GOLF
Fair start for Aditi in season-ending event on LPGA
Three birdies in a five-hole run in the middle of the round enabled India’s Aditi Ashok to get to a start of 2-under 70 in the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship on the LPGA.
Aditi, who had a fine run in the first half of the season, before tapering off somewhat is tied 32nd after the first round.
She is seven shots behind the first round leader, Nasa Hataoka, a six-time LPGA Tour, and Ruoning Yin, a two-time winner in 2023. The two leaders carded 63 each.
Rain measuring more than four inches in Naples a day ahead of the first round saw softer fairways and shortened holes at Tiburón Golf Club.
The 63s from Hataoka and Yin was just one birdie away from tying the 18-hole scoring record of 62 set by Lydia Ko in 2016.
Aditi, who came close to her first win on the LPGA at the JM Eagle Championships earlier this year, had five birdies against three bogeys.
Despite bogeys on the second and the fourth, Aditi worked her way up with five birdies to be 3-under after 17 before dropping a shot on 18th.
- PTI
Solid start for Avani, lies fifth; Diksha occupies 12th spot in Spain
Amateur Avani Prashanth and Diksha Dagar of India got off to good starts at the Mallorca Ladies Golf Open, the penultimate event of the 2023 Ladies European Tour, occupying the tied fifth and 12 spots respectively.
Saying that her goal this week is to win and avoid going to the Final Stage of the Qualifying School for which she has already made the grade, Avani said, “The main goal for this week is to win and if I play my best golf then I think I can get that done.” Avani, who qualified for the LET’s Final Stage of Qualifying School, overcame a rocky start with three bogeys and one bogey in first four holes to recover to 3-under 69. She was placed tied fifth and three shots behind Czech Kristyna Napoleaova (66).
Avani bogeyed first, second and fourth with a birdie in between on the third. She was still 2-over after six, but over the last 12 holes, she birdied five times -- back-to back gains on seventh and eighth and further birdies on 12th, 16th and 17th.
The 17-year-old Avani, who finished second in the LET Pre-Qualifier Asia in India last week, admitted she is looking for a win.
-PTI
TENNIS
Top seed Parth beats Eklavya
Top seed Parth Aggarwal had to sweat it out to beat Eklavya Singh 6-2, 6-7(3), 6-1 in the final of the Rs.100,000 AITA men’s tennis tournament at the Faridabad Academy on Friday.
Parth Aggarwal, the champion of AITA men’s tennis tournament in Faridabad. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
The results (final):
Challenger: Jeevan and Vijay in doubles semifinals
Second seeds Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan and Vijay Sundar Prashanth beat Maximilian Neuchrist and Denis Yevseyev 6-3, 6-4 in the doubles quarterfinals of the €73,000 Challenger tennis tournament in Danderyd, Sweden.
The results:
- Team Sportstar
FOOTBALL
Kerala Blasters lifts State title, qualify for AIFF Youth League
The Kerala Blasters had a disappointing start to its under-17 Kerala Youth League campaign last week, playing out goalless draws against MSP Football Academy and FC Kerala, respectively.
And then came the big comeback.
The Blasters won the next three matches in fine fashion, starting with a 3-0 victory over Gokulam Kerala and on Friday, finished with a 2-1 victory over G.V. Raja Sports School that helped them top the six-team league event with 11 points and take the title.
The victorious Kerala Blasters team. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
“We could not click in the attack in the first two games, and we made some changes in our system from the third game, made some tactical changes, and that clicked,” Noor Alam, the Blasters’ coach, told Sportstar after the triumph at the Ambedkar Stadium here.
The victory helped the Blasters qualify for the national body AIFF’s Youth League, which will be held later.
The Blasters’ forward S. Sujin, who had found the net in the last two matches, opened the scoring late in the first half, while Siddharth netted the other goal early in the second half.
MSP finished (10 points), and G.V. Raja (8 points) finished second and third in the event.
The results (league, final day):
-Stan Rayan
POLO
Girdhari Cup: Vimal Arion beats Delta Foundation in semifinals
Abhimanyu Pathak smashed six goals to power Vimal Arion Achievers to a 7-5 victory over Delta Foundation in the semifinals of the Girdhari Cup polo tournament at the Jaipur Polo ground here on Friday.
In the final, to be played on Sunday, Achievers will meet Jindal Panther which pipped 61st Cavalry/Royal Enfield 6-5.
Results
BADMINTON
All India Krishna Khaitan tournament: Aditya Tripathi beats Abhishek Kumar
Aditya Tripathi beat seventh seed Abhishek Kumar 21-15, 24-22 in the under-19 boys first round of the Yonex Sunrise 30th All India Krishna Khaitan junior badminton tournament at the Tau Devi Lal Sports Complex on Friday.
The results (first round):
- Team Sportstar
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