SHOOTING
Indians clean-sweep women's 25m pistol at Suhl Junior World Cup
Rhythm Sangwan came up with a dominant fare to clinch the 25-metre sports pistol gold, and had compatriots Manu Bhaker and Naamya Kapoor for company on the podium as India swept the medals in the Junior World Cup in Suhl, Germany, on Sunday.
Rhythm, who had shot 588 in qualification, beat Manu 31-26 for the gold medal. Naamya came third with 16 hits. The three Indian shooters had placed top three in qualification, and came up with a strong performance in the medal round after successfully negotiating the second stage of qualification.
Shivam Dabas won a silver in the 50-metre rifle 3-position event, as he was beaten 17-15 by Danilo Dennis Sollazzo of Italy. Qualification topper Nathan Bally (585) of France beat Pankaj Mukheja (584) by 0.1 point for the bronze.
India swept all the three medals in the 25-metre sports pistol for junior men, through Shiva Narwal, Rajkanwar Singh Sandhu and Sameer, in the non-Olympic event that decides the medals on qualification scores.
India was on top of the medals table with nine gold, 10 silver and a bronze.
-Kamesh Srinivasan
GOLF
Ajeetesh Sandhu finishes 17th in Diamond Cup
Indian golfer Ajeetesh Sandhu was unable to make the charge on the final day and ended with an even par 70 to finish 17th in the Asia-Pacific Open Golf Championship Diamond Cup on Sunday.
Ajeetesh, who in 2017 won a Japan Challenge Tour event, started bogey-bogey and ended with a bogey. In between, he had three birdies. At the end of the week, he was 2-under 278.
Two-time Japan Tour Order of Merit champion Shugo Imahira continued his remarkable record of winning at least one title in every season since 2017.
The 29-year-old, who began the day in tied fifth and one shot off the pace, shot a two-under-par 68 at the Oarai Golf Club to finish at eight-under-par 272 to win by just one shot from a group of four players tied for second that included current money leader Yuto Katsuragawa.
Imahira grabbed the lead at 15th from Katsuragawa, who at one stage appeared to be heading towards a second victory of the season before he conceded a bogey on the same hole.
Imahira started well with two birdies at the fourth and sixth, but a dropped shot at the par-three eighth halted his good run.
But it did little to dampen his spirit as he made six consecutive pars before scoring his third birdie of the day and pounced on Katsuragawa's misfortune.
The victory secured him a third appearance in The Open at St Andrews this July.
-PTI
Kartik Sharma logs first Top-5 outside India, Dharma and Mane tied 13th
Kartik Sharma logged his first career Top-5 outside India as he added a 2-under 69 in the third and final round of the USD 75,000 Blue Canyon Classic on the Asian Development Tour (ADT).
Sharma, a southpaw, totalled 11-under 202 with rounds of 66-67-69.
Among other Indians, M Dharma (66-71-67) and the first round leader Udayan Mane (63-71-70) finished T-13. It was a disappointment for Mane, who shot 63 on the first day but then fell on the leaderboard the next two days.
Yashas Chandra (68-71-66) was T-19 at 8-under and Yuvraj Sandhu (70-68-71) was T-42 at 4-under.
China's Chen Guxin produced a stunning back-nine charge with seven birdies in his last eight holes to snatch the Blue Canyon Classic from overnight leader Denwit Boriboonsub.
An eventual eight-under 63 helped Guxin, who started the final round two shots back and in the third from last group, set the clubhouse target at -16. That proved a stroke better than what Boriboonsub got to with a solid 66.
He saw an eight-foot birdie attempt on the 18th hole burn the cup but did not fall and he settled for the second place.
It was Guxin's maiden Asian Development Tour (ADT) and MENA Tour victory and a third pro win after a purple patch last June saw him win twice on the China Tour, at the Lanhi Classic and Xian Classic. It was also his first win outside China.
-PTI
ATHLETICS
Priya Mohan fifth in France
Junior international Priya H. Mohan opened her international season with a fifth place, with 53.18s, in the women’s 400m at the Montgeron-Essonne international athletics meet at Montgeron, France, on Sunday.
Britain’s Nicole Yeargin won the gold with 51.79s at the meet which was a World Athletics Continental Tour event.
-Stan Rayan
Comments
SHARE