

$15,000 ITF women, Wellington, New Zealand

Doubles (semifinals): Monique Adamczak & Sophie McDonald (Aus) bt Yuka Hosoki (Jpn) & Ashmitha Easwaramurthi 7-5, 6-7(5), [10-8].

- Kamesh Srinivasan

SQUASH

Northern India squash championship

Second seed Aryan Pratap Singh battled past Lakshya Gwala 3-11, 13-11, 11-9, 12-10 to set up a title clash against top seed Aarav Gill in the under-19 boys section of the IndusInd Bank Northern India squash championship at the Delhi Gymkhana Club courts on Thursday.

RESULTS (Semifinals)

Men: Prithvi Singh bt Atul Kumar Yadav 11-7, 11-7, 11-8; Ranjit Singh bt Gursimar Singh 11-2, 11-3, 11-6

Women: Sanika Choudhari bt Ananya Pandey 11-5, 11-2, 11-3; Tanvi Khanna bt Khushi Puranik 11-2, 11-6, 11-0.

Boys: Under-19: Aarav Gill bt Abhishek Yadav 11-5, 11-6, 11-8; Aryan Pratap Singh bt Lakshya Gwala 3-11, 13-11, 11-9, 12-10.

Under-17: Arihant KS bt Karan Yadav 11-9, 11-7, 11-7; Adhish Kancharla bt Aryaveer Dewan 11-4, 11-5, 8-11, 1-11, 11-7.

Under-15: Yusha Nafees bt Siddhant Sharma 11-6, 11-6, 11-5; Subhash Choudhary bt Savir Sood 11-9, 11-9, 11-9.

Under-13: Abhinav Tomer bt Rohan Kejriwal 11-5, 11-4, 11-2; Rudra Pathania bt Shresht Iyer 10-12, 8-11, 11-8, 11-2, 11-3.

Under-11: Amarya Bajaj bt Vihaan Chandhok 11-8, 7-11, 12-10, 11-9; Dhruv Johri bt Abhyuday Arora 11-2, 11-4, 11-6.

Girls: Under-17: Unnati Tripathi bt Khushboo 11-3, 11-4, 11-4; Anahat Singh bt Navya Sundararajan 11-5, 11-3, 11-5.

Under-15: Aradhya Porwal bt Aishni Pathak 11-2, 11-7, 11-4; Sanvi Batar bt Kaashvi Mangal 11-9, 12-10, 11-5.

Under-13: Aroma bt Gauri Jaiswal 11-3, 7-11, 11-1, 9-11, 11-5; Bria Sharma bt Anya Sood 11-2, 11-9, 11-4.

Under-11: Chhavi Panchal bt Sanaita Singh 11-6, 11-2, 11-5; Divyanshi Jain bt Manya Sanghavi 10-12, 11-6, 10-12, 11-6, 11-3.

- Kamesh Srinivasan

HOCKEY

Beighton Cup

Punjab National Bank (PNB) and Indian Oil recorded wins in the 124th Beighton Cup hockey tournament at the SAI astro-turf ground here on Thursday.

The results: PNB bt Odisha XI 4-2; Indian Oil bt CAG 3-1.

- Y.B. Sarangi

ATHLETICS

Tata Steel Kolkata 25k: Kiplangat feels ‘world record’ possible

Birmingham Commonwealth Games marathon champion Victor Kiplangat feels that a world record is possible in the Tata Steel Kolkata 25k race in Kolkata on Sunday.

Kiplangat, who won the World mountain running championship in 2017, looked forward to a fine performance. “Birmingham was a bit hilly, which was good for me as I am a mountain runner. I am going to give my best for this 25k run on a flat surface. I am prepared and I am strong. I am hoping for a world record,” said Ugandan Kiplangat at a press conference on Thursday.

Female runner Ashete Bekere, who won the Berlin Marathon and Rotterdam Marathon in 2019 and Valencia Marathon in 2018, also looked forward to setting a world record.

“There are several marathons that I have run and I am prepared for Sunday’s 25k as my injuries are okay. After the Tokyo marathon and London marathon (in 2022), I am well prepared and hoping for a world record,” said Ethiopian Ashete.

Several top international athletes will vie for the winner’s purse of $7500 and the course record bonus of $3000.

- Y.B. Sarangi

POWERLIFTING

Dubai Para Powerlifting WC: Parmjeet, Khatun open India’s account

Paramjeet Kumar and Shakina Khatun claimed a silver and a bronze respectively to open India’s account at the 12th Fazza Para Powerlifting World Cup in Dubai on Thursday.

Kumar, a Commonwealth Games and World Championships bronze medallist, settled for the second spot after a successful lift of 165kg in the men’s up to 49 kg.

He finished behind Paralympic champion Omar Qarada of Jordan, who had a best lift of 176kg.

“It was a good performance. I am happy with my lift of 165kg which I have targeted coming to the competition in Dubai. There’s work needed to be done on my technique and to do even better at the Asian Para Games,” Kumar said.

Khatun settled for the bronze medal with her only successful lift of 90kg in the women’s up to 50kg weight category.

She finished behind Brazil’s Maria Rizonaide da Silva (95kg) and Italy’s Emanuela Ita Romano (92kg).

Around 200 powerlifters from 40 nations are competing in the final World Para Powerlifting World Cup of the season.

- PTI