GOLF
Diksha off to solid start with 4-under 67 in Australia
Undeterred by the missed cut last week, Indian golfer Diksha Dagar, a two-time Ladies European Tour winner, shot a fine 4-under 67 to be placed tied fourth after the first round of the Ford Women’s NSW Open in Wollongong on Thursday.
Starting from the ninth, which is the first hole on the back nine of the Wollongong Golf Club, Diksha opened with a bogey, but then had seven birdies in the next 10 holes.
Her fortunes reversed as she dropped three shots in four holes — the third, fifth and the sixth — before picking up a last birdie on the seventh.
Her 67 put her tied fourth, as Spain’s Nuria Iturrioz and home favourite Kirsten Rudgeley became the 18 hole leaders as both opened with rounds of 65 (-6).
Diksha, who was runner-up in the season-opener in Morocco at Lalla Meryem Cup, had eight birdies but four bogeys, three towards the end of her round which saw her card only 67.
Among other Indians, Pranavi Urs shot even par 71 and was T-37, while rookie Avani Prashanth, who had a Top-15 finish last week, was T-54 with 1-over 72.
Pranavi had two birdies against two bogeys, while Avani had two birdies against three bogeys.
Four-time Ladies European Tour (LET) winner Iturrioz got the ball rolling in Australia, carding seven birdies in the morning to set the target. This was despite carding an early bogey at the par-4 hole.
As the wind picked up in the afternoon, Rudgeley made the element her friend as she got off to a hot start birdying the par-51st. Three more birdies followed at the 4th, 5th and 8th with the Aussie only dropping shots coming at the sixth as she went out in 32.
Battling the wind, a relishing Rudgeley carded three more birdies at the 11th, 13th and 14th to match Iturrioz’s tally before a steady finish secured her the 65 (-6).
One adrift from the pair is Anna Magnusson, who carded eight birdies on Thursday morning thanks to some great putting.
Seven players share the fourth spot on four-under par — India’s Diksha, Finland’s Ursula Wikstrom, Czech Republic’s Sara Kouskova, New Zealand’s Amelia Garvey, Denmark’s Cecilie Finne-Ipsen, Thailand’s Aunchisa Utama and Switzerland’s Kim Metraux.
This is a 72-hole stroke play event with a 132 player field.
– PTI
Shubhankar, Veer forced to wait in Singapore
Shubhankar Sharma and Veer Ahlawat will have to wait for another full day to their first shot in, as persistent inclement weather forced the cancellation of play on the first day of the Porsche Singapore Classic.
Sharma was to tee off with Louise Albertse of South Africa and Shinichi Mizuno of Japan from the tenth in the afternoon, as was Veer, who was to play with Spaniard Ivan Cantero and German Marcel Schneider.
Play will now commence only on Friday with tee times remaining as originally published. Round two will take place on Saturday.
EQUESTRIAN
Stasya, Jahnvi and Dsouza Qualify for The National Equestrian Championships
FILE PHOTO: Stasya Pandey in action.
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
FILE PHOTO: Stasya Pandey in action.
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
Mumbai-based Stasya Pandey, Jahnvi Raheja and Jaden Dsouza from Amateur Riders’ Club (ARC) qualify for the National Equestrian Championships (NEC) held at the Mahalaxmi Racecourse, Mumbai. The qualifiers were judged by the respected Col. Sunil Shivdas and Col. HR Sunil.
The tournament is being organized by the Equestrian Federation of India (EFI), with athletes competing in Show Jumping and Dressage category.
In Children 1 Show Jumping, Stasya astride ‘Cougar De Fees’ completed her round in 75 sec. In Junior Show Jumping riders who qualified further were Dsouza astride ‘Whispering Silver’ who completed her round in 74 sec and Jahnvi astride ‘‘Cougar De Fees’, in 84 sec.
-Team Sportstar
HOCKEY
P. K. Anil Kumar honoured to receive HI recognition
Tamil Nadu’s P.K. Anil Kumar, who was awarded the Hockey India’s Technical Official for the year 2024 in New Delhi recently, said he was honoured to receive it and that it was a recognition for officials who had put in long years of service for the sport.
Anil Kumar receiving the citation from Dilip Tirkey, president of Hockey India in the Hockey India’s awards function in New Delhi on March 15.
| Photo Credit:
SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Anil Kumar receiving the citation from Dilip Tirkey, president of Hockey India in the Hockey India’s awards function in New Delhi on March 15.
| Photo Credit:
SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Speaking to Sportstar in Chennai on Thursday, Kumar said, “It is a recognition for the people who have been working for long in the field of hockey. I have been working as an umpire, a Technical Official and then a Technical Director for 25 years. It’s a great feeling to receive the award from an illustrious group people including several Olympians and officials,” said the 52-year-old, a Physical Director of Agarwal Vidyalaya and Junior College, who received a cash prize of Rs. 2,50,000 and a citation.
Kumar has officiated in MCC-Murugappa Gold Cup, National sub-junior championships, South Zone junior championships and Senior National women’s championship, 2024 Goa National Games and the Hockey India League in Rourkela for the year 2024-25. Kumar was promoted as Technical Delegate by Hockey India in 2023.
– Team Sportstar
CARROM
World champion Khazima enters semifinals in nationals
World Cup champion, 17-year-old M Khazima pipped Kajal Kumari 21-17, 17-24, 24-20 in the women’s quarterfinals of the 52nd National carrom championship at the NDMC Indoor Stadium on Thursday.
Tuba Sehar, who beat former World Champion and multiple time national champion Rashmi Kumari in the pre quarterfinals (23-18, 13-25, 25-2), V Mithra and L Keerthana were the others to make the semifinals in the women’s section.
In the men’s event, the reigning World Cup champion K Srinivas was beaten by the former World Champion Prashant More, 22-11, 25-17 in the quarterfinals. Zaid Ahmad Farooquee, Sandeep Dive and Abhijit Tripankar were the others to make the semifinals.
World Cup champion M Khazima in action in the National carrom championship in Delhi.
| Photo Credit:
SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
World Cup champion M Khazima in action in the National carrom championship in Delhi.
| Photo Credit:
SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Earlier, in the team championships, Tamil Nadu won the men’s and women’s titles.
In the Institutional team championships, Jain Irrigation Systems Limited (JISL) finished on top in both the men’s and women’s events.
The results (quarterfinals):
Men: Prashant More bt K Srinivas 22-11, 25-17; Zaid Ahmed Farooquee bt Mohd. Arif 18-20, 25-9, 25-0; Sandeep Dive bt Gautam Bhol 25-17, 25-5; Abhijit tripankar bt Abdul Asif 25-20, 25-13.
Women: Tuba Sehar bt Kavita Somanchi 25-11, 12-25, 25-0; M Khazima bt Kajal Kumari 21-17, 17-24, 24-20; V Mithra bt Samruddhi ghadigaonkar 23-8, 22-8; L Keerthana bt Ambika Harith 22-11, 17-9.
Team championship: Men: Tamil Nadu, 2. Assam, 3. Vidarbha, 4. Maharashtra.
Women: 1. Tamil Nadu, 2. Maharashtra, 3. Chandigarh, 4. Bengal.
Institutional team championship: Men: 1. Jain Irrigation Systems
Limited (JISL), 2. RBI, 3. PSPB, 4. CCSCSB.
Women: 1. Jain Irrigation Systems LImited; 2. PSPB, 3. AAI, 4. LIC.
– Kamesh Srinivasan
TENNIS
Ramkumar Ramanathan reaches quarterfinal in Muricia
Ramkumar Ramanathan in partnership with Edas Butvilas of Lithuania beat Javier Cosano and Benjamin Lopez of Spain 6-4, 4-6, [10-8] in the doubles pre-quarterfinals of the $€91,250 Challenger tennis tournament in Murcia, Spain.
Results
€91,250 Challenger, Murcia, Spain
Doubles (pre-quarterfinals): Johannes Ingildsen (Den) & David Stevenson (GBr) bt Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan & Vijay Sundar Prashanth 6-3, 5-7, [10-7]; Anirudh Chandrasekar & David Hernandez (Esp) bt Inigo Cervantes & Sergio Gornes (Esp) 6-3, 2-6, [10-5]; Edas Butvilas (Ltu) & Ramkumar Ramanathan bt Javier Cosano & Benjamin Lopez (Esp) 6-4, 4-6, [10-8].
$60,000 ITF women, Luan, China
Doubles (quarterfinals): Priska Nugroho (Ina) & Ankita Raina bt Ya-Hsin Lee & Fang An Lin (Tpe) 2-6, 6-4, [10-3].
$15,000 ITF women, Monastir, Tunisia
Singles (first round): Maelle Leclercq (Fra) bt Tanisha Kashyap 7-6(4), 6-3.
– Kamesh Srinivasan
TENNIS
Gandharv Kothapalli enters semifinal
Gandharv Kothapalli beat fourth seed Aashravya Mehra 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 in the boys quarterfinals of the ITF junior tennis tournament at the Shanti Academy on Thursday.
In the semifinals, Gandharv will challenge the top seed and the champion of the last tournament Sehaj Singh Pawar.
The other semifinal will be between Shanker Heisnam and Praneel Sharma.
In the girls section, Jaya Kapoor, Anandita Upadhyay, Diya Chaudhary and Diya Ramesh made the semifinals.
The results (quarterfinals):
Under-18 boys: Sehaj Singh Pawar bt Aditya Mor 6-0, 6-4; Gandharv Kothapalli bt Aashravya Mehra 6-3, 3-6, 6-4; Shanker Heisnam bt Vishal Vasudev 6-0, 6-4; Praneel Sharma bt Om Patel 6-3, 6-2.
Under-18 girls: Jaya Kapoor bt Parthsarthi Mundhe 6-2, 6-4; Anandita Upadhyay bt Prachil Malik 7-5, 6-7(4), 6-0; Diya Chaudhary bt Pallavi Patel 6-1, 6-3; Diya Ramesh bt Aahan 6-2, 6-4.
– Kamesh Srinivasan
TENNIS
Siddharth Vishwakarma beats Grigoriy Lomakin
Seventh seed Siddharth Vishwakarma bounced back from a slow start to beat Grigoriy Lomakin of Kazakhstan 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the pre-quarterfinals of the $15,000 ITF men’s tennis tournament at the Gujarat University Tennis Academy on Thursday.
In the quarterfinals, Siddharth will play fourth seed Aryan Shah who sailed past Ajay Malik for the loss of four games.
Nitin Kumar Sinha, Prajwal Dev and Sidharth Rawat were the other Indian players to make the quarterfinals.
The results:
Singles (pre-quarterfinals): Jay Clarke (GBR) bt Ishaque Eqbal 6-3, 6-1; Nitin Kumar sinha bt Daniil Sarksian (Arm) 6-1, 7-6(5); Aryan Shah bt Ajay Malik 6-2, 6-2; Siddharth Vishwakarma bt Grigoriy Lomakin (Kaz) 4-6, 6-3, 6-2; Prajwal dev bt Kabir Hans 6-0, 6-2; Woobin shin (Kor) bt Vishnu Vardhan 6-3, 6-4; Sidharth Rawat bt Bharath Kumaran 6-3, 6-3; Alexandr Binda (Ita) bt Jiri Cizek (Cze) 6-2, 7-5.
Doubles (quarterfinals): Minjong Park & Woobin Shin (Kor) bt Lohithaksha Bathrinath & Abhinav Sanjeev Shanmugam 6-2, 6-3; Maan Kesharwani & Rishi Reddy bt Sai Karteek Reddy & Vishnu Vardhan 3-6, 7-5, [10-2]; Ishaque Eqbal & faisal Qamar bt Digvijay Pratap Singh & Jagmeet Singh 7-5, 6-4; Prajwal Dev & Nitin Kumar Sinha bt Aryan Shah & Dharmil Shah 6-1, 6-2.
– Kamesh Srinivasan
BASKETBALL
Rajasthan records narrow win over Telangana
Hariram contributed 24 points as Rajasthan showed Telangana the exit door by recording a narrow 98-94 win in a men’s Group E match of the National under-23 basketball championships at the Sarusajai Stadium, Guwahati, on Thursday.
Rajasthan will meet Andhra Pradesh in the pre-quarterfinals.
Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Assam, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Bihar, Haryana, Delhi, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Punjab and Nagaland also made it to the last-16 stage.
In the women’s section, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Maharashtra and the winner of Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh will qualify for quarterfinals as toppers of groups A, B, C and D respectively. Other four will come through the pre-quarterfinals.
Important results:
Men: Group A: Madhya Pradesh 86 bt Delhi 84; Group B: Punjab 78 bt Gujarat 15; Group C: Andhra Pradesh 90 bt Assam 57; Group D: Chandigarh 85 bt Meghalaya 48; Group E: Tamil Nadu 82 bt Odisha 53; Rajasthan 98 bt Telangana 94; Group F: Kerala 54 bt Bihar 27; Group G: Uttarakhand 84 bt Manipur 74.
Women: Group A: Maharashtra 79 bt Meghalaya 25; Group B: Kerala 77 bt Gujarat 28; Group C: Madhya Pradesh 65 bt West Bengal 36; Tamil Nadu 45 bt Telangana 20; Group D: Haryana 75 bt Assam 69; Group E: Punjab 86 bt Bihar 8; Group F: Uttar Pradesh 68 bt Uttarakhand 20; Andhra Pradesh 62 bt Jharkhand 51.
-YB Sarangi
GOLF
Angad Cheema, Udayan Mane in joint-lead in Delhi Challenge
Angad Cheema and Udayan Mane led with three others with a seven-under 65 in the opening round of the $300,000 Delhi Challenge golf tournament at the Classic Golf and Country Club on Thursday.
Jamie Rutherford of England, Quim Vidal of Spain and Jasper Sandborg of Sweden were the others in joint lead.
Angad had eight birdies and a bogey, while Udayan had a bogey-free round. Honey Baisoya shot a five-under 67 to be joint eighth with seven others.
“This golf course is easy on the eye for the tee shots and I drove it really well today,” said Olympian Udayan Mane.
The leading scores:
1T. Angad Cheema, Udayan Mane, Jamie Rutherford (Eng), Quim Vidal (Esp), Jasper Sandborg (Swe) 65; 6T. Oihan Guillamoundeguy (Fra), Davis Bryant (USA) 66; 8T. Honey Baisoya, Cregorio de Leo (Ita), Stepan Danek (Cze), Aron Zemmer (Ita), Robin Sciot-Siergrist (Fra), Albert Boneta (Esp), Tiger Christensen (Ger), Danny List (Aus) 67.
-Kamesh Srinivasan
KABADDI
Yuva All Stars Championship: Jaipur Pink Cubs, Warriorz K.C., Yuva Yoddhas bag victories
Yuva Yoddhas, Warriorz K.C., and Jaipur Pink Cubs registered victories on Day 15 of the Yuva All Stars Championship 2025. UP Falcons and Palani Tuskers played out a tie at the Vandana Kataria Indoor Stadium.
In the first match, the Yuva Yoddhas defeated the Chandigarh Chargers 39-35. In the first half, the Yoddhas inflicted an All-out and a Super Raid to take the lead. Meanwhile, the Chargers also inflicted an All-out to end the first half with a 20-17 score. The Uttar Pradesh-based club mounted a comeback and levelled the scores at 25-25.
They inflicted an All Out on the Chargers in the second half to register a four-point victory. Chetan Sahu and Shivam Singh scored 10 points each. The Yoddhas have moved to the top of the Pool B with 39 points, while the Chargers are fourth with 30 points.
Warriorz K.C. thrashed Vasco Vipers 51-27 to occupy the second position in Pool A with 41 points.
-Team Sportstar