GOLF
Chikkarangappa finishes second; Bhullar tied 5th
Two bogeys in the home stretch proved expensive as S. Chikkarangappa missed out on a title yet again at the Mercuries Masters golf here on Sunday.
Chikka, the co-leader after three rounds slipped with a 2-over 74 and finished runner-up yet again and stays in search of his maiden trophy on the Asian Tour.
Chikkarangappa totalled 2-under 286 and was two behind South African Jaco Ahlers (69) who aggregated 4-under 284.
Gangajeet Bhullar shot 1-under 71 but had three bogeys in the last 10 holes and finished tied 5th at an even par 288.
Veer Ahlawat (75) and Jeev Milkha Singh (74) were tied 11th and tied 16th while Ajeetesh Sandhu (74) was tied 22nd.
Karandeep Kochhar (77) ended at tied 43rd as did Honey Baisoya (78).
Chikkarangappa started the final with a bogey and then he erased the bogey with a birdie on the ninth.
On the back nine the birdies just did not drop and he gave away two bogeys on 13th and 17th.
Bhullar had three birdies in his first seven holes as he mounted a serious challenge for his 11th record extending Asian Tour title.
But he gave away three bogeys in return for just one birdie on the 18th and finished with 71 and tied fifth.
Ahlers dropped a shot on either side of the course but his two birdies on the front nine and three in four holes between the 12th and the 15th carried the day for him.
Travis Smyth (69) and David Drysdale (71) were tied for third.
- PTI
MOTORSPORT
Motorbike rider Subhash Chandra Bose conferred with lifetime achievement award
Motorbike personality Subash Chandra Bose, also known as ‘Bullet Bose’, was conferred with the lifetime achievement award here on Sunday.
Bose is recognised for his dominance between 1968 and 1994 when he won the Indian Grand Prix title 15 times with his self-modified 350cc Royal Enfield, at the All-India Race Meet at Sholavaram race track.
Bose, who got the award from Big Biker Commune said, “I dedicate this award to the bikers, fans, and supporters who have fuelled this remarkable journey.”
Bose began racing on a Lambretta scooter before moving to motorbikes and racing classes from 1984 to 1994.
Bose told PTI exclusively that he turned down offers of racing overseas. “The Indian bikes cannot compete against those bikes. I didn’t want to make a fool out of myself. So, I did not go there as a racer but as a team manager,” he said.
“The bikes in track racing can only speed up to 100-120kmph, unlike us who have ridden at 240km/h. Track racing is not big fun. However, the young Indian motorsport riders are lucky to be getting all the latest bikes,” he said.
Bose spent time road racing and never really took up track racing as his sport. “To ride in Moto GP, you have to start racing at least from the age of 15. There are various types of bike categories in it and you need to advance gradually.”
“If you ask someone who has been riding a 10bhp bike to a ride a 100bhp bike, he can’t handle it. Even I wouldn’t have been able to compete with those bikers in Moto GP.”
When asked what the young Indian bikers need to do to get into motorsport, he said, “They need to have their parent blessings and support in the first place. You must be able to afford the safety gear. Once you can do that, you are good to enter into a good motorsport school. Body language is very important in motorsport.”
- PTI
Rajiv, Vignesh, Lani Zena take unassailable leads at MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship
Rajiv Sethu, Vignesh Goud and Lani Zena Fernandez took unassailable leads across various categories with fluent victories as the fourth and penultimate round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship 2023 concluded at the Madras International Circuit, here on Sunday.
The spotlight was also on Chennai veteran Prabhu Arunagiri (Pacer Yamaha1) as he completed a grand double in the Pro-Stock 165cc Open category after surviving a stirring duel with KY Ahamed (Petronas TVS Racing) despite starting from P5.
The second-place finish put Ahamed on top of the championship standings displacing Rajiv Sethu who failed to score any points in this category (Pro-Stock 165cc Open) after being disqualified (technical infringement) from both of yesterday’s races and a crash in today’s Race-3.
However, Sethu, the 25-year-old international from Chennai, salvaged his weekend by notching his seventh win in as many starts in the premier Pro-Stock 301-400cc Open category to open an 85-point lead. Sethu survived a tough fight with 16-year- old Sarthak Chavan (Petronas TVS Racing) from Pune who started P15 and even led briefly before yielding ground to the Chennai star in the last lap.
Later, 19-year-old Goud (Race’ists Motorcycle Club) from Hyderabad who started P19, shrugged off Saturday’s crash to record his sixth win in seven starts to secure a 54-point advantage in the Novice (Stock 165cc) class, while Puducherry’s Lani Zena Fernandez (RACR Castrol Power1 Ultimate) completed a double in the Girls (Stock 165cc) category to move 45 points clear of her rivals with three wins in four outings this season.
Petronas TVS One-Make Championship: Bengaluru’s 16-year-old Chiranth Vishwanath completed a clean sweep of three races this weekend (including two today) in the Open (Apache RR310) category for a triple crown. It saw him move to the top of the leaderboard, seven points clear of Alwin Sundar (Chennai).
The Bengaluru teenager also won the inaugural TVS E-Invitation Race for India’s first electric racing motorcycle to complete a successful weekend.
Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup (NSF 250R): Kavin Quintal, the 18-year-old from Chennai, was in a league of his own when winning both the races, virtually unchallenged. He won today’s first race by over six seconds and the next, by 13.5 seconds to stamp his domination in this category and finish the round with a 45-point lead.
Provisional results (all 6 laps unless mentioned):
- Team Sportstar
GENERAL
BOA to felicitate 29 living Olympians
The Bengal Olympic Association (BOA) will felicitate the state’s 29 living Olympians, including Leander Paes, Dr. Vece Paes, Gurbux Singh, Bir Bahadur Chhetri, Jyotirmoyee Sikdar, Joydeep Karmakar and Pranati Nayak, and medal winners at the 36th Gujarat National Games on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti at the Netaji Indoor Stadium here on Monday.
Altogether Rs 11.92 lakh will be distributed as cash prize to the medal winners of the Gujarat Games.
- Team Sportstar
HOCKEY
Yash Bharwani chosen as Nehru Hockey Tournament Society president
The Nehru Hockey Tournament Society has unanimously chosen the young Yash Bharwani as its seventh president.
The Hyderabad-based Yash has already been associated with Nehru hockey as the sponsor through the Gooncha Group.
“It is a great honour. I will try my best to take the society to greater heights”, said Yash, as he expressed his gratitude to the Nehru hockey society at a dinner reception on Saturday.
He was felicitated by the Union Minister, General VK Singh.
The new president also assured sponsorship for the tournaments through the Gooncha Group for five years.
The Nehru Hockey Society was formed in 1964 to revive Indian hockey. The first tournament was inaugurated by Vijayalakshmi Pandit and the final was presided by the Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri.
The secretary of the Nehru Society, Kukoo Walia, recalled the services of the first six presidents, and expressed confidence that the young leadership would take the game to great heights.
The Nehru Hockey society conducts tournaments for men, junior boys and girls, and for colleges as well, with missionary zeal, serving as the backbone of Indian hockey for more than a half century.
- Team Sportstar
Naharkatia School beats Mallickpur in Nehru girls hockey tournament
Maxima Xalxo struck eight goals to help Naharkatia Higher Secondary School, Assam beat Mallickpur Girls High School, Baruipur, West Bengal, 16-0 in a group-B league match of the Charanjit Rai 29th Nehru girls hockey tournament at the Shivaji Stadium here on Sunday.
The results (league):
- Team Sportstar
TENNIS
Will there be new champions from the Fenesta National tennis championship this time ?
With a bunch of former champions, including the defending champions Manish Sureshkumar and Vaidehi Chaudhari strengthening the field, it is not going to be easy for the new stars to assert their prowess.
SD Prajwal Dev, the top seed can turn the script around, as he has had commendable success in the international circuit, which has positioned him as the seventh best in the country in men’s ranking list.
He opens against a qualifier and finds seventh seed Ishaque Eqbal in his quarter. Former champions Siddharth Vishwakarma and VM Ranjeet figure in the second quarter. Manish himself is seeded fourth and is in the third quarter with Nitin Kumar Sinha.
Olympian Vishnu Vardhan, who has worked a lot on his physical fitness, following a stint with the ONGC Territorial Army, could be the major stumbling block for the second seed Karan Singh in the fourth quarter.
In the women’s section, Vaidehi finds a bunch of qualifiers in the top quarter apart from seventh seed Lakshmi Prabha.
The young Sahira Singh opens against Akanksha Nitture. Second seed Shrivalli Bhamidipaty could find her rhythm to assert her explosive game. Vaishnavi Adkar has been showing considerable improvement in recent events. The presence of experienced players like Sharmada Balu and Sai Samhitha would lend the desired variety and craft to the field.
The juniors will also be vying for some attention in the under-18 events being held concurrently.
Overall, it will be a festive atmosphere once again at the DLTA Complex from Monday, as the tournament has grown in strength over time from 1992. The DCM Shriram group has been supporting Indian tennis relentlessly over three decades, long before corporates were reminded of their social responsibility.
With the men’s and women’s champions being awarded an equal prize money of Rs.3,00,000, it is easily the best competition at home for the players to gauge their strength.
The seedings:
- Team Sportstar
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