Indian sports wrap, April 5: Velavan Senthilkumar in German Open squash quarters

Here are all the major updates, scores, and results of Indians in the world of sports on Friday, April 5.

FILE PHOTO: Velavan Senthilkumar (L) in action during the 79th National Singles Squash Championship in Chennai. | Photo Credit: RAGU R/ The Hindu

SQUASH

Velavan in German Open squash quarters

National champion Velavan Senthilkumar advanced to the quarterfinals of the German Open with a 3-1 upset win over eighth seed George Parker of England in Hamburg on Thursday.

The 2023 Asian Individual silver medalist Senthilkumar scored an impressive 11-5, 11-8, 9-11, 11-9 win in 61 minutes over the higher ranked Englishman in the second round of the USD 50,000 prize money PSA World Tour Bronze event. Velavan will face No 4 seed Eain Yow Ng of Malaysia in the quarterfinal.

Earlier, southpaw Senthilkumar, ranked No 59 in the world, beat Yassin Elshafei of Egypt 6-11, 7-11, 11-6, 11-3, 11-9 in 62 minutes in the first round.

- Team Sportstar

TENNIS

Balaji-Begemann enter semifinals of ATP Houston

The Indo-German pair of N Sriram Balaji and Andre Begemann moved to the semifinals of the ATP Houston Open with a dominating straight set win over India’s Arjun Kadhe and Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan.

Continuing their good run, Balaji and Begemann, who had earlier stunned top seeds Rajeev Ram and Austin Krajicek of USA, picked up an easy 6-0, 6-3 quarterfinal win in 59 minutes on Thursday.

The unseeded Indo-German pair will take on fourth-seeded Australian duo of Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson in the US men’s Clay Court Championship semifinals.

The 34-year-old Balaji and Begemann hit two aces and won 86 per cent (38/44) of their first serve points.

Khade and Nedunchezhiyan succeeded in saving 50 per cent of their break points, but Balaji and Begmann were impeccable, saving all five break points against them.

-PTI

Yuki-Olivetti pair loses in Marrakech Open semifinals

India’s Yuki Bhambri and his French partner Albano Olivetti were knocked out in men’s doubles semifinals of the ATP Marrakech Open on Friday.

The unseeded Indo-French combine lost 5-7, 3-6, [7-10] to the second-seeded all-Austrian duo of Alexander Erler and Lucas Miedler in the last-four fixture of the ATP 250 event.

Bhambri teamed up with Olivetti for the first time this season, having played with Dutch player Robin Haase in most of the tournaments.

The Indian had paired with former partner Michael Venus from New Zealand at the Miami Masters where they made a first round exit.

Bhambri’s best performance of the season came at in ATP 500 Dubai, where as qualifiers the Indian and Haase reached the semifinals, earning crucial 225 ranking points.

Ranked 62, the 31-year-old Bhambri is India’s second highest ranked player behind world number one Rohan Bopanna.

-PTI

Prarthana Thombare wins doubles title in Croatia

Doubles champions Valentina Grammatikopoulou (left) and Prarthana Thombare (right) at ITF women’s event in Croatia on Friday. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

Prarthana Thombare in partnership with Valentina Grammatikopoulou beat Veronika Erjavec and Justina Mikulskyte 6-4, 6-1 in the doubles final of the $60,000 ITF women’s tennis tournament in Split, Croatia, on Friday.

It was the 27th doubles title in the professional circuit for the 29-year-old Prarthana who will join the Indian team for the Billie Jean King Cup in China.

RESULTS

$164,000 Challenger, Mexico City, Mexico

Doubles (quarterfinals): Ryan Seggerman & Patrik Trhac (USA) bt Rithvik Bollipalli & Niki Poonacha 6-4, 7-6(3).

$60,000 ITF women, Split, Croatia

Doubles (final): Valentina Grammatikopoulou (Gre) & Prarthana Thombare bt Veronika Erjavec (Slo) & Justina Mikulskyte (Ltu) 6-4, 6-1;

Semifinals: Valentina & Prarthana bt Estelle Cascino & Carole Monnet (Fra) 6-4, 7-5.

$40,000 ITF women, Kashiwa, Japan

Doubles (semifinals): Ankita Raina & Chia Yi Tsao (Tpe) bt Talia Gibson & Priscilla Hon (Aus) 4-6, 7-6(4), [10-6].

$25,000 ITF women, Hammamet, Tunisia

Doubles (quarterfinals): Emeline Dartron & Margaux Rouvroy (Fra) bt Alice Pesci (Ita) & Sameeksha Shroff 6-2, 6-1.

$15,000 ITF women, Monastir, Tunisia

Singles (pre-quarterfinals): Anastasia Kulikova (Fin) bt Tanisha Kashyap 6-3, 6-7(8), 6-4.

- Team Sportstar

ATHLETICS

Olympic Champion Valerie Adams named International Event Ambassador for TCS World 10k Bengaluru 2024

Dame Valerie Adams, the iconic shot putter, a four-time World Champion and two-time Olympic medallist has been named the International Event Ambassador for the 16th edition of the Tata Consultancy Services World 10K Bengaluru to be held on Sunday, 28th April 2024.

The 39-year-old from New Zealand is arguably the most successful female shot putter of all time. Across her five appearances in the Olympics, she has won two gold medals (in 2008, and 2012), a silver (in 2016) and a bronze medal (in 2020). 

“I am thrilled to participate in the Tata Consultancy Services World 10K Bengaluru, an event that embodies this spirit of unity and community. The increasing enthusiasm for running in India is both motivating and inspiring, and I am excited to witness the boundless energy and passion that participants will bring to the race,” she said.

- Team Sportstar

BASKETBALL

National coach Veselin Matic’s basketball coaches workshop begins in Alappuzha 

National coach Veselin Matic interacting with former Indian captain P.S. Jeena during the coaches clinic at the Alappuzha YMCA on Friday.  | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

The Alappuzha YMCA’s basketball coaches workshop, which is led by National coach Veselin Matic, began on Friday.

The three-day workshop, organised by the YMCA with the support of the Kerala Basketball Association as part of the P.S. Viswappan Trophy’s silver jubilee celebrations, also had prominent coaches C.V. Sunny and P.C. Antony and KSEB’s women players guiding the 130 coaches at the event.

- Stan Rayan