Indian sports wrap, June 23: Indian boxers shine in Seychelles

SWIMMING

Olympian Dhinidhi Desinghu wins 200m women’s freestyle title in National aquatics championships

Teenage Olympian Dhinidhi Desinghu and her Karnataka state-mate Shoan Ganguly secured women’s 200m freestyle and men’s 200m medley crowns respectively with ‘India best’ times in the National aquatics championships at the Kalinga Stadium Aquatic Centre here on Monday.

Dhinidhi, who had a disappointing outing on Sunday, fought back to better her two-year-old meet record by clocking 2:02.97. The World championships ‘B’ qualification mark is 2:02.37.

The 15-year-old surged ahead after the first 50m to establish a clear lead and win comfortably. “I felt a little nervous. Am happy I did well in my main event,” said Dhinidhi.

Ganguly, who had timed a below-par 2:09 in the state meet a month ago, trained hard under his father-cum-coach Surajit Ganguly’s guidance to record 2:04.34. “I targeted ‘India best’ time and am thrilled to achieve that,” said Ganguly.

M.S. Yadesh Babu achieved his personal best of 28.35 for the men’s 50m breaststroke title. “This is a result of my consistent training,” said Yadesh, on his maiden National title.

In 4x100m mixed freestyle relay, Karnataka – comprising Rujula S., Latisha Mandaana, Akash Mani, Tanish George Mathew – took the yellow metal with a new meet record of 3:41.18. Tamil Nadu claimed the silver after Maharashtra, which finished second, was disqualified.

Tamil Nadu, consisting of Pramiti Gnanasekaran, Yadesh, B.Benedicton Rohit, Deeksha Sivakumar, won the top honour in 4x100m mixed medley relay with a meet record.

– Y.B. Sarangi

45th VK Pahuja annual swimming bulletin features interview of first paralympic gold medallist Murlikant Petkar

The 45th edition of the VK Pahuja annual swimming bulletin was released at the India International Centre in New Delhi on Monday.

VK Pahuja, the doyen of aquatic statistics had started the compilation and his daughter Dr. Meenakshi Pahuja, Associate Professor at Lady Shri Ram College and a renowned swimmer, has been meticulously sustaining the good work every summer. The latest edition spans 460 pages of records and interesting articles, a ready reckoner for the swimming fraternity at all levels.

The first copy was presented to swimming coach and former Administrator of Sports Authority of India, KV Sharma. Many coaches and swimmers were felicitated on the occasion.

Apart from local, national and international records, and results, the bulletin has an interview of the first paralympic gold medallist swimmer, Murlikant Petkar.

Dr. Meenakshi has been supported by her sister Dr. Supriya Pahuja and brother Priyank Pahuja in bringing out the bulletin, which has a section that carries details of Indian participation in the international arena for the last 90 years.

– Kamesh Srinivasan

BOXING

India Tops Medal Table with Full Haul at Seychelles National Day Boxing Tournament

All seven Indian boxers, who participated in the Seychelles National Day Boxing Tournament, at the Paradise Arena in Mahe, struck medals.

Comprising medal-winners from recent Elite Nationals and National Combined Championships, the Indian contingent secured three gold, three silver, and one bronze medals, topping the charts with one more gold than Mauritius.

In the gold medal bouts, Himanshu Sharma (50kg) was awarded a walkover, while Ashish Mudshaniya (55kg) claimed a well-earned 4:1 split decision. Gaurav Chauhan (90+kg) edged past his opponent in a tense final, sealing gold with a hard-earned 3:2 verdict.

The silver medallists—Anmol (60kg), Aditya Yadav (65kg), and Neeraj (75kg)—all fought their finals valiantly before going down by identical 2:3 split decisions, underlining the competitive quality of their performances. Kartik Dalal (70kg) added to India’s tally with a bronze.

– PTI

SNOOKER

Chawla, Gupta book knockout berths at Asian 6-Red Snooker Championship

Reigning IBSF champion Kamal Chawla powered into the pre-quarterfinals with an all-win record from his group in the Asian 6-Red Snooker Championship in Colombo on Monday.

In his third and final Group ‘C’ match, the Indian ace outclassed Ming Wa Man of Hong Kong 4-0.

Chawla had beaten Sri Lanka’s Thiyagarajah Thanjeewan, also by a similar margin, in a late-night match on Sunday.

Later, national champion Paras Gupta joined Chawla in the last-16 stage. Pushpender Singh, the third Indian in the fray, however, failed to make the cut.

Chawla had runs of 39 (first frame), 35 (third) and 43 in the fourth to top the group for the loss of just one frame.

Faced with a must-win situation in his final Group ‘D’ match, Gupta held his nerve under pressure in the deciding frame against Qatar’s Mohanna Al Obaidli.

The 29-year-old, who led 3-1 at one stage, suffered mid-match blues to give his opponent a look-in.

But before much damage could be done, he capitalised on Obaidli’s error by making a gritty match-winning break of 32 to advance to the knockouts.

– PTI

CHESS

Aurionpro International Grandmaster Chess Tournament: Neelotpal, Gharibyan and Lalit joint leaders after penultimate round

Neelotpal Das came up with a smart finish to pip Arsen Davtyan in 51 moves in the eighth round of the Aurionpro Grandmaster chess tournament at the World Trade Centre in Mumbai on Monday.

He was joined by Mamikon Gharibyan and Lalit Babu with seven points on the leaderboard.

On the top board, Mamikon executed a cameo in the climax with the black pieces to outwit overnight leader Aleksej Aleksandrov in 35 moves.

Lalit Babu stayed in the hunt for the title with a clinical 39-move victory over Alexei Fedorov.

– Team Sportstar

GOLF

Tame finish for Bhatia as Ryder Cup captain Bradley wins Travelers title

Akshay Bhatia had a tame finish with two double bogeys in the final round for a card of 4-over 74 that saw him finish in Tied-54th place in the Signature event in the United States.

Bhatia, who had rounds of 70-70-68-74 was 4-over 282 for the week.

In the final round, Bhatia started on the tenth and had just one birdie on the 17th, which was his eighth hole.

He double bogeyed the par-5 13th, bogeyed the 18h and double bogeyed the Par-4 ninth, his closing hole.

This season Bhatia’s best has been a third place at the Players Championship.

ALSO READ: Miguel Angel Jimenez wins playoff at Firestone for his 4th PGA Tour Champions victory of the season

Indo-British Aaron Rai (70) was Tied-17th with cards of 68-73-63-70 at 6-under.

Meanwhile, U.S. Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley came back from three shots behind with four holes to play and birdied the 18th hole for a 2-under 68 to win the Travelers Championship in his hometown.

The victory also re-started discussion for Bradley to be playing captain for the first time since 1963 when Arnold Palmer played as a playing captain at the Ryder Cup.

-PTI

Indians falter on final day – Amandeep, Diksha and Tvesa finish 46th

Amandeep Drall, who began the week with a stunning 8-under 64, finished the Tipsport Czech Ladies Open with rounds of 72-73 and ended T-46th at the end of the tournament.

It was Amandeep’s first cut of the season and the second start of the year after losing her card last year. Amandeep will now play the Amundi German Masters next week.

Also finishing in similar 46th place were Diksha Dagar (68) and Tvesa Malik (68), while Hitaashee Bakshi (74) was T-62 and Sneha Singh (72) was T-65.

Amandeep had three birdies, two bogeys and a double bogey in 73, while Diksha had six birdies against two bogeys and Tvesa Malik had five birdies against one bogey in her 4-under card.

South African Casandra Alexander carded a final round of 10-under 62, including a chip-in for an eagle on the 18th at Royal Beroun to secure a two-shot victory. Cassandra’s 62 was a course record.

-PTI

Saptak falters in final round and slips to tied-38

Saptak Talwar struggled in his final round at Golf Bluegreen de Pleneuf Val Andre in the Blot Play9 on the Hotel Planner Tour as he shot a round of 9-over 79 to drop down from tied-6 to tied-38 in the standings.

Talwar looked set for a strong finish this week, but the front nine was a struggle.

He started the final round with a bogey and a double bogey and then dropped shots on the fifth, eighth and ninth holes with one more double bogey on the seventh hole.

On the back nine, Talwar made one more bogey on the 13th hole to end the day at nine over par and had a final score of seven over par for the week. He shot 69-69-70-79 through the week.

Despite a tricky layout and swirling winds making the course difficult to play joint leaders at the end of the third day, Max Kennedy and James Morrison kept themselves in the hunt for the title as both players played an even par round of 70 to go into a playoff.

In the playoff, two time DP World Tour winner Morrison held his nerve to make par and win his first title in 10 years.

-PTI

Kochhar finishes sole second in Morocco

Indian golfer Karandeep Kochhar produced a bogey-free final round 7-under 65 but fell agonisingly short, finishing one stroke behind Filipino Aidric Chan to sign off with a runner-up finish at the Morocco Rising Stars Marrakech.

Seeking his first win outside India as a pro, Kochhar finished 17-under with rounds of 70-67-69-65, while Chan shot a 7-under 65 in the final round to be 18-under at the Samanah Golf Club.

While Kochhar was the top Indian at the end of the week, the other Indians who made the cut were Ajeetesh Sandhu (12-under,m T-13), Khalin Joshi (9-under, T-34), Rahil Gangjee (7-under, T-43), Arjun Sharma (6-under, T-45), and Aman Raj (2-under, T-51).

Kochhar had seven birdies, made on the first, fourth, ninth, 10th, 12th, 16th and 17th holes.

Sandhu played a round of 4-under 68 on the final day to secure his top-15 finish, while Joshi, who was in the top 10 at the end of the third round, played a round of even par on the final day to fall out of the top 10.

Gangjee played an even par round to finish tied 43. Arjun Sharma played a round of 3-under 69 on the final day to close the week at tied 45 while Aman Raj ended his week with an even par round to finish tied 51.

The win secures Chan a spot in next month’s International Series Morocco, which has a prize pool of USD 2 million.

Chan is now very likely to graduate to the Asian Tour at the end of the season. He started the round with a birdie and immediately dropped a shot on the second hole, but after that he would go on to make seven more birdies and avoid bogeys to secure the title. His scores this week were 64-72-69-65.

-PTI

FOOTBALL

Mayakkannan signs contract extention with NorthEast United FC

NorthEast United FC, on Monday, announced that midfielder Mayakkannan Muthu Irulandi has signed a contract extension that will keep him with the club till the end of the 2028 season.

Mayakkannan joined Highlanders at the start of the 2024-25 season from an I-League side, Sreenidhi Deccan, and quickly became the mainstay of Juan Pedro Benali’s midfield.

Mayakkannan, 28, made an immediate impact upon his arrival as NEUFC clinched the Durand Cup in a historic undefeated campaign. In the 2024-25 season, NEUFC played a total of 33 games across competitions — Durand Cup, ISL, ISL Playoffs and Super Cup, out of which, Mayakkannan featured in 31 games.

In the season, he played the most minutes for the club (2,972 minutes), covered the most distance (337.5 kms), and had the most tackles (2.6 tackles/per game).

“To start my NorthEast United FC journey with the Durand Cup triumph was a moment to cherish in my career, and I am delighted to extend my stay till 2028. I’m grateful for the trust the club has shown in me, and I am proud to continue this journey with the Highlanders,” Mayakkannan said.

-Team Sportstar

ATHLETICS

Yuvaraj smashes 110m hurdles record in National Junior Athletics meet

Tamil Nadu’s S. Yuvaraj smashed the junior national record in 110m hurdles on way to winning gold in the 23rd National Junior (U20) Federation Athletics Championships in Prayagraj on Monday.

On a day when seven track and field records, including two in women’s section, were broken, hurdler Yuvaraj clocked a time of 13.69 seconds, improving upon the junior national record of 13.74 seconds set by Tejas Ashok Shrise in 2021.

In fact, all three medal winners in 110m hurdles eclipsed the national record, with Sandeep V. of Reliance taking home the silver (13.70 seconds) and K. Kiran of Kerala bagging the bronze (13.70 seconds).

In men’s discus throw, Ujjawal Chaudhary (JSW) stamped his authority with a winning throw of 59.51m, which came in his fifth attempt, bettering his own national mark of 59.34m set in March in Mumbai.

– PTI

WRESTLING

Indian Greco Roman wrestlers bags four medals in Asian under-17 championships

Indian Greco Roman wrestlers bagged four medals, including a gold, at the Asian under-17 championships in Vung Tau, Vietnam, on Monday. Hardeep (110kg) secured a gold, while Aditya Jadhav (48kg) took a silver. Ritesh (60kg) and Nitin (92kg) claimed bronze medals.

– Y.B. Sarangi