Indian sports news wrap, December 13

Here are all the major updates, results and developments from the world of Indian sports on Sunday, December 13.

REPRESENTATIVE IMAGE: handana Potugari cruised past third seed Tanushri Pandey 6-1, 6-3 in the quarterfinals of the Rs.100,000 AITA women’s tennis tournament at the Joygaon Academy on Wednesday.  | Photo Credit: Getty Images

TENNIS

Chandana Potugari advances to quarterfinals of AITA women’s tournament

Chandana Potugari cruised past third seed Tanushri Pandey 6-1, 6-3 in the quarterfinals of the Rs.100,000 AITA women’s tennis tournament at the Joygaon Academy on Wednesday.

In the semifinals, Chandana will play second seed Thaniya Sarai Gogulamanda. The other semifinal will be between top seed Riya Sachdeva and Aditi Rawat.

The results (quarterfinals):

Riya Sachdeva bt Snigdha Patibandla 7-6(4), 6-4; Aditi Rawat bt Ishita Jadhav 7-6(4), 6-1;

Chandana Potugari bt Tanushri Pandey 6-1, 6-3; Thaniya Sarai Gogulamanda bt Samaira Malik 7-5, 6-4.

- Kamesh Srinivasan

Punjab’s Shrawasti Kundilya reaches pre-quarterfinals of AITA National series juniors

Shrawasti Kundilya of Punjab defeated second seed Hirva Rangani of Gujarat in the girls pre-quarterfinals of the AITA National series junior tennis tournament at the CLTA Complex on Wednesday.

In the boys pre-quarterfinals, Yashasvi Balhara battled past Varchasva Thapliyag 6-7(5), 6-4, 7-6(4).

The results (pre-quarterfinals):

Under-18 boys: Chandan Shivaraj bt Varun Singh 6-1, 6-1; Arnav Bishnoi bt Dhruv Kumar 6-1, 6-4; Shanker Heisnam bt Keshav Dangi 6-3, 6-3; Ashwajit Senjam bt Jayaprakash Pawar 6-4, 6-0; Yashasvi Balhara bt Varchasva Thapliyag 6-7(5), 6-4, 7-6(4); Mayank Sharma bt Vaibhav Singh 6-2, 7-5; Jatin Nain bt Aadityaraj Iyengar 6-1, 6-4; Prasannakumar Deorukhar bt Sumukh Marya 6-3, 4-6, 6-1.

Under-18 girls: Ananya Dhankahr bt Vaishnavi Singh 6-4, 6-2; Radha Sadhra bt Tamanna Walia 6-0, 6-1; Rubani Kaur Sidhu bt Aadirai KA 7-6(4), 6-0; Dhatri Dave bt Sidek Kaur 6-0, 6-2; Ridhima Mishra bt Dakshanasree SR 5-7, 6-4, 6-3; Shataksha Sahayak bt Snigdha Ruhil 6-2, 4-6, 6-3; Devashree Shailesh bt Vanshika Yadav 4-6, 6-1, 6-1; Shrawasti Kundilya bt Hirva Rangani 7-5, 6-3.

- Kamesh Srinivasan

VOLLEYBALL

Chennai to host inaugural Tamil Nadu Volleyball League (TNVL) tentatively from January 3 to 12

TNVL team owners with the Life President of the Tamil Nadu State Volleyball Association (TNSVA) R. Arjun Durai (c, fifth from left). | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

The inaugural edition of the Tamil Nadu Volleyball League (TNVL) will feature six teams and has been tentatively slated to be held from January 3 to 12 at the Santhome Higher Secondary School in Mylapore, it was revealed at the TNVL pre-event at the Mayor Radhakrishnan stadium here on Wednesday.

Chennai Rockstars, Cuddalore With Us, Virudhunagar King Makers, Krishnagiri Bulls, Kumari Phoenix, and Villupuram Super Kings are the six teams.

There will be a round-robin league from which the second and third placed teams will contest the playoff to qualify for the final with the top-placed team.

R. Arjun Durai, Life President of the Tamil Nadu State Volleyball Association (TNSVA) and Chairperson of the Tamil Nadu Volleyball League Committee, was the chief guest.

Some TNSVA office-bearers were also present.

- Team Sportstar

BADMINTON

Inter-Ministry tournament: Jagbeer beat Vijay Sharma

Jagbeer of the Ministry of Commerce and Industries beat Vijay Sharma of Delhi Audit 21-15, 22-20 in the men’s semifinals of the Inter-Ministry badminton tournament at the AIIMS Gymkhana on Wednesday.

In the final, Jagbeer will play Saurabh Sharma of the Ministry of Finance, who beat another Delhi Audit player, Himanshu Saroha in straight games.

The results:

Men (semifinals): Jagbeer bt Vijay Sharma 21-15, 22-20; Saurabh Sharma bt Himanshu Saroha 21-16, 21-16.

- Team Sportstar

BILLIARDS

National billiards and snooker championships: Amee, Anupama set up women’s 15-Red snooker summit clash

Anupama Ramachandran (L) and Amee Kamani (R) | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Defending champion Amee Kamani (Madhya Pradesh) brushed aside last year’s runner-up Keerthana Pandian (Karnakata) 3-0 in the women’s 15-Red snooker semifinal of the 90th National billiards and snooker championships at the Nehru indoor stadium here on Wednesday.

Amee will face Tamil Nadu’s Anupama Ramachandran, who beat Suniti Damani (West Bengal) 3-0, in the summit clash.

It is notable that Amee had earlier in the tournament beaten Anupama in the final to claim the 6-Red snooker title.

Anupama is eyeing her first senior National title after finishing in the top-8 in both billiards and snooker last year.

The results

15-Red snooker (women): Semifinals: Anupama Ramachandran (TN) bt Suniti Damani (WB) 3-0 (70-30, 72-23, 72-13); Amee Kamani (MP) bt Keerthana Pandian (Kar) 3-0 (63-43, 64-19, 82-34).

Quarterfinals: Amee Kamani bt Arantxa Sanchis (Mah) 3-1; Keerthana Pandian bt R. Umadevi (Kar) 3-2; Suniti Damani bt R.T. Mohita (TN) 3-2; Anupama Ramachandran bt Vidya Pillai (Kar) 3-2.

-Team Sportstar

ATHLETICS

More than 17,500 runners for Kolkata 25K

Tata Steel Kolkata 25K (TSK25K) race director Hugh Jones expects a new course record to be set in the race on Sunday.

Altogether 17,557 runners have registered in five categories for the event.

“The Elite runners are getting attracted to the TSK25K because of its easy course. The route is unchanged, attractive and provides an extra advantage. A new course record for this year’s event is definitely on,” said Jones at a press conference here on Wednesday.

The 25K race, featuring 4481 runners on a single-way route, will start at 6:25 a.m. on Sunday. It will be telecast live on Sony Ten HD1 and Sony Ten 1SD from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m.

- Y.B. Sarangi

CARROM

UP’s Md. Arif and M. Khazima of Tamil Nadu wins in men’s and women’s singles title of Federation Cup carrom

Md. Arif of Uttar Pradesh emerged as champion in men’s in the Federation Cup carrom championship. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Md. Arif of Uttar Pradesh and M. Khazima of Tamil Nadu emerged champions in men’s and women’s singles respectively in the Federation Cup carrom championship at Gitam University on Wednesday.

Arif defeated Yogesh Ashok Dhongade of Jain Irrigation 25-1, 25-3 in the men’s final while Khazima, who earlier shocked world champion Rashmi Kumari (PSPB) in the semifinal, defeated K. Nagajyothi of CCSCB 19-17, 25-12 in the women’s final.

In the women’s doubles final, Deepika Sinha and S. Appoorva (LIC) defeated J. Abhinaya and L. Keerthana (AAI) 25-8, 8-25, 25-13. Mr. Joseph Mayer, President of ICF, Mr Rakibul Hussain, president of AICF and Dr. Neeraj Sampathy, senior vice-president of AICF, gave away the prizes.

The results:

Men’s singles: Final: Md. Arif (UP) bt Yogesh Ashok Dhongade (Jain Irrigation) 25-1, 25-3.

Women: Singles: Final: M. Khazima (TN) bt K. Nagajyothi (CCSCSB) 19-17, 25-12.

Doubles: Final: Deepika Sinha & S. Appoorva (LIC) bt J. Abhinaya & L. Keerthana (AAI) 25-8, 8-25, 25-13.

3rd place: Rashmi Kumari & Ilavazhagi (PSPB) bt Kavitha Somanchi & G. Ambika Harith (RBI) 14-8, 25-15.

- Team Sportstar

TENNIS

Tennis Premier League: Niki Poonacha beats Sumit Nagal

Niki Poonacha came up with a sterling performance, especially in beating the country’s No.1 Sumit Nagal 12-8, serving thunderbolts, that powered Hyderabad Strikers to a 46-34 victory over Gujarat Panthers in the Tennis Premier League on the charcoal grey courts of the Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex on Wednesday.

Ellen Perez gave a strong start for two-time champion Hyderabad with a 13-7 win over Karman Kaur Thandi. She later combined with Saketh Myneni to beat Karman and Mukund Sasikumar 11-9.

Niki and Saketh consolidated the position by playing a 10-10 doubles tie against the country’s top two players Sumit and Mukund.

The win brought Hyderabad back in the race for the semifinals, and brought down Gujarat which had led overnight along with Bengal Wizards.

In another match, Arina Rodionova played strong to help Bengaluru Mavericks to a 44-36 win over Pune Jaguars. Vishnu Vardhan was equally efficient, winning the mixed doubles with Arina and the doubles with Ramkumar Ramanathan.

Conny Perrin and Arjun Kadhe were instrumental in driving Punjab Tigers past Delhi BInny’s Brigade to a 43-37 victory, that put the team on top with 84, one point ahead of Bengaluru.

The results (league):

Hyderabad Strikers bt Gujarat Panthers 46-34 (Ellen Perez bt Karman Kaur Thandi 13-7; Niki Poonacha bt Sumit Nagal 12-8; Ellen & Saketh bt Karman & Mukund Sasikumar 11-9; Niki & Saketh tied Sumit & Mukund 10-10).

Bengaluru Mavericks bt Pune Jaguars 44-36 (Arina Rodionova bt Diana Marcinkevica 15-5; Ramkumar Ramanathan lost to Lucas Rosol 7-13; Arina & Vishnu Vardhan bt Diana & Rithvik Bollipalli 11-9; Ramkumar & Vishnu bt Lucas & Rithvik 11-9).

Punjab Tigers bt Delhi Binny’s Brigade 43-37 (Conny Perrin bt Sahaja Yamalapalli 11-9; Digvijay Pratap Singh lost to Dennis Novak 9-11; Conny & Arjun Kadhe bt Sahaja & Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan 11-9; Arjun & Digvijay bt Dennis & Jeevan 12-8).

- Team Sportstar

GOLF

Akshay takes round one honours at Jaipur Open

Chandigarh’s Akshay Sharma shot a sizzling seven-under 63 to take the round one honours at the Rs 1 crore Jaipur Open golf tournament here on Wednesday.

Jairaj Singh Sandhu, another Chandigarh player, and Delhi-based Saptak Talwar were tied for second place at six-under 64.

Akshay sank eight birdies and a bogey to show signs of returning to form after having hit a rough patch over the last few events.

He began the day with a long birdie conversion on the third before collecting five more birdies from a range of less than 10 feet. A bogey followed on the 15th but he more than made up for it with birdies on the last two holes, including a two-putt from 70 feet on the 18th.

Jairaj’s 64 featured seven birdies and a bogey including four long conversions.

TABLE TENNIS

National Ranking Championship: Payas Jain stuns Manav Thakkar; Abhinand takes out Sanil Shetty

A joyous Playas Jain after stunning top seed Manav Thakkar, for the first time, for a place in the men’s quarterfinals of the National ranking TT tournament in Panchkula, Haryana, on Wednesday.  | Photo Credit: Rakesh Rao

Tottering on the brink of a possible straight-set loss, Payas Jain produced his attacking best and stunned men’s top seed Manav Thakkar to cause the biggest upset in the National ranking table tennis tournament here.

On a day that saw the exit of women’s fourth seed and former National champion Sutirtha Mukherjee and sixth seed Swastika Ghosh, Tamil Nadu-lad P. B. Abhinand stunned sixth seed Sanil Shetty and battled past Bengal’s Aniket Sen Choudhary to gate-crash into the quarterfinals.

Payas remained the day’s hero after he bounced back after losing the first two sets and trailing 5-6 in the third for his first victory over Manav. The top seed looked well on way to nailing his younger rival once again before the script took a dramatic turn.

Choosing to be aggressive, Payas attacked on both flanks with varying pace. Manav who loves the pace at which Payas usually pace began committing a series of errors. Once Payas claimed the third set, he found a new gear. He unsettled Manav by choosing to be on the defensive before unleashing winners. Before long, Payas forced the decider, opened a massive 10-5 lead and converted his second match-point.

The victory brought joy and an added dose of consolation for Payas who could not justify his top seeding with Yashaswini Ghorpade in the mixed doubles final. Railways’ Akash Pal and Poymantee Baisya, seeded two, won their fourth title of the season by overpowering Payas and an erratic Yashaswini.

The results:

Men Singles (pre-quarterfinals): Payas Jain (Del) bt Manav Thakkar (Pet) 7-11, 10-12, 11-9, 11-5, 11-6; Jeet Chandra (AAI) bt Ankur Bhattcharjee (Ben) 9-11, 11-8, 5-11, 11-7, 11-2; Ronit Bhanja (Rlys) bt Divyansh Srivastava (UP) 11-5, 13-11, 11-7; Manush Shah (RBI) bt Sourav Saha (Pet) 11-7, 11-5, 11-8; S. F. R. Snehit (AAI) bt Akash Pal (Rlys) 11-8, 5-11, 12-10, 11-5; P.B. Abhinand (TN) bt Aniket Sen Choudhury (Ben) 11-5, 7-11, 11-5, 13-11; Sudhanshu Grover (Del) bt Anirban Ghosh (Rlys) 12-10, 9-11, 11-6, 11-6; Harmeet Desai (Pet) bt Abhimanyu Mitra (IA&AD) 12-10, 11-5, 11-6.

Women (pre-quarterfinals): Archana Kamath (Pet) bt R. Harsha Vardhini (RBI) 11-8, 11-6, 11-4; Poymantee Baisya (Rlys) bt Garima Goyal (Del) 11-7, 11-4, 12-10, 11-5; Yashini Sivashankar (TN) bt Soumya Das (Ben) 11-7, 11-3, 11-9; Pritha Vartikar (Mah) bt Sutirtha Mukherjee (Rlys) 3-11, 11-9, 11-6, 6-11, 15-13; Anjali Rohilla (Har) bt Kushi Viswanath (Kar) 11-7, 11-8, 11-3; Sayali Wani (Mah) bt Sayanika Maji (Del) 4-11, 11-8, 11-8, 11-8; Yashaswini Ghorpade (Kar) bt Selena Deepti Selvakumar (TN) 11-7, 11-6, 11-9; Ayhika Mukherjee (RBI) bt Prapti Sen (Ben) 11-7, 11-4, 11-9.

Mixed doubles (final): Akash Pal and Poymantee Baisya (Rlys) bt Payas Jain (Del) and Yashaswini Ghorpade (Kar) 11-8, 11-8, 5-11, 11-2; (semifinals): Payas and bt Aniket Sen Choudhury and Munmun Kundu (Ben) 11-4, 11-8, 7-11, 11-6; Akash and Poymantee bt Sarth Mishra (UP) and Jennifer Verghese (Mah) 11-8, 9-11, 11-6, 9-11, 11-9.

- Rakesh Rao