TENNIS
Six Indians qualify for main draw of ITF Mysuru Open 2023
Six Indian players qualified for the main draw of the ITF Mysuru Open 2023 after producing power-packed performances in the qualifying rounds at the Mysuru Tennis Club here on Monday.
The top seed of the qualifiers Siddharth Vishwakarma put up a dominating display to secure a 6-1, 6-2 victory against Deepak Anantharamu. Similar to Vishwakarma, Vishnu Vardhan also had an easy day at the office as he prevailed in two sets against Yash Chaurasia by a 6-1, 6-1 scoreline.
On the other hand, Faisal Qamar and Fardeen Quamar had to grind hard to secure their berths in the main draw. While Faisal beat Lakshit Sood by 7-6 (3), 7-6 (1), Fardeen ousted Pruchya Isaro of Thailand with a 3-6, 7-6 (3) [10-5] tie-breaker win.
Ishaque Eqbal and Ranjeet Virali-Murugesan were the other two Indians that advanced to the main draw after their respective opponents retired from the match due to injuries.
The USD 25,000 event is being hosted by the Karnataka Lawn Tennis Association (KSLTA).
On Tuesday, eight Indians including Suraj Prabodh, Rishi Reddy, Madhwin Kamath, Sidharth Rawat, Karan Singh and Sandesh Kurale along with the qualifying winners Eqbal and Faisal will kick off the country’s campaign in the singles main draw of the tournament.
Alongside Indians, Dali Blanch of the USA and Grigoriy Lomakin of Kazakhstan will also be in action. Meanwhile, Evgeny Donskoy withdrew from the tournament due to an injury.
Earlier in the day, Woobin Shin of South Korea and Mitsuki Wei Kang Leong of Malaysia also secured their places in the main draw after defeating Bharat Nishok Kumaran (6-2, 6-3) and Abhinav Sanjeev Shanmugam (6-4, 4-6 [10-7]) respectively.
The ongoing tournament marks the return of ITF tennis to Mysuru after 8 years and will take place at the Mysuru Tennis Club till April 2.
-Team Sportstar
Asia Oceania World juniors: India loses 3-0 against Chinese Taipei
The Indian boys were beaten 3-0 by Chinese Taipei in the opening league match of the Asia-Oceania World Junior under-14 boys tennis tournament in Kuching, Malaysia, on Monday.
The fifth seeded India has been clubbed with fourth seed Hong Kong and New Zealand, apart from Taipei, in group-C. The top two teams from each of four groups will reach the quarterfinals after the league stage.
-Team Sportstar
FENCING
Services bag gold in men’s foil team; Bhupen emerges epee champion
The Services team emerged winners in the men’s foil team category defeating Manipur in the final of the 33rd Senior National Fencing Championship at the Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex here on Monday.
Services also dominated the men’s individual epee category as two of their players, Bhupen Singh Lisham and Sunil Kumar, clinched gold and silver respectively.
In a one-sided affair, the Services foil team, comprising Arjun, Bibish Kathiresan, Ismile Mohammed Khan and Bicky Thokchom, defeated Manipur 45-32.
The Manipur team had Abhinash Kangabam, Rajiv Khoisanam, Tuphan Nandeibam and Hemansh Sanasam in their ranks.
Services had defeated Maharashtra 45-29 in the semi-final, while Manipur prevailed over Chhattisgarh 45-39 in the other last-four clash.
Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh were both awarded bronze medals.
In the senior men’s epee category, 22-year-old Bhupen bagged gold defeating Sunil Kumar 15-11.
Bhupen had stormed into the final after outplaying RS Sherjin of Chhattisgarh in the first semi-final 15-10, while Sunil got the better of Madhya Pradesh’s Shakar Pandey 15-10.
-PTI
CHESS
Bibisara leads after beating Vaishali
R. Vaishali suffered a 44-move loss to Kazakhstan’s Bibisara Assaubayeva in the only decisive contest of the second round of the FIDE Women’s Grand Prix chess on Monday.
The three other boards ending the honours even and two players getting byes, Bibisara (1.5 points) enjoyed a half-point lead.
-RAKESH RAO
FOOTBALL
Second Div. I-League: Golden Threads holds Bengaluru United
Substitute E.S. Sajeesh’s 83rd-minute goal helped Golden Threads force Bengaluru United to a 1-1 draw in a Group ‘C’ match of the Second Division I-League football at the Panampilly Nagar ground on Monday.
Striker Irfan Yadwad had given Bengaluru United the lead late in the first half.
Golden Threads’ defender P.K. Faseen (right, No. 6) attempts to stop FC Bengaluru United’s forward Vinil Poojary (No. 9) in the Second Division I-League match in Kochi on Monday.
| Photo Credit: Special arrangement
The draw at home helped the Kochi-based Golden Threads retain its top spot in the group with eight points from two wins and two draws, while Bengaluru United is in the third rung with three points.
The result: Golden Threads 1 (E.S. Sajeesh 83) drew with FC Bengaluru United 1 (Irfan Yadwad 45+1).
-Stan Rayan
SHOOTING
Raiza Dhillon best Indian on show on day one
Skeet shooter Raiza Dhillon shot a 70 to emerge as the best Indian on show on day one of the ISSF Shotgun World Cup in Larnaca, Cyprus on Monday.
Raiza, competing in the women’s section, was in 14th spot after three rounds of qualification and will be aiming to finish among the top-eight with 50 targets coming up on Tuesday, before the final rounds begin on the same day.
Parinaz Dhailwal shot 64 to lie in 44th spot, while Areeba Khan was further down in 58th, having shot a 59.
The leading score of the day was 72, shot by six competitors, with Victoria Larsson of Sweden perching on the top of the leaderboard.
In men’s skeet, India’s Angad Vir Singh Bajwa also shot 70 but found himself in the 47th spot, with teammates Abhay Singh Sekhon in 62nd position with 69 and Man Singh in 81st with 67, respectively.
-PTI
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