TENNIS
ITF Davangere Open: Bogdan beats Karan to set up semifinal against Ramkumar
Unlike the disastrous Thursday, the fancied players took their appointed spot in the semifinals of the ITF Davangere Open Men’s World Tennis Tour being played at the Davanagere Tennis Association, thus promising some exciting action in the semifinals slated for Saturday.
In the quarterfinals played here on Friday, top seed Nick Chappell of the USA dropped a set before registering a 6-1, 3-6, 6-2 victory over fifth seed Sidharth Rawat to set up a last-four clash with eighth seed Niki Kaliyanda Poonacha. Niki was a 6-4, 6-3 winner over Manish Sureshkumar.
Second seed Bogdan Bobrov faced a stiff resistance in the first set from Karan Singh while blanking his opponent in the second set for a 7-5, 6-0 victory. The visitor will play the in-form Ramkumar Ramanathan in the other semifinal. The Davis Cupper brushed aside the challenge of Madhwin Kamath in straight sets 6-2, 6-1.
Meanwhile the doubles semifinal matches went against the form as the fourth seeded pair of Siddhant Banthia and Vishnu Vardhan rallied from a set down to upset the fancied pair of second seeded Bogdan Bobrov and Nick Chappell 4-6, 6-3, 10-5 to make it to the title round.
In the finals, the Indian duo will meet the third seeded countrymates Sai Karteek Reddy Gant and Manish Sureshkumar, who stunned the favourites and top seeds Purav Raja and Ramkumar Ramanathan 7-6 (3), 6-4. Incidentally, Karteek and Manish were the doubles finalists in the last leg in Dharwad.
These quarterfinal matches showcased the incredible skill and determination of the players, leaving fans eagerly anticipating the upcoming rounds of the ITF Davangere Open Men’s World Tennis Tour.
The results: (Seeds in parenthesis, Country except India mentioned in brackets)
-Team Sportstar
GOLF
Akshay fires 65 for two-stroke lead at Haryana Open
Panchkula, Oct 27 (PTI) Chandigarh’s Akshay Sharma shot the week’s lowest score of seven-under 65 in the third round to take a two-stroke lead over Jairaj Singh Sandhu at the Haryana Open golf tournament here on Friday.
Akshay took his three-day total to 15-under 201, while another Chandigarh-based professional Jairaj carded 68 to occupy the second place at the Panchkula Golf Club.
The DLF Golf & Country Club duo of Honey Baisoya (66) and Abhinav Lohan (69) were also in contention heading into round four as they sat in joint third position at 12-under 204.
Yuvraj Singh Sandhu, in sixth place at 10-under 206, and Angad Cheema, in tied 10th at eight-under 208, were the other two Chandigarh players in the top-10.
TATA Steel PGTI Ranking leader Om Prakash Chouhan (71) was tied 10th too.
Akshay (68-68-65), who won the last of his two titles at Panchkula Golf Club back in 2020, used the good memories from that win to his advantage on Friday.
The 33-year-old made a slow start with three pars and a bogey on his first four holes before picking up the pace with three birdies. His second bogey of the day on the ninth was his last error.
Akshay, currently eighth on the PGTI’s money list with two runner-up finishes in the last three events, was on fire on the back-nine as he picked up six birdies to move into the sole lead. On day three he made six conversions from a range of 10 to 25 feet.
Left-hander Jairaj, 26, made a brilliant start with a 30-feet birdie conversion on the second and an eagle-two on the third where he holed it from 40 yards.
Jairaj, looking for his maiden title, added another birdie on the ninth but then had a contrasting back-nine with three birdies and three bogeys. He is currently 44th on the PGTI’s merit list with one top-10 to his credit this season.
Kolkata’s Shankar Das made a hole-in-one on the second hole during his round of 71. He was placed tied 30th at three-under 213.
Umed Kumar was higher-placed among the two amateurs who made the cut. He was tied 47th at two-over 218.
-PTI
Aditi slumps in second round, drops to T-71st in Malaysia
Indian golfer Aditi Ashok carded her worst round of the season after a superb opening round of 5-under 67 to slid to tied 71st at the Maybank Championship in Kuala Lumpur on Friday.
Aditi, who was 7-under for 17 holes before dropping a double bogey on her last hole on the first day, had a nightmarish second round in the championship, which is part of the LPGA.
She had just one birdie against three bogeys and two triple bogeys in a round of 8-over 80. That saw her drop from tied-10th to tied-71st.
Aditi, who was 5-under when she started the second day, dropped a bogey on first and then a triple bogey on the second. Another bogey on sixth meant she was down to even par.
A lone bogey on seventh was followed by a second triple bogey on ninth and one more bogey on 16th.
Thailand’s Jasmine Suwannapura (63-69) was in sole lead at 12-under with American Rose Zhang (65-68) lying second.
Celine Boutier (70-64), who is leading the Order of Merit across the Atlantic in the Ladies European Tour, was tied third with Hannah Green (64-70) and Peiyun Chien of Chinese Taipei, who shot rounds of 65-69.
-PTI
TENNIS
Yuki Bhambri in Challenger semifinals
Yuki Bhambri in partnership with Julian Cash beat Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi and Petros Tsitsipas 6-4, 6-7(6), [10-7] to reach the doubles semifinals of the €118,000 Challenger tennis tournament in Brest, France, on Friday.
The results:
€118,000 Challenger, Brest, France
Doubles (quarterfinals): Yuki Bhambri & Julian Cash (GBR) bt Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi (Pak) & Petros Tsitsipas (Gre) 6-4, 6-7(6), [10-7].
$80,000 ITF women, Poitiers, France
Doubles (quarterfinals): Jessy Rompies (Ina) & Prarthana Thombare bt Mai Hontama (Jpn) & Natalija Stevanovic (Srb) 7-5, 7-5; Jessika Ponchet (Fra) & Bibiane Schoofs (Ned) bt Vasanti Shinde & Arina Vasilescu (Rou) 6-4, 6-1.
$15,000 ITF women, Monastir, Tunisia
Doubles (semifinals): Tamara Curovic (Srb) & Amelia Waligora (Bel) bt Jennifer Luikham & Teja Tirunelveli 6-2, 6-2; Quarterfinals: Jennifer & Teja bt Emmanuelle Girard (Fra) & Kristina Milenkovic (Sui) 6-7(2), 6-3, [10-7].
-Kamesh Srinivasan
KABADDI
Visually impaired players showcase kabaddi skills at Yuva Kabaddi Series’ exhibition match
With an aim to fostering empowerment and equality within the kabaddi ecosystem, Yuva Kabaddi Series, in alliance with the Indian Association for the Blind, conducted a special kabaddi match for the visually impaired players who impressed everyone with their skills and were relentless on the mat as they celebrated the power of inclusivity.
The exhibition match was hosted during the monsoon edition of the revolutionary Yuva Kabaddi Series.
“Inclusivity is at the heart of what we stand for. We believe that sports have the power to transcend physical limitations, inspiring players regardless of their physical abilities. The collaboration with the Indian Association for the Blind has been a milestone mission to introduce these specially-abled youth and empower each of them to play kabaddi and showcase their relentless pursuit for excellence despite being visually challenged,” commented Vikas Gautam, CEO of the Yuva Kabaddi Series.
He added, “This exhibition match not only showcased talents but will also go a long way to inspire others to break barriers and create a more inclusive sports community for the game in India.”
The blind association has been serving blind students to participate in national and international sports and games to showcase their performance worldwide. In the past 15 years, these players got several national and international medals and a total of 14 visually impaired players from Tamil Nadu participated in the Yuva Kabaddi exhibition match as well.
They exhibited incredible skill and resilience leaving the audience in awe and edge of the seat as Madurai Knights defeated Madurai Victors by 61-47 scoreline. Madurai Knights’ S Kaviraman (11 tackle points) and Madan Raj (17 raid points) impressed the most as they were adjudged best defender and best raider of the match respectively.
“The Yuva Kabaddi Series has been a great experience for the players and it will help them to gain more confidence. The accommodation, food and hospitality was very nice and the organisers of Yuva are very friendly and easy to reach. We would like to thank Yuva for giving us this wonderful opportunity”, stated P Saravanaram, Secretary of Tamil Nadu Blind Sports Association.
The exciting action was also enjoyed by the viewers live on DD Sports and FanCode, making it an example of how sports can be a catalyst for positive change and inclusivity.
Yuva Kabaddi Series, India’s first tournament for Next Gen athletes, was launched in 2022. The tournament aims to deliver a professional platform for young players (U-23, below 80 kgs) and groom them for the biggest stage. The platform has been inspiring many to take up the sport and become professional athletes from across the country, and many have gone to play for India.
-Team Sportstar
U Mumba begins training in Bellary for upcoming edition of PKL
Ahead of the 10th edition of the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL), U Mumba began its pre-season preparatory camp in Bellary, Karnataka.
“The objective of this camp is to ensure that each player on our team is well-prepared and ready to meet all the requirements, excel, and showcase optimum fitness during the upcoming kabaddi season,” said U Mumba CEO Suhail Chandhok.
“We have ensured that the training programs are tailored to cater to all levels of fitness and customized to meet specific goals aimed at enhancing individual player performance,” added coach Gholamreza Mazandarani.
The 43-day camp commenced on October 15 and will continue until November 28. The 10th edition of PKL will return as a 12-city caravan format, with the league commencing on December 2, 2023.
- Team Sportstar
POLO
Jindal Panther continues to dominate in Bhopal Pataudi Cup Polo
Jindal Panther continued to assert itself with a 10-2 victory over Delta Foundation in the last league match of the Bhopal Pataudi Cup polo tournament at the Army Equestrian Centre, Delhi Cantonment, on Friday.
In another match, Achievers Blue drew 8-8 with 61st Cavalry/Royal Enfield, and went on to qualify for the final from the group, on better goal difference.
In the final to be played on Sunday at the Jaipur Polo ground, Achievers Blue will face Jindal Panther, at 4 p.m.
The results (league):
-Kamesh Srinivasan
BASKETBALL
Bluebells School beat Mira Model School 61-50 in the senior boys section of the 34th Hansraj Prabhakar basketball tournament at the Oxford Senior Secondary School courts, E-Block, Vikaspuri, on Friday.
The results:
-Kamesh Srinivasan
HOCKEY
Nehru junior tournament: Government Model Senior Secondary School defeats National Cadet Corps (NCC) Blue
Sukhmanpreet Singh (2) and Komalpreet Singh scored the goals to guide Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 37-D, Chandigarh, to a 3-0 victory over Directorate General, National Cadet Corps (NCC) Blue, in a league match of the Kanwarji 51st Nehru junior hockey tournament at the Shivaji Stadium here on Friday.
The results (league):
Sukhjeevan Sports Academy, Agra, 4 (Mithalesh 2, Sujeet Kumar, Shivam Patel) bt UNACCO School, Imphal, 1 (Sushil Llisham).
Government HS, Kawnpui, Mizoram, 10 (Vanlal Chenpuia 4, R Lalruatsanga 2, Lalrosanga Zaucha, Lalhlimpuia, Vanlal Chhanchhuaha, Lalruatdika) bt ACC Sarvodaya Bal Vidyalaya, Jhilmil, Dellhi, 1 (Sarim Alvi).
Hafiz Siddiqui National Inter College, Jhansi, 21 (Sonu Patel 5, Ashvani Singh 4, Praduman Yadav 4, Vivek Yadav 3, Akshat Varma, Aryan Singh, Atul Kushwaha, Sajan Yadav, Akhilesh Yadav) bt Government HSS, Potanar, Bastar.
Government Model SSS, Sector 37-D, Chandigarh, 3 (Sukhmanpret Singh 2, Komalpreet Singh) bt Directorate General, NCC Blue.
-Kamesh Srinivasan
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