Indian sports wrap, June 26: India completes historic triple gold feat at Asian Doubles Squash Championships

SQUASH

India wins all three titles in Asian Squash Doubles Championships

In a remarkable achievement, India swept all the three titles—men’s, women’s and mixed events—in the second Asian Squash Doubles Championships after beating its respective rivals in the finals on Thursday.

The top-seeded men’s pair of Abhay Singh and Velavan Senthilkumar lost the first set but made a comeback to beat their Pakistani opponents Noor Zaman and Nasir Iqbal 2-1 (9-11, 11-5, 11-5) in the summit clash that lasted 88 minutes.

The Indian duo had reached the final after beating Hong Kong pair of Chi Him Wong and Ming Hong Tang in the semifinals.

In the women’s doubles final, second seeds Joshna Chinappa and Anahat Singh also rallied from a set down to win 2-1 (8-11, 11-9, 11-10) against Malaysia’s Ainaa Amani and Xin Ying Yee in a 35-minute final.

Joshna and Anahat had made it to the summit clash after beating Hong Kong’s Po Yui Kirstie Wong and Yee Lam Toby Tse.

The top-seeded mixed doubles pair of Abhay and Anahat made it a clean sweep of titles for India as they beat Malaysia’s Rachel Arnold and Ameeshenraj Chandaran 2-0 (11-9, 11-7) in the 28-minute summit showdown.

In the process, Abhay and Anahat bagged their second title of the championships.

They had made it to the last-two stage after beating another local pair of Ainaa Amani and Syafiq Kamal in the semifinals.

-PTI

BADMINTON

BAI names 19-member team for Badminton Asian Junior Championships in July

The fast-rising Tanvi Sharma was on Thursday named in India’s 19-member squad for the Badminton Asian Junior Championships (team and individual) to be held in Solo, Indonesia from July 18 to 27.

Tanvi won a gold in the Badminton Asia women’s team championship. Junior world No. 1 men’s doubles pair of Bhargava Ram Arigela and Viswa Tej Gibburu will also be critical to India’s chances in the event.

The team competitions are scheduled from July 18–22 while the individual events will be held from July 23–27.

The team event will be played in a relay format, with the first side to reach 110 points declared the winner. It will begin with a group stage, followed by knockout rounds, with the top two teams from each group advancing.

The full squad will report to a national preparatory camp at National Centre of Excellence in Guwahati from July 4 to 15. The NCE Guwahati will also host the BWF Junior World Championships later this year.

“India’s junior circuit is producing world-class talent, and this camp is where raw potential will be sharpened into medal-winning form,” Badminton Association of India General Secretary, Sanjay Mishra, said.

Tanvi, currently ranked World No. 2 in the BWF junior rankings, will anchor India’s women’s singles challenge. Rounak Chouhan is ranked 12th in the boys’ singles.

Vennala Kalagotla will feature in both singles and doubles, while in the men’s doubles, Bhargava and Viswa Tej will aim to extend their dominance as the top-ranked junior pair globally.

-PTI

HOCKEY

Hockey India Masters Cup (Women): Odisha and Punjab to face off in final

Odisha and Punjab reached the final of the inaugural Hockey India Masters Cup (Women) after registering impressive wins in their respective semifinal contests at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Hockey Stadium in Chennai.

In the first semifinal, Odisha beat Tamil Nadu 4-1, owing to captain Lucela Ekka’s two brilliant field goals (4’, 25’). She was supported by Sarita Roshan Minz (9’) and Asima Sanjay Minz (30’), who also found the back of the net to seal a convincing win. Tamil Nadu’s lone goal came from Saumya (34’), who converted a penalty corner in the third quarter.

The second semifinal saw Punjab come from behind twice to secure a hard-fought 3-2 victory over Haryana.

Odisha will take on Punjab in the final on Friday (2 PM IST), while Tamil Nadu will face off against Haryana in the bronze medal match before the summit clash (6 AM IST).

-Team Sportstar

BOXING

Lovlina, Nikhat headline Elite Women’s Boxing tournament from Friday

Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Lovlina Borgohain and two-time world champion Nikhat Zareen will be among a host of top Indian pugilists to vie for top honours at the Elite Women’s Boxing Tournament, beginning in Hyderabad on Friday.

Former world youth champion Ankushita Boro will be another big name taking part in the tournament, to be held at the Saroornagar Indoor Stadium till July 1.

FILE PHOTO: Two-time world champion Nikhat Zareen.
| Photo Credit:
GETTY IMAGES

Organised by the Telangana state body under the aegis of the Boxing Federation of India and the Sports Authority of Telangana, the tournament will feature boxers from 15 units.

Railways, Haryana, All India Police, Services, Punjab, Chandigarh, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Sikkim, Combined SAI National Centre of Excellence team and TOPS Core and Development squad will also take part in the tournament, besides host Telangana.

Other notable names in the fray include World Championships bronze medallist Manisha Moun, Olympian Preeti, world youth champion Arundhati Chaudhary, and more than 100 other contenders.

The boxers will compete across 10 weight categories. Gold and silver medallists in each category will get the opportunity to join the elite national camp in Patiala.

The championships will be conducted as per the World Boxing Technical & Competitions Rules, wherein each bout will consist of three rounds of three minutes each, with a minute’s rest in between.

The 10-point-must system shall be followed for scoring, while the review system will not be used.

-PTI

GOLF

IGU gets Sports Ministry backing for Indian Golf Premier League

The Sports Ministry has given the Indian Golf Union (IGU) the go-ahead to organise the inaugural edition of the Indian Golf Premier League (IGPL) in January next year.

“I can say with utmost pleasure that the Sports Ministry has given us the nod to organise the first-ever Indian Golf Premier League, which aims at popularising the sport in Bharat,” IGU Director Major General (Retd) Bibhuti Bhushan said in a press release.

“The IGPL will be organised in January 2026. Through IGPL we will scout and nurture world-class golf talent who will proudly represent Bharat on the global stage,” he added.

IGPL will be a city-based franchise league which will have both amateurs and professionals playing in a team format.

– PTI

Steady start for Diksha Dagar and Vani Kapoor in Germany

Indian golfer Vani Kapoor opened with a steady 1-under 72 in the first round of the Amundi German Masters at the Par-73 Green Eagle Golf Courses.

Vani, who trying to regain her place on the Ladies European Tour, was provisionally Tied-20th with the first round was still in progress.

The top Indian, however, was Diksha Dagar, who was 2-under after 14 holes. She was T-13 and in sight of a top-10 start in the tournament. Diksha, who is 11th on the LET Order of Merit, had four birdies against two bogeys. She had two birdies and two bogeys on the front nine and then added two birdies on the 12th and the 13th to get to 2-under.

The early leader was England’s Alice Hewson, who had a bogey-free 5-under 68 and she was sharing the lead with Helen Briem of Germany, Kiwi Amelia Harvey and Sweden’s Eliner Sudow. Three others were at 4-under.

Vani had two birdies against one bogey and all that action happened on the front nine and she had pars on the entire back nine of the course.

Among the other Indians, Avani Prashanth, who has played the event as an amateur in the past, carded even par 73 while Tvesa Malik was even through 13 holes.

It did not go well for Sneha Singh and Amandeep Drall, who shot 5-over 78 each, while Hitaashee Bakshi was also 5-over but had 10 holes to play. Neha Tripathi finished 10-over. Vidhatri Urs had a disastrous time and was 10-over through just nine holes.

– PTI

EQUESTRIAN

Rider Agarwalla announces retirement of horse Sir Caramello

Indian equestrian Anush Agarwalla on Thursday announced the retirement of his long-time horse Sir Caramello with whom he competed at the Paris Olympics.

The 25-year-old Agarwalla had become the first rider from India to compete in the Dressage event at the Olympic Games.

FILE PHOTO: Anush AGARWALLA of India riding SIR CARAMELLO OLD during the 2022 ECCO FEI World Equestrian Games.
| Photo Credit:
Getty Images

They had finished ninth in Group E in Paris, missing out on making the medal round. Agarwalla had won a gold medal in the team event and a bronze medal in the individual event in dressage at the 2022 Asian Games.

“Thank you, Sir Caramello, for being more than just a horse for me – my partner, my strength and most importantly, my friend,” Agarwalla wrote on social media in an emotional post.

– PTI

SWIMMING

Shoan Ganguly wins Men’s 400m medley at National Championships

Shoan Ganguly gave a good account of his potential as he secured the men’s 400m medley title with an ‘India best’ performance on the concluding day of the National Aquatics Championships at the Kalinga Stadium Aquatic Centre here on Thursday.

Shoan, who claimed the 200m medley crown with an ‘India best’ time the other day, made it a delectable double by winning the 400m medley gold with a time of 4:24.64. Ganguly, who led after 300m, withstood the challenge from Advait Page and Aryan Nehra, who held the National record at 4:25.62, before hitting the touchpad first. His second record-breaking performance earned him the ‘best swimmer’ honour along with Dhinidhi Desinghu.

“This is my best time in two years in my main event. I thank Page and Nerha for pushing me,” said Ganguly.

A day after winning the 200m backstroke, Rishabh Das claimed his second gold amid a keen contest between four swimmers. He clocked his personal best of 56.13 over 100m. Rishabh’s training mate from Mumbai, Heer Shah held his nerve to clock 51.29 and bag his maiden crown in men’s 100m freestyle.

Bhavya Sachdeva picked up her third gold medal as she won the women’s 800m title. Vihitha Nayana Loganathan (100m backstroke) and Harshitha Jayaram (100m breaststroke) won their second crowns.

Altogether 14 new records were set in the championships.

– Y.B. Sarangi

TENNIS

Yuki Bhambri in Mallorca semifinals

Yuki Bhambri, in partnership with Robert Galloway, sailed past Rafael Matos and Marcelo Melo in the doubles semifinals of the €596,035 ATP tennis tournament in Mallorca, Spain.

In the semifinals, fourth seeded Yuki and Robert will play Guido Andreozzi and Theo Arribage, who had beaten the top seeds in the first round.

In the $40,000 ITF women’s event in Palma del Rio, Spain, Ankita Raina made the pre-quarterfinals of singles, and reached the doubles semifinals with Rutuja Bhosale.

– Kamesh Srinivasan

RUGBY

Rugby Premier League: Chennai Bulls dominates Kalinga Black Tigers

The Chennai Bulls and the Hyderabad Heroes put on quite the show for their fans, beating the Kalinga Black Tigers and the Delhi Redz, respectively, during Season 1 of the GMR Rugby Premier League at the Shahaji Raje Bhosale Sports Complex in Mumbai.  

From the get-go, the Chennai Bulls was looking to put a lot of pressure on the Kalinga Black Tigers’ defence. And it was the Bulls who had the better of the early exchanges, as Vaafauese Maliko sprinted down the wing to get his try. Shortly after, the Tigers got on the scoresheet with Kyle Tremblay’s try and Maurice Longbottom’s conversion.

Manueli Maisamoa then extended the lead for the Tigers with his try and Ethan Turner’s conversion. However, it was all Chennai after that. For the Bulls, Joseva Talacolo added a try, and Vaafauese Maliko went over the line a couple of more times whilst Gaurav Kumar converted all his kicks.

The Bulls had stormed into a 12-point lead by the end of the third quarter and continued to dominate proceedings in the final phase of play as well. Filipe Sauturaga got on the scoresheet with a try and a conversion, and Alexander Davis’s try was complemented by Joseva Talacolo’s conversion. For the Tigers, Lucas Lacamp scored a try in the final minutes, but it was too little too late.

In the second game of the night, the Hyderabad Heroes stamped its authority over its opponent, as it defeated the Delhi Redz 40-19. Despite Delhi having a bright start with Jordan Conroy scoring a try, the Heroes grabbed the contest by the scruff of the neck.

The Heroes were quite literally running away with the game as Joji Nasova raced through the heart of the Redz’s defence and Velez added two more points to the cause. Before the third quarter was over, Velez added another seven points to the cause. With a quarter to go in the game, the Heroes led 40-5.

In the final quarter, Patrick Okongo added two more tries, and Matias Osadczuk and Alejandro Laforga scored their kicks as well. But the Heroes had done enough to come away with the win.

-Team Sportstar

WRESTLING

Indian freestyle wrestlers bags two golds in Asian u-17 championships

Indian freestyle wrestlers collected two gold and as many bronze medals on the concluding day of the Asian under-17 championships in Vung Tau, Vietnam, on Thursday. Arjun Ruhil (92kg) and Lacky (110kg) clinched gold medals, while Shivam (45kg) and Dhanraj Jamnik (51kg) claimed bronze. Earlier, Gourav Punia (65kg) had secured a gold.

With five gold, three silver and two bronze, the country’s women wrestlers lifted the team title. Indian Greco Roman wrestlers bagged a gold and a silver apiece apart from three bronze.

– Team Sportstar