FOOTBALL
India squad for SAFF U-17 Championship named
Head coach Bibiano Fernandes on Thursday named a 23-member India squad for the SAFF U-17 Championship which kicks off in Colombo on September 5.
India begins its campaign against Bhutan on the opening day of the tournament. The final is slated for September 16.
“The boys have worked so hard over the months. They are excited. They are hitting the ground with high levels of intensity and motivation,” said Bibiano.
“We believe this batch has what it takes to outdo what the previous two batches achieved. Our short-term aim is to win the SAFF U17 Championship and qualify for the AFC U17 Championships as group leaders,” the coach stated.
Squad:
GOALKEEPERS: Sahil, Julfikar Gazi, Tajamul Islam.
DEFENDERS: Ricky Meetei, Mukul Panwar, Manjot Singh Dhami, Balkaran Singh, Suraj Kumar Singh, Chandan Yadav.
MIDFIELDERS: Gurnaj Singh Grewal, Korou Singh, Lalpekhlua, Vanlalpeka Guite, Boby Singh, Malemngamba Singh Thokchom, Huzafah Ahmam Dar, Ngarin Shaiza, Danny Meitei, Lalhmingchhuanga Fanai, Faizan Wahid, Obed Mangminhao Haokip.
FORWARDS: Thanglalsoun Gangte, Aman.
Fixtures for India’s matches:
September 5: Bhutan vs India (IST 3.30pm).
September 9: India vs Nepal (IST 3.30pm).
September 12: Semi-finals (IST 3.30pm and 8pm).
September 14: Final (IST 7pm).
TENNIS
Yuki-Saketh duo reaches quarterfinals of Challenger event in Spain
Yuki Bhambri and Saketh Myneni beat Daniil Glinka and Karl Kiur Saar 6-4, 6-2 in the doubles pre-quarterfinals of the €45,730 Challenger tennis tournament in Manacor, Spain.
In the $60,000 ITF women’s event in Switzerland, Prarthana Thombare and Emily Appleton made the doubles semifinals by beating Berta Bonardi and Sowjanya Bavisetti 6-4, 7-5.
In the $15,000 ITF women’s event in Tunisia, Jennifer Luikham reached the quarterfinals with 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 victory over Lara Pfeifer of Italy.
In a similar event in Cairo, qualifier Sanjana Sirimalla bowed out in the pre-quarterfinals after knocking out top seed Gao Xinyu of China 6-2, 4-6, 6-1 in the first round.
RESULTS
€45,730 Challenger, Manacor, Spain
€45,730 Challenger, Toulouse, France
$37,520 Challenger, Nonthaburi, Thailand
$25,000 ITF men, Setubal, Portugal
$15,000 ITF men, Monastir, Tunisia
$15,000 ITF men, Cairo, Egypt
$60,000 ITF women, Collonge-Bellerive, Switzerland
$25,000 ITF women, Almaty, Kazakhstan
$25,000 ITF women, Vienna, Austria
$15,000 ITF women, Monastir, Tunisia
$15,000 ITF women, Cairo, Egypt
- Kamesh Srinivasan
GOLF
Hero WPGT, 11th leg: Hitaashee edges one shot ahead of Sneha after second round
Hitaashee Bakshi, a two-time winner this season, landed a late eagle on the 14th hole and carded 4-under 68 to grab a one-shot lead over first-round leader Sneha Singh in the 11th Leg of Hero Women's Pro Golf Tour in Hyderabad.
Local star Sneha Singh, looking for her first win as a pro, was hit by a double bogey on the Par-5 seventh, as she carded 2-under 70 and dropped to second place.
Hitaashee (69-68) is now seven-under 137 and Sneha (68-70) trailed her by one shot at the scenic Boulder Hills Golf and Country Club.
Hitaashee birdied first, sixth and 11th and then eagled the 14th to go five-under for the day. A dropped shot on 16th pulled her back by one but she is still one clear of the field.
Sneha had a birdie on third and then had a bogey on fourth to become even par. A double bogey on seventh was followed by a birdie on ninth and she turned in one-over 37. Birdies on 11th, 14th and 17th helped her recover lost ground and card 70 to be placed second.
Pranavi Urs (70-71) with four birdies and three bogeys in a round of 71 lurked behind at 3-under 141 but the four-time winner this season is capable of a low score on the final day to turn the tables on the leading duo.
Pranavi, seeking a fifth title of the season, was tied third alongside Nayanika Sanga (69-72). Nayanika, who was cruising with a fine 3-under for the front nine, stumbled with three bogeys in a matter of five holes on the back nine. She did recover slightly with a birdie on 17th.
The next three spots were occupied by amateurs Keerthana R Nair (70-72), Heena Kang (71-72) and Vidhatri Urs (72-72), who were fifth, sixth and seventh respectively.
Khushi Khanijau (77-68) made a huge nine-shot improvement from the first to the second round, and was tied eighth with Seher Atwal (70-75). Shweta Mansingh (69-78) was 10th.
The cut fell at 9-over 153 and 19 players will play the third and final round.
- PTI
Vani stages fine rally in Finland, modest start by Tvesa
India's Vani Kapoor rallied superbly as she came back from a quadruple bogey and rallied to one-under par with two holes to be placed tied sixth in the first round of the Alands 100 Ladies Open golf tournament in Alands, Finland.
Vani, who has been showing signs of getting back her old form and even had a Top-3 finish recently on the Ladies European Tour, started with a birdie on the ninth, which is the beginning of the back nine at the Alands Golf Club.
She then dropped a quadruple bogey on her fifth hole, the Par-4 13th hole.
She did not cave, but instead shrugged off the disappointment and began her fightback.
Vani birdied 14th but dropped a shot on the 16th. She came back once again with birdies on 17th, 18th and the second hole to get back to even par. Two pars followed and then came another birdie on Par-4 fifth and she was in red colours and had risen to T-6. She parred the sixth and has two holes left, having started on the ninth.
Among other Indians Amandeep Drall, who is onee-over through 12 holes was T-21 and Ridhima Dilawari had finished at two-over 74 to be T-32.
Among others, Tvesa Malik had finished at three-over and was T-48, while Diksha Dagar was three-over through 10 holes and Neha Tripathi had a rough day at 10-over through 14 holes.
Austrian Emma Spitz was the clubhouse leader with four-under for the first round with six birdies and an eagle and four bogeys.
Sofie Bringer of Sweden was also four-under but had seven more holes to lay and Ursula WIkstrom was three-under through nine.
- PTI
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