TENNIS
Vishu-Sidhanth lift doubles title at ITF Davangere Open
The ITF Davangere Open Men’s World Tennis Tour witnessed a thrilling display of tennis with the top two seeds moving into the singles final.
In the semifinals played at the Davangere Tennis Association Courts here on Saturday, top seed Nick Chappell of the USA scored a convincing 6-3, 6-2 victory over India’s Niki Kaliyanda Poonacha while second seed Bogdan Bobrav quelled a late challenge from last week’s winner Ramkumar Ramanathan 6-4, 7-6 (4) to set up a title clash with his best pal on the current tour of India.
Meanwhile, in a minor upset, fourth seeds Siddhant Banthia and Vishnu Vardhan lifted the doubles title with a 6-2, 7-5 victory over the third seeded pair of Sai Karteek Reddy Ganta and Manish Sureshkumar. Karteek and Manish had finished as the runners-up during the last event in Dharwad as well.
Chappell who had made it to the semifinals last week executed precise shots and consistently applied pressure on his opponent. Poonacha, a local favourite, put up a spirited fight, but ultimately Nick’s experience and consistency prevailed.
The first set was a closely contested until the sixth game where the American broke Poonacha’s serve to go 4-2 up and built it to a 6-3 win. Chappell’s powerful serves and relentless forehand winners gave him the edge as he continued to dominate and achieved a break in the very first game of the second set and once again in the seventh game to cruise into the final.
The second semifinal proved to be even more interesting affair with Bobrov racing to a 5-1 lead before Ramkumar woke up and began crawling back into the set. After an intense battle, Ramkumar narrowed down the lead to 4-5 but Bobrov served out for the set.
The second set saw Ramkumar fight with a renewed vigour. After the opponents had traded a break each in the first four games post which, both the rivals held their respective serve, albeit all the games being stretched to the hilt with finally the set being decided via tie-breaker.
Results (Seeds in parenthesis, Country except India mentioned in brackets):
-Team Sportstar
Bhambri-Cash pair reaches Challenger final in France
Yuki Bhambri and Julian Cash beat Sander Arends and Miguel Angel Reyes-Varela 6-3, 6-7(8), [10-7] in the doubles semifinals of the €118,000 Challenger tennis tournament in Brest, France, on Saturday.
In the final, the Indo-British pair will play the top seeds Robert Galloway and Albano Olivetti.
RESULTS
-Team Sportstar
Jesus and Mary College wins DU inter-college tournament
Kashish Bhatia and Lakshmi Gowda helped Jesus and Mary College to a 2-0 victory over Lady Shriram College in the final of the Delhi University inter-college tennis tournament at the Sri Venkateswara College courts on Saturday.
RESULTS (FINAL)
-Team Sportstar
Pro Tennis League 5: Mukund Sasikumar picked by Indraprastha Warriors
Davis Cupper Mukund Sasikumar was bagged by Indraprastha Warriors in the auction for the Harven Pro Tennis League scheduled to be played at the RK Khanna Stadium here from December 6.
The fifth edition of PTL put together eight teams, with each team having men’s and women’s professionals apart from emerging youngsters, supported by the veteran players.
The auction was conducted on Saturday, for the first four players for each team with a cap on the overall bidding points for each team.
Arjun Kadhe, Anirudh Chandrasekar, Siddhant Banthia, Rithvik Bollipalli, Karan Singh and Nitin Kumar Sinha were the other men players taken by various teams.
Riya Bhatia, Sahaja Yamalapalli, Jenifer Luikham, Sharmada Balu, Sravya Shivani, Vaishnavi Adkar, Kashish Bhatia and Soha Sadiq were the women players taken by the eight teams.
The event will be played on a league cum knock-out format, with each tie having seven rubbers of singles and doubles. The matches will be on a 20-point or 30-point format with each tie played over 160 points. The top two teams from the two groups will make the semifinals.
TEAMS
-Team Sportstar
Endurance National under-14 tournament: Tavish Pahwa does the double
![Tavish Pahwa with his twin trophies in the National under-14 tennis championship in Aurangabad on Saturday Tavish Pahwa with his twin trophies in the National under-14 tennis championship in Aurangabad on Saturday](https://assetsss.thehindu.com/theme/images/ss-online/1x1_spacer.png)
Tavish Pahwa with his twin trophies in the National under-14 tennis championship in Aurangabad on Saturday | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Tavish Pahwa won a double crown in the Endurance National under-14 tennis tournament at the MSLTA courts on Saturday.
Tavish beat top seed Hruthik Katakam 7-5, 6-3 in the final for the singles title. He partnered Hruthik for the doubles title, beating Faizal Ali Meer and Prakaash Sarran in straight sets.
Savitha Bhuvaneswaran won the girls title, as she beat Parthsarthi Mundhe in three sets.
RESULTS (FINALS)
GOLF
Aditi Ashok bounces back with 68 in Malaysia
Aditi Ashok’s scores continued to take a massive swing yet again as she bounced back with a 68 at the Maybank Championship in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday.
Aditi who was 5-under on the first day and then dropped to 3-over for two rounds is again 1-under after three rounds and placed tied 58th.
After two triples on the second day, the third round was a big relief with five birdies and only one bogey. The four-time LET winner continues to search for her first win on the LPGA, though she is now in the Top-40 of the LPGA Order of Merit.
Rookie sensation Rose Zhang will hold the lead after a well-fought battle for the top spot. The last time the 20-year-old Zhang held a 54-hole lead on Tour, she walked away with a win at her professional debut at the Mizuho Americas Open.
Her rounds of 65s on the first and third days are new career-low rounds on Tour, her two day score of 133 was a new 36-hole record for the rookie. The 54-hole total of 198 is another new mark.
With one day left to play in Malaysia, she will look to continue the trend and earn her second LPGA Tour victory in just her 12th start this season.
Zhang had to battle the 100-degree heat and humidity and her playing partner Jasmine Suwannapura. The two matched each other nearly shot-for-shot starting from the very beginning of the day.
If Suwannapura made three birdies in a row on holes 1, 2 and 3, Zhang had a streak of her own on No. 2, 3 and 4.
As Zhang shot 65, Suwannapura carded 67. In between was Atthaya Thitikul of Thailand, who shot 62 and is now tied for second with Suwannapura. Zhang is 18-under, while the two Thais, Suwannapura and Atthaya are 17-under.
Korean golfer Sei Young Kim holds the solo fourth place spot at 15-under. Three players are tied for fifth including Nasa Hataoka, Megan Khang and Peiyun Chien.
-PTI
Jaglan, Chugh top Indians in Asia-Pacific Amateur golf
Shubham Jaglan and Raghav Chugh were the best-placed Indians at tied 24th place after the first three days of the Asia-Pacific Amateur golf championships at the iconic Royal Melbourne golf course in Australia.
Jaglan and Chugh, both on golf scholarships in the United States, shot rounds of 75 and 78, to be tied 24th with totals of 11-over at the Par-71 course brought to life by Alister Mackenzie, who also designed the famous Augusta National.
![Shubham Jaglan (in photo), along with Raghav Chugh, were the best-placed Indians at tied 24th place after the first three days of the Asia-Pacific Amateur golf championships. Shubham Jaglan (in photo), along with Raghav Chugh, were the best-placed Indians at tied 24th place after the first three days of the Asia-Pacific Amateur golf championships.](https://assetsss.thehindu.com/theme/images/ss-online/1x1_spacer.png)
Shubham Jaglan (in photo), along with Raghav Chugh, were the best-placed Indians at tied 24th place after the first three days of the Asia-Pacific Amateur golf championships. | Photo Credit: Shiv Kumar Pushpakar / The Hindu
The winner from this landmark event goes to two of the greatest Majors, the Augusta Masters and the Open, which will be held at the Troon next year.
Among other Indians in fray, Yuvraj Singh (78) was T-49 and the 13-year-old Kartik Singh, whose love for the Rubik’s cube and chess on a computer is surpassed only by his goals in golf, shot 81 and dropped to 18-over for T-54th spot.
Still smiling, Kartik remarked, “I have one more day.” Shaurya Bhattacharya, who waged a titanic battle for an even par 71 to recover from 83 on the first day, had another decent day with 74. He moved up to T-42, up from the cut line at T-60.
On a day, when the challenging and overwhelming conditions at the Royal Melbourne Golf Club took the spotlight, the big built Chinese youngster, who was born in Nagoya, Japan, Zheng Sampson-Yunhe, produced the week’s best card of 6-under 65 to get to the top of the leaderboard.
With a four-shot lead, Sampson may well be on his way to the Masters and the Open, the two of the most coveted Majors.
Starting the day with a total of 3-over for 36 holes and six behind the leader, Sampson, 22, was T-13 after two rounds.
The University of California golfer zoomed to the top with six birdies and an eagle against two bogeys. At 3-under he was the only player still under par and led the field by four shots over Australia’s Billy Dowling (73) at 1-over total of 213.
The first-round leader Kazuma Kobori of New Zealand, who shot 74, and China’s Ding Wenyi (76) were tied third at 2-over 214.
Only four players brought home under-par cards on the third day and India’s best came from Shaurya with a 3-over 74.
Quite appropriately Zheng Sampson-Yunhe came here after having played his last event at the Meadow Club, also a Mackenzie layout in California.
Zheng did not win, but finished 20th, but said the experienced helped.
Playing in his third edition of the championship, Zheng broke the amateur composite course record of 66 held by Sir Michael Bonallack for 55 years.
That record of 66 was matched by New Zealand’s Kobori in the first round.
Earlier this year, Zheng was in the Asia-Pacific team that beat the Europeans to win the Bonallack Trophy, which was set up by Sir Michael Bonallack, whose record he beat.
Zheng mastered the gusting winds on the famous Sandbelt venue to rack up four birdies on the first nine holes against just one bogey. He moved up a gear again with a spectacular eagle three at the par-5 10th which took him clear of the field.
He added birdies on the 12th and 13th before giving a shot back at the next on 14th.
Zheng, who is now in California at the Golden Bears Athletics University, has been having a great year and chooses big events to put out his best.
“I love the challenge of tough course and big events,” said Zheng, who also won the highly competitive US Amateur Four-ball with fellow Chinese player, Aaron Du, at Kiawah Island in May.
-PTI
MOTORSPORTS
Aditya Patnaik, Ishaan Madesh, Rivaan Dev Preetham emerge National champions
Aditya Patnaik (Mumbai), Ishaan Madesh (Bengaluru) and Rivaan Dev Preetam (Chennai) emerged champions in their respective categories as the fifth and final round of the Meco-Fmsci Rotax Max National Karting Championship 2023 which concluded at the Meco Kartopia circuit here on Saturday.
Aditya Patnaik (Rayo Racing) topped the Senior Max category with a tally of 408 points, just ahead of Bengaluru’s Akshat Mishra (396) of Peregrine Racing despite finishing fourth in both Pre-Final and Final races. Pune’s Arjun Chheda (Crest Motorsports) was third in the championship with 387 points.
![National champions (Left to Right) - Ishaan Madesh (Junior Max), Rivaan Dev Preetham (Micro Max) and Aditya Patnaik (Senior Max). National champions (Left to Right) - Ishaan Madesh (Junior Max), Rivaan Dev Preetham (Micro Max) and Aditya Patnaik (Senior Max).](https://assetsss.thehindu.com/theme/images/ss-online/1x1_spacer.png)
National champions (Left to Right) - Ishaan Madesh (Junior Max), Rivaan Dev Preetham (Micro Max) and Aditya Patnaik (Senior Max). | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Ishaan Madesh (Peregrine Racing), who had dominated the weekend’s outings, finished the season with 439 points in the Junior Max category while fellow-Bengalurean and team-mate Nikhilesh Raju ended up second, 26 points adrift, but only three ahead of Gurugram’s Hunner Singh (Birel Art India).
Rivaan Dev Preetham (MSPORT) took the title in the Micro Max category garnering a total of 413 points, just two clear of team-mate, Bengaluru’s Darsh Nawalgaria while Zephaan Ardeshir (Mumbai, Peregrine Racing) ended up third on 407.
The three National champions will represent India in the 23rd Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals 2023 scheduled to be held in Bahrain from December 2 to 9.
Earlier, Peregrine Racing made a clean sweep of all three Final races as Akshat Mishra, Nikhilesh Raju and Zephaan Ardeshir won in the Senior, Junior and Micro Max categories, respectively, on a day that witnessed close racing up and down the grids.
In the 14-lap Senior Max race, Akshat Mishra nursed his P1 position to the finish while Mumbai’s Rayo Racing pair of Raaj Bakhru and Raiden Samervel came in second and third, respectively. Aditya Patnaik was fourth. The top four had finished in the same order in the Pre-Final race held earlier.
Nikhilesh Raju did well to win a very close Final race ahead of Ishaan Madesh in the Junior Max Final race after being placed third in the Pre-Final. Gurugram’s Hunner Singh (Birel Art India) completed the podium.
In the Micro Max Final race, Zephaan Ardeshir took the honours, while Chennai’s Rehan Khan (Momentum Motorsports) was second and Mumbai’s Hamza Balasinorwala (Rayo Racing) third. However, Hamza was docked a three-second penalty for false start and dropped to fifth. Consequently, Rivaan Dev Preetham moved up a spot to third. Zephaan did well to shrug off a five-second penalty in the Pre-Final and fought his way to victory. Championship leader going into Round-5, Darsh Nawalgaria was a distant seventh after receiving a five-second penalty for an infringement (front bumper).
The results:
-Team Sportstar
HOCKEY
Nehru junior hockey: Round Glass Academy beats Hafiz Siddiqui National Inter College
Gursewak Singh struck the match winner in the 43rd minute in Round Glass Academy’s 2-1 victory over Hafiz Siddiqui National Inter College, Jhansi, in a league match of the Kanwarji 51st Nehru junior hockey tournament at the Shivaji Stadium here on Saturday.
Amandeep Singh had put the Punjab team in the lead, but Karan Dhanuk equalised for Jhansi in the first quarter itself.
Round Glass qualified for the third phase of the tournament, and has been clubbed with Guru Gobind Singh Sports College, Lucknow and St. Mary’s High School from Jharkhand, in one of the four groups.
RESULTS (LEAGUE)
-Team Sportstar
BASKETBALL
National Games: Punjab wins men’s title, Kerala becomes women’s champion
![Kerala, the women’s basketball champion, at the National Games in Margao on Saturday. Kerala, the women’s basketball champion, at the National Games in Margao on Saturday.](https://assetsss.thehindu.com/theme/images/ss-online/1x1_spacer.png)
Kerala, the women’s basketball champion, at the National Games in Margao on Saturday. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Amjot Singh (42 points) sparkled as Punjab pipped Tamil Nadu 105-103 and won the men’s basketball title in the National Games in Margao on Saturday. Kerala, riding on young international R. Sreekala’s 29 points, beat Karnataka 57-54 and took the women’s trophy.
RESULTS (FINAL)
-Stan Rayan
Hansraj Prabhakar tournament: Oxford school beats Mira Model School in quarterfinals
Aadil scored 26 points to help host Oxford school to a 53-22 victory over Mira Model School in the quarterfinals of the senior boys section in the 34th Hansraj Prabhakar basketball tournament at the school courts in E-Block, Vikaspuri, on Saturday.
RESULTS
-Team Sportstar
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