GOLF
Diksha finishes strongly in final round as debutant Woad wins Scottish Open
India’s Diksha Dagar finished with a strong back nine in the final round of the Women’s Scottish Open to give herself a boost for her next event, the AIG Women’s Open, a Major.
Diksha, who made the cut on the line, added a second straight 71 to finish with rounds of 69-76-71-71 for a total of 1-under and a tied 39th position.
Diksha, who started on the 10th, had early setbacks with a bogey and a double bogey on the 12th and 13th but began her recovery with a birdie on the 18h.
On the second Diksha birdied the third and then had three birdies in a row from the fifth to the seventh. But she dropped a shot on the eighth.
The other two Indian players, Pranavi Urs and Tvesa Malik, missed the cut earlier in the week.
– PTI
Atwal finishes T24 at Senior Open
Arjun Atwal sunk in six birdies but also gave away five bogeys, two of them in the last five holes, for a final round of 1-under 69 to finish tied-24th alongside defending champion KJ Choi at the ISPS HANDA Senior Open at Sunningdale.
Atwal with cards 67-72-69-71 totalled 3-under for the week and was the top Indian, as Jeev Milkha Singh (69) was T-56 and Jyoti Randhawa (73) T-61.
It is the first time three Indians made the cut a Major, men or women or Seniors.
– PTI
MOTORSPORT
Harith Noah finishes fifth at Baja Aragon 2025 in the FIM Bajas World Cup
India’s Harith Noah, representing the Sherco TVS Rally Factory team, delivered a gritty and determined performance to finish fifth overall in the 450cc category of the FIM Bajas World Cup at Baja Aragón 2025.
Over the course of three challenging stages across the Spanish desert terrain, Harith clocked a total time of 7:16:32.0, placing him among the elite finishers in a field stacked with top international competitors.
“It feels great to finish strong at Baja Aragon. This rally is never easy, it’s fast, unpredictable, and physically tough. There was a lot of dust, but I stayed calm and focused on having a clean race. After everything earlier this year, I just wanted to ride clean, stay focused, and enjoy the race. I’m happy with how I felt on the bike, and this result gives me confidence heading into the next part of the season,” Harith said.
Harith’s finish came as part of a competitive top five, which included fellow Sherco TVS rider and rally veteran Lorenzo Santolino Sanchez of Spain, who clinched the overall victory with a time of 6:38:59.0. Lorenzo was followed by Neels Theric of France and Javi Vega Puerta of Spain. Konrad Dabrowski of Poland, riding for Duust Rally Team, finished fourth, just ahead of Harith in fifth.
– Team Sportstar
ATHLETICS
Hyderabad Marathon to be held in August
The fourteenth edition of the NMDC Hyderabad Marathon will be organised on August 23 and 24 with a total prize money of ₹45 lakh.
The country’s second-largest city marathon has drawn a record 28,000 registrations, a 10% increase from last year. The event, which now holds the World Athletics ‘Basic’ label, is said to feature a slew of international stars as well.
The marathon will take a picturesque path, with Hussainsagar Lake, Durgam Cheruvu Cable Bridge and the biodiversity park all part of the route.
Race Director Rajesh Vetcha stated that the event is also working towards becoming carbon-neutral in the near future.
“One of the areas we have stressed this year is sustainability. We have started adopting measures towards being environment-friendly. From simple things like giving runners the option of choosing the event t-shirt to helping with both recycling and upcycling, this is a key focus area,” he said.
Event schedule:
Expo: August 22 and 23 at HITEX
5K Fun Run: August 23, 7 a.m. at HITEX grounds
Full and Half Marathon: August 24, 4:30 a.m. and 5:30 a.m., respectively, from Necklace Road
10K Run: August 24, 7 a.m. from HITEX
Finish point: Gachibowli Stadium
-Anirudh Velamuri
TENNIS
Prarthana Thombare wins title with Arianne Hartono
Second seeded pair of Prarthana Thombare in partnership with Arianne Hartono beat Ayana Akli and Victoria Osuigwe 6-3, 6-3 in the doubles final of the $100,000 ITF women’s tennis tournament in Evansville, USA.
It was the 30th doubles title in the professional circuit for the 31-year-old Prarthana, and the third in a row with Arianne.
The results:
$100,000 ITF women, Evansville, USA
Doubles (final): Arianne Hartono (Ned) & Prarthana Thombare bt Ayana Akli & Victoria Osuigwe (USA) 6-3, 6-3.
– Kamesh Srinivasan
Svarmanyu begins AITA ranking tournament with win
Svarmanyu Singh beat sixth seed Eklavya Singh 6-1, 6-2 in the men’s first round of the HPCL Mittal Rs.200,000 AITA ranking tennis tournament at the CLTA Complex on Monday.
The results (first round):
Men: Jatin Nain bt Neeraj Yashpaul 7-5, 3-2 (retired); Svarmanyu Singh bt Eklavya Singh 6-1, 6-2; Lokesh Pun bt Fardin Mohammad 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-0.
Women: Mahika bt Aarushi Raval 6-2, 6-2; Riya Sachdeva bt Divya Sharma 6-3, 6-2.
– Kamesh Srinivasan
CHESS
Indian GM P. Iniyan wins Dole Open International Chess title
Indian Grandmaster P Iniyan clinched the 2nd Dole Open International Chess title defeating Poland’s Jan Malek in the tie-breaker after both the players were deadlocked at the top with 7.5 points apiece in the French city of Aix-en-Provence.
Iniyan, 22, who hails from Erode in Tamil Nadu, remained undefeated in the tournament, scoring six wins, including against International Masters from Uzbekistan, Madagascar, Turkey, France and Poland, besides three draws.
He scored 7.5 points in nine games and was tied for first place with GM Malek, in a tournament that had 276 participants, including 39GMs, from 43 countries.
In fact, Iniyan won the last four games in a row, especially the crucial penultimate and final games.
The first game of the tie-break against the Polish GM ended in a draw. In the second game, Iniyan, playing with black pieces, won to take his tally to 1.5-0.5 and clinch the title.
GM Pavel Eljanov of Ukraine, who was leading the tournament until the last game which he lost, finished third on the podium with seven points.
– PTI