GOLF
Indian Golf Union likely to host Asia-Pacific events
The Indian Golf Union (IGU) is likely to host some Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation (APGC) tournaments in 2025 and 2026 respectively, the federation said on Tuesday.
With excellent support from global bodies like the International Golf Federation (IGF), the Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews (R&A) and the APGC, the IGU has also been working hard to get funding from Olympic Solidarity programme.
The IGU has already sent presentations and initiated necessary paperwork in this regard. It has also received a boost by getting complete voting membership in the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), which means a lot of government support for golf.
“We have asked the APGC to give us events to host and will keep pressing them,” said Brijinder Singh, the IGU president.
“Our pitch at recent international events like the Asian Amateur Championship has received favourable support to host Asia-Pacific events in the next year or two. That would mean our golfers will be able to play top competitions at home and reap the benefits of home advantage.” The IGU is also the custodian of the Indian Open, a USD 2 million event on the DP World Tour (European Tour).
“We have had very strong fields in the last couple of years, and we have already begun preparing for them in early 2025 and have been in touch with many top stars. The response from the sponsors like Hero is also terrific,” said the IGU official.
-PTI
ATHLETICS
Overwhelming response for Kolkata 25K
With the deadline for registration approaching fast, organisers of the Tata Steel World 25K Kolkata, world’s first Gold Label race over the distance, on Wednesday informed that they have received overwhelming response for the event offering a total of $142,214 in prize money.
“The 10K has received an overwhelming response from the running community and is now oversubscribed. Registrations for the feature race 25K, Ananda Run, Senior Citizen Run, and Champions with Disability are open until November 29, IST 11:59 p.m., or until running places are filled, whichever is earlier,” said a release.
The Vijay Diwas Trophy, contested among 30 three-member teams of the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force, over 25km, offers ₹75,000, ₹60,000 and ₹45,000 for the first, second and third place finishers, respectively.
For the Police Cup, the total prize money is ₹1,68,000.
-Y. B. Sarangi
HOCKEY
CBDT pips NCOE Bhopal 3-2
Pranam Gowda and skipper Jarmanpreet Singh scored the goals to help Central Board of Direct Taxes to a 3-2 victory over National Centre of Excellence, Bhopal, in a league match of the SNBP 60th Nehru hockey tournament at the Shivaji Stadium in New Delhi on Wednesday.
The results (league):
-Kamesh Srinivasan
Ankita Raina in doubles quarterfinals
Ankita Raina, in partnership with Naiktha Bains, beat Yu-Yun Li and Zhang Ying 7-5, 6-3 in the doubles pre-quarterfinals of the $60,000 ITF women’s tennis tournament in Carrara, Australia, on Wednesday.
The results:
-Kamesh Srinivasan
TENNIS
ITF junior tennis: Samarth beats Nikita in boys first round
Samarth Sahita overcame a tough start to get past Nikita Nikolenko of Kazakhstan 6-7(6), 6-3, 6-4 in the boys first round of the ITF junior tennis tournament at the DLTA Complex on Tuesday.
Samarth, with a classical single-handed backhand that he uses with considerable craft, will challenge the top seed Arnav Paparkar, who wriggled out of the clutches of qualifier Tanussh Ghildyal in two hard-fought sets.
Samarth Sahita in the first round of the ITF junior tennis tournament in Delhi on Tuesday. | Photo Credit: Kamesh Srinivasan
Arjun Rathi played smart to beat the seventh seed, Aaron Gabet of France. He will challenge Vihaan Reddy in the pre-quarterfinals.
Second seed Varun Verma was unwell and thus could not continue after reaching the tie-break in the first set against qualifier Aarav Samrat Hada of Nepal.
In the girls section, top seed and champion of the last tournament, Rishitha Basireddy overcame a hiccup in the second set to beat qualifier Savitha Bhuvaneswaran in straight sets. She will meet Alexandra Bayuschenko in the pre-quarterfinals.
The results (first round):
-Kamesh Srinivasan
AITA ranking tennis: Gowda beats Sahayak in women’s pre-quarters
Lakshmi Gowda fought her way past qualifier Shatakshika Sahayak 2-6, 6-2, 6-1 in the women’s pre-quarterfinals of the HPCL-Mittal Rs.200,000 AITA ranking tennis tournament at the CLTA Complex on Tuesday.
The results (pre-quarterfinals)
-Kamesh Srinivasan
ITF women’s tournament: Zeel Desai beats Eliska Tichackova to enter last 16
Fourth seed Zeel Desai beat Eliska Tichackova of the Czech Republic 6-2, 7-6(5) in the first round of the $15,000 ITF women’s tennis tournament in Monastir, Tunisia, on Tuesday.
The results:
$15,000 ITF men, Luanda, Angola Doubles (pre-quarterfinals):
$15,000 ITF women, Monastir, Tunisia Singles (first round):
-Kamesh Srinivasan
Harshini thumps second seed at the DLTA
Harshini Nagaraj | Photo Credit: Kamesh Srinivasan
Quaifier Harshini Nagaraj played a robust game to beat second seed Sara Oliveriusova of the Czech Republic in the girls pre-quarterfinals of the ITF junior tennis tournament at the DLTA Complex in New Delhi on Wednesday.
Playing on the Show court No.1 after two long-drawn boys matches, Harshini stroked with punch and precision to outwit the Czech. She will play compatriot Aishwarya Jadhav who perspired to a 6-1, 5-7, 6-3 victory over seventh seed Azuna Ichioka of Japan.
In the boys section, Arjun Rathi stepped up his game whenever required to beat Vihaan Reddy of USA, in an entertaining match.
The 14-year-old Vihaan had made an incredible debut into the ITF junior circuit last year in India, winning four singles titles on the trot in Gurugram, Dehradun, Bhilai and Madurai, losing just five sets in all in 21 matches.
Arjun will play Maximus Zavier Wong of Singapore in the quarterfinals. Top seed Arnav Paparkar and Kandhavel Mahalingam were the only other Indian boys to make the quarterfinals, and did so beating compatriots Samarth Sahita and Aarjun Pandit respectively.
The results (pre-quarterfinals):
-Kamesh Srinivasan
Divij, Bopanna help Indian Oil to win in PSPB inter-unit tennis
Rohan Bopanna in action for Indian Oil during the PSPB inter-unit tennis tournament in Pune on Wednesday. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Divij Sharan and Rohan Bopanna won their singles matches with ease to help Indian Oil beat Hindustan Petroleum 2-0 in the men’s quarterfinals of the 43rd PSPB inter-unit tennis tournament organised by Bharat Petroleum at the Deccan Gymkhana Club on Wednesday.
The tournament was inaugurated by the country’s first Paralympic gold medallist Murlikant Petkar.
The results:
-Kamesh Srinivasan
ROWING
International Friendship regatta underway in Kolkata
Tokyo Olympics silver medalist Jack Beaumont and Guangzhou Asian Games gold medallist Bajrang Lal Takhar will be among some of the top rowers to take part in the International Friendship Sculling Regatta to be held at the Rabindra Sarovar here from Wednesday to Saturday.
The third edition of the regatta, marking the 166-year-old Calcutta Rowing Club’s relocation to the Rabindra Sarovar 100 years ago, will have competitions in single scull, double sculls and quad sculls.
According to the organisers, rowers from the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, Thailand, the USA, South Africa and India are expected to compete in the event.
-Team Sportstar
CHESS
Divith Reddy becomes world champion in U-8 Cadets Championship
Eight-year-old Divith Reddy of Hyderabad added to India’s growing reputation in the world of chess by becoming champion in the Under-8 World Cadets Chess Championship here on Tuesday.
The Telangana boy secured a brilliant 9/11 points, the same as his compatriot Sattwik Swain, but the former clinched the gold based on his tiebreak score.
Divith, who has a FIDE rating of 1784 points, had a three-way tie with compatriot Sattwik and Ziming Guo of China, but the Telangana boy clinched the gold with a better tie-break score.
Sattwik bagged the silver while Guo settled for the bronze.
Divith’s journey to the top was a rollercoaster ride, showcasing resilience and tactical brilliance.
Starting the tournament on a high, Divith won his first four matches, but a brief slump followed with two consecutive losses.
However, he bounced back in spectacular fashion, winning his final five rounds to secure the top spot.
His opponents included strong contenders such as Wiktor Stankowski of Poland, Nurali Nurshin of Kazakhstan, Zhihan Xu (Samuel) of Canada, Rizat Ulan of Kazakhstan, and Aiden Linyuan Li of the USA.
The last two rounds were particularly challenging, with Linyuan boasting a FIDE rating of 1877 and Rizat holding a rating of 1783.
Despite facing tough positions, Divith demonstrated remarkable resilience and tactical acumen.
“Divith was in slightly difficult positions at times, but he found some brilliant tactical resources that helped him clinch the victories,” India coach Abhishek Kelkarn, who is an International Master, told PTI.
Divith’s victory further highlights India’s rising prominence in the world of chess, especially at the junior level, which has been making waves globally in recent years.
From the success of Grandmaster Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa to D Gukesh’s participation in the World Chess Championship against Ding Liren, Indian chess is on a high.
-PTI
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