TENNIS
Lidia Podgorichani, Ognjen Milic triumph in ITF junior tennis tournament
Top seed Lidia Podgorichani of Thailand beat Maria Golovina 6-2, 6-2 in the girls final of the ITF junior tennis tournament at the DLTA Complex on Saturday.
It was a sharp performance by the 80th ranked Lidia as she outclassed Maria who had been unbeaten over a fortnight, having won the singles title last week in Chandigarh.
Maria had also beaten a clutch of quality players this week and thus was unable to digest the defeat. In fact, midway through the second set, she broke into a spell of tears which continued after the match. Maria was more disappointed at not being able to pose a good challenge as her game was in disarray.
Lidia was pleased with her performance. The Thai was quick to say that she would play the next tournament in Kolkata to defend points, rather than go to the Australian Open.
It was the same story for the boys champion, Ognjen Milic of Serbia who played an intense game to exasperate the top seed NIkita Bilozertsev, in a fierce battle of left-handers. The wiry Milic led 6-3, 4-0 when Nikita retired, unable to goad himself to any further fight.
Ognjen Milic said that he would go to Kolkata for the next tournament, and prepare well for the French Open later in the season.
- Team Sportstar
The results (finals):
Bopanna and Ebden go down fighting in Adelaide
Second seeds Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden were edged out 7-5, 5-7, [11-9] by third seeds Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury in the doubles final of the $739,945 ATP tennis tournament in Adelaide, Australia, on Saturday.
The champion team collected $34,600 and 250 ATP points. The runners-up pocketed $18,000 and 150 points.
Arjun Kadhe in partnership with Marcus Willis made the doubles final of the €74,825 Challenger in Oeiras, Portugal.
- Team Sportstar
The results:
$739,945 ATP, Adelaide, Australia
€74,825 Challenger, Oeiras, Portugal
CHESS
Bangalore International Grandmasters Open Chess Tournament to be held from January 18
The Bangalore Urban District Chess Association (BUDCA), in partnership with the government of Karnataka, is all set to host the first edition of the Bangalore International Grandmasters Open Chess Tournament at the Kanteerava Indoor Stadium from January 18 to 26.
More than 40 grandmasters from across 20 countries, including prominent names such as Abhijeet Gupta and Nigel Short, and over 2000 players, are expected to compete in the Garden City, which last hosted a tournament of this magnitude more than four decades ago.
The competition will provide prize money worth ₹50 lakh and will unfold across three categories A, B and C according to players’ FIDE ratings. On January 22, an open Blitz tournament will also be held.
M.S. Thejkumar, the first grandmaster from Karnataka, was pleased to play in a tournament at home. “There is a sharp rise in the number of tournaments in India now,” he said at a media briefing on Saturday.
“When I attained the title of GM in 2017, I really hoped to play at a tournament of this level, but my dream never came true. This will be a great boost to the younger generation.”
- Team Sportstar
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