Indian sports wrap, September 19: India wins FIBA U-16 Women’s Asia Cup Division B to gain promotion

BASKETBALL

India U-16 women’s team wins after eight years

The Indian basketball team clinched the FIBA U-16 Women’s Asia Cup Division B title after an unbeaten tournament in Malaysia.

This is the side’s first title since 2017 when it had won the Division B.

In the 2025 final, India beat Iran 67-66.

With this championship, India has also earned promotion to Division A.

– Team Sportstar

CYCLING

Inaugural Asian Cycling Games to take place in 2031

In a historic move, the Asian Cycling Confederation (ACC) Management Committee HAS officially approved the organisation of the first-ever Asian Cycling Games in 2031, bringing together five disciplines — Track, Road, Mountain Bike, BMX Racing and BMX Freestyle — all in one host city marking a historic milestone for the development of cycling in the continent.

The Management Committee also confirmed the awarding of host nations for the 2028 and 2029 Asian Continental Championships, covering four core disciplines.

– Team Sportstar

SHOOTING

Manini, Rahi and Kiran shine at National Shooting Selection Trials

Manini Kaushik beat Ayushi Podder by 0.8 points to top the women’s rifle 3-position event in the National Shooting Selection Trials at the Madhya Pradesh Academy on Friday.

Aakriti Dahiya rose to the third place ahead of Shriyanka Sadangi, Mehuli Ghosh and Surabhi Bharadwaj. Qualification topper Anjum Moudgil placed seventh, while Ramita Jindal finished eighth.

In women’s sports pistol, multiple World Cup champion Rahi Sarnobat was too strong in the final as she beat Vibhuti Bhatia 38-33. Both had scored 578 in the qualification round, the topper in which, Simranpreet Kaur Brar, finished fourth behind Kavita Dhoundiyal.

Riya Singh, Arshdeep Kaur, Ariha Aggarwal and Anuja Verma were the others to make the final.

In the men’s air rifle, Kiran Jadhav beat Dhanush Srikanth by 1.1 points to top the final. Qualification topper Vishal Singh (634.7) was pushed to fourth place by Vivek Sharma. Bathula Mahesh Babu, Arshdeep Singh, Sri Karthik Sabari Raj and Sandeep Singh were the others to make the final.

-Kamesh Srinivasan

FOOTBALL

Uttarakhand, Army Public School, and West Bengal impress on Day 4 of Subroto Cup Junior Boys (U-17)

The Junior Boys (U-17) category of the 64th Subroto Cup International Football Tournament rolled into its fourth day with a mix of high-scoring wins, tight encounters, and standout performances.

– Team Sportstar

GOLF

Gaganjeet Bhullar crowned Indian Golf Premier League champion

Gaganjeet Bhullar asserted his undisputed class as he shot a six-under 64 on the third and final round to run away with the champion’s cheque of ₹22.5 lakh in the second IGPL golf tournament at the Jaypee Greens Golf Resort on Friday.

“Winning is always pleasing,” said Bhullar, who was champion last week in Chandigarh in the inaugural event. 
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

Starting the day five shots behind the overnight leader, Kartik Singh, Bhullar played close to his best to reach 9-under before the last hole, virtually assured of the title. He had an anticlimactic finish as he three-putted on the 18th, yet emerged a champion by two shots.

“Winning is always pleasing,” said Bhullar, who was champion last week in Chandigarh in the inaugural event.

“It did go well, but for the last hole”, he said, even as he expressed his admiration for the bunch of youngsters playing strong.

Pukhraj Singh Gill rose to second place with a six-under 208, two shots ahead of 16-year-old Kartik Singh. The two won ₹15 lakh and ₹10.5 lakh respectively.

Amandeep Drall was the best among the women, as she finished tied 11th with I Aalaap, Aryan Anand and Saarthak Chhibber, with one-over 213. They all earned about ₹2.5 lakh each from the overall prize purse of ₹1.5 crore.

Except for the first day when the par was 72, the second and third days were played with par 70.

-Kamesh Srinivasan

N Thangaraja wins Chennai Open

Sri Lankan N Thangaraja carded a one-over 73 on the final day to claim a one-shot win at the Rs. 1 crore Chennai Open.

Thangaraja (69-66-63-73), the overnight leader, came through by one stroke on a high-scoring last day as he totalled 17-under 271 for the week.

It was Thangaraja’s sixth PGTI win and second victory of the season.

The 44-year-old Colombo resident thus collected the winning prize of Rs. 15 lakh that lifted him from 12th to sixth position in the 2025 PGTI Order of Merit.

The trio of Noida’s Amardeep Malik (68-71-67-66), who closed the day with an eagle, Delhi’s Shaurya Bhattacharya (67-65-69-71) and Gurugram’s Manu Gandas (66-68-65-73), finished joint runners-up at a total of 16-under 272.

Honey Baisoya (72) came in fifth at 14-under 274.

– PTI

HOCKEY

Punjab hockey league: SAI consolidates position at top after beating Roundglass 6-4

Sports Authority of India (SAI) Centre of Excellence, Sonipat, further consolidated its position at the top of the table as it beat Roundglass Academy 6-4 after trailing by two goals in the first quarter in the Punjab hockey league at the Surjit Singh Stadium on Friday.

Gurwinder Singh scored three goals for Roundglass, but his efforts proved inadequate, as SAI controlled the match through two goals each from Sunil and Navraj Singh.

The SAI team has 30 points from 11 matches, while Roundglass has 26. Naval Tata Academy stayed in the third place with 20 points following a 4-0 victory over Ghumanhera Risers, Delhi.

-Kamesh Srinivasan

TENNIS

Columbus Challenger: Reddy-Matsuda duo wins quarterfinal clash

Sai Karteek Reddy, in partnership with Ryuki Matsuda of Japan, beat Nicolas Mejia and Abdullah Shelbayh 6-4, 6-3 in the doubles quarterfinals of the $100,000 Challenger tennis tournament in Columbus, USA.

-Kamesh Srinivasan

Published on Sep 19, 2025