Indian sports news wrap, September 29

Here are all the major updates and results from Indian sports on September 29.

FILE PHOTO: Vani Kapoor of India in action. | Photo Credit: Getty Images

GOLF

Vani, Amandeep start well in Open de France golf

Indian golfers Vani Kapoor and Amandeep Drall posted under par cards after recovering from stuttering starts in the first round of the Lacoste Ladies Open de France golf.

Vani, starting from the tenth, had two bogeys in her first three holes but finished a two-under 70 to be Tied-30th, while Amandeep, who had three bogeys in first four holes, finally carded one-under 71 to be Tied-45th.

With Diksha Dagar taking a week off ahead of the Hero Women’s Indian Open, Vani and Amandeep are the only Indians in the field

- PTI

TENNIS

Sivaji Pilla wins two medals in World Deaf Championship

Sivaji Pilla won the individual bronze and the doubles silver with Arshit in the youth section of the World Deaf Tennis Championship in Crete, Greece, on Friday.

In the bronze medal match, Sivaji beat Vicente Cabo Chapa of Spain 6-3, 6-3. He had earlier lost in the semifinals to the top seed Marek Vaco of Slovakia.

Arshit, coach Stalin Nagarajan and Sivaji Pilla, in the World Deaf Tennis Championship in Crete, Greece, on Friday. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

In the doubles final, Vicente and Marek beat Arshit and Sivaji 9-7. The doubles matches were played in a short format, as a lot of action was packed in a week, in the men’s and women’s events, and their consolation matches.

It was the first time that the youth section was introduced in the World Deaf Tennis championship. India fielded two boys and no girls. “It was the first international experience for Sivaji and Arshit. They have done very well to win the two medals. This will boost their confidence for good performances in future”, said coach Stalin

Nagarajan, even as he praised the government, Sports Authority of India (SAI) and the national federation for extending the best support to the team.

The next week will feature the team championships. India’s leading player Prithvi Sekar would join the team after having helped the Indian Railways team win the World Railways tennis gold earlier this week.

The results:

Boys (third place): Sivaji Pilla bt Vicente Cabo Chapa (Esp) 6-3, 6-3; Semifinals: Marek Vaco (Svk) bt Sivaji Pilla 6-4, 6-3. Boys doubles (final): Vicente Cabo Chapa (Esp) & Marek Vaco (Svk) bt Arshit & Sivaji Pilla 9-7.

-Kamesh Srinivasan

Mukund Sasikumar loses quarterfinals

Top seed Mukund Sasikumar was beaten 6-4, 6-3 by sixth seed Stuart Parker of Britain in the quarterfinals of the $15,000 ITF men’s tennis tournament in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, on Friday.

The results:

$160,000 Challenger, Bogota, Colombia Doubles (quarterfinals): Guillermo Duran (Arg) & Orlando Luz (Bra) bt Benjamin Lock (Zim) & Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan 6-3, 6-4; Pre-quarterfinals: Benjamin & Jeevan bt Nick Hardt (Dom) & Matias Soto (Chi) 6-4, 6-7(4), [10-6]. $15,000 ITF men, Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt Singles (quarterfinals): Stuart Parker (GBR) bt Mukund Sasikumar 6-4, 6-3.

- Kamesh Srinivasan

MOTORSPORT

Double delight for Sarthak Chavan at Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship 2023

Sarthak Chavan (Petronas TVS Racing), the 16-year-old from Pune, scorched the track and qualified for pole position in both the premier Pro-Stock Open categories (301-400cc and 165cc) to kick-start his campaign in the fourth round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship 2023 at the Madras International Circuit, here on Friday.

Sarthak Chavan, who qualified for pole position in the Pro-Stock 301-400cc category, in action at the Racing Championship. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Sarthak, fresh from a win (Super Sport 400cc) in the OR BRIC Superbike Championship in Thailand last weekend, clocked a hot lap of 01 minute, 50.764 seconds, ahead of championship leader Rajiv Sethu (01:51.223) of RACR Castrol Power1 team and Deepak Ravikumar (01:51.831), also of Petronas TVS Racing in the Pro-Stock 301-400cc Open.

Late in the evening with storm clouds gathering, Sarthak qualified for pole position in the Pro-Stock 165cc Open category, piping team-mate Chiranth Vishwanath (Bengaluru), also 16. Sarthak clocked a top lap of 01:56.179 as against Chiranth’s 01:56.218 while KY Ahamed (01:57.332), who last week took part in the Moto3 World Championship at the MotoGP Bharat in Noida, completed a Petronas TVS Racing front-row sweep.

Hyderabad’s Vigesh Goud (Race’ists Motorcycle Club), seeking his sixth win this season, yet again took pole position in the Novice (Stock 165cc) category, comfortably outpacing the pack with a time of 02:09.665.

Earlier, the TVS Apache RTE (Racing Throttle Electric), the first electric race-spec motorcycle to participate in the National championship, made its debut with practice session for the eight riders, including Ann Jennifer (Chennai), the only female competitor on this grid, who have been selected to participate in the TVS E-Invitation Race.

Bengaluru’s 16-year-old Chiranth Vishwanath was the quickest with a lap of 01:51.343, followed by Thailand’s guest rider, Vorapong Malahuan (01:52.097) and Sarthak Chavan (01:52.108) who also recorded a top speed of 186 Kmph. Former girls National champion Ann Jennifer from Chennai became the first female rider in India to ride an electric motorcycle in race trim.

Earlier, Chennai youngster Kavin Quintal, who is in hot form this season, led the pack in practice session for the Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup (NSF 250R), clocking a best of 01:51.812, nearly three seconds ahead of closest rivals.

Provisional results (Qualifying – top 3, best lap):

National Championship – Pro-Stock 301-400cc Open: 1. Sarthak Chavan (Pune, Petronas TVS Racing) (01:50.764); 2. Rajiv Sethu (Chennai, RACR Castrol Power1) (01:51.223); 3. Deepak Ravikumar (Chennai, Petronas TVS Racing) (01:51.831).

Pro-Stock 165cc Open: 1. Sarthak Chavan (Pune, Petronas TVS Racing) (1:56.179); 2. Chiranth Vishwanath (Bengaluru, Petronas TVS Racing) (1:56.218); 3. Ahamed KY (Chennai, Petronas TVS Racing) (1:57.332).

Novice (Stock 165cc): 1. Vignesh Goud (Hyderabad, Race’ists Motorcycle Club) (02:09.665); 2. Aadit Shah (Vadodara, Axor Sparks Racing) (02:11.311); 3. Savion Sabu (Bengaluru, Axor Sparks Racing) (02:11.372).

Support Race – 301-400cc Novice: 1. Vivek M (Bengaluru, Eminence Racing) (2:07.629); 2. Rohit Lad (Bengaluru, Pvt) (2:07.797); 3. Saif Rahman (Bengaluru, Eminence Racing) (2:08.558).

Petronas TVS One-Make Championship - Girls (Apache RTR 200): 1. Aisvariya V (Coimbatore) (02:17.059); 2. Saimah Ajaz Baig (Pune) (02:17.111); 3. Nadine Faith Balaji (Chennai) (02:17.663).

- Team Sportstar