TENNIS
Mukund Sasikumar to lead India in Davis Cup World Group-1 play-off
Mukund Sasikumar will spearhead the Indian challenge in the Davis Cup World Group-1 play-off tie against Togo at the DLTA Complex on February 1 and 2.
Ramkumar Ramanathan, Karan Singh, Sriram Balaji and Rithvik Bollipalli will be the other members of the Indian team.
Rohit Rajpal and Ashutosh Singh will be the captain and coach respectively. The secretary general of the All India Tennis Association (AITA), Anil Dhupar stated that the team was selected on the basis of the performance and availability of the players, after the selection committee headed by Nandan Bal had a virtual meeting.
Vaishnavi makes both finals at Palodia
Vaishnavi Adkar outplayed second seed Zeel Desai 6-0, 6-2 in the semifinals of the $15,000 ITF women’s tennis tournament at the Ace Academy in Palodia on Friday.
Vaishnavi Adkar of Maharashtra.
| Photo Credit:
Ragu R / The Hindu
Vaishnavi Adkar of Maharashtra.
| Photo Credit:
Ragu R / The Hindu
In the final, Vaishnavi will play Elena Jamshidi of Denmark who beat top seed Ekaterina Yashina in three sets.
Vaishnavi also made the doubles final in partnership with Pooja Ingale, and will play the Japanese Honoka Kobayashi and Anri Nagata.
The results (semifinals):
Singles: Elena Jamshidi (Den) bt Ekaterina Yashina 6-3, 3-6, 6-4; Vaishnavi Adkar bt Zeel Desai 6-0, 6-2.
Doubles: Honoka Kobayashi & Anri Nagata (Jpn) bt Akanksha NItture & Soha Sadiq 6-2, 6-1; Vaishnavi Adkar & Pooja Ingale bt Lakshmi Prabha & Maaya Rajeshwaran 4-6, 6-1, [10-4].
-Kamesh Srinivasan
AITA National series juniors matches postponed
Matches in the AITA National series junior tennis tournament had to be postponed at the CLTA Complex, owing to persistent rain. The semifinal matches will resume on Saturday.
-Kamesh Srinivasan
GOLF
Joaquin Niemann confirms entry for International series event in Gurugram
The ranking champion of the International Series this season, Joaquin Niemann, has confirmed participation in the $2 million event scheduled to be hosted by the DLF Golf and Country Club in Gurugram from January 30 to February 2.
Niemann had won two events in Mayakoba and Jeddah this year, apart from being tied second and third twice each.
Earlier, the reigning US Open champion, Bryson DeChambeau had confirmed his place in the Indian event, along with the host Anirban Lahiri.
It will be the first of ten International Series events in 2025, which would then move to Macau, Morocco, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia among other countries.
The series, which has also been hosted in China, Egypt, Scotland, Singapore and Vietnam over the last two years, offers players from around the world a chance to enter the LIV Golf League.
-Kamesh Srinivasan
FOOTBALL
Jammu and Kashmir’s Santosh Trophy coach Wadoo reveals route for football development in UT
Former Indian footballer Mehrajuddin Wadoo believes that the ongoing leg of the Reliance Foundation Youth Sports (RFYS) 2024-25 in Kashmir gives an ideal platform to assess the players who are ready to play outside the union territory.
The seventh season of RFYS football is underway in 10 regions including Mumbai, North & South Kerala, Goa, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Kolkata & Kashmir.
The matches in Kashmir kicked off on 21st December, marking the second year of the competition in the Union Territory. This time, the tournament in Kashmir comprises 32 teams across both age groups for girls and boys.
“Last year it was very successful and received a great response. Players enjoyed and had a great experience. We needed such tournaments for the youth. I also witnessed a few games and had a great experience,” Wadoo said in an interview with the RFYS.
One of the key features of the RFYS chapter in Kashmir was the U-19 age-group event for girls.
Wadoo garnered some key takeaways from those matches last year, adding that several female footballers participating in the games have the potential to play for professional clubs and even the national team. He, however, explained that they need to be trained adequately.
“It was incredible to see girls participate too. I saw the finals last season and got to see some good quality players who can play for outside clubs and the national team as well if groomed properly,” Wadoo said.
-Team Sportstar
CHESS
Five in joint lead on opening day of National U-9 Open & Girls Chess Championship
A total of five players, including Maharashtra’s Advik Agarwal, shared the lead on the opening day of the 37th National U-9 Open & Girls Chess Championship here on Friday.
Advik made 44 moves in the Open category while deploying the Italian method to register a win against Imadabattini Joel of Telangana.
The competition is being organised by the Maharashtra Chess Association under the auspices of international chess federation (FIDE) and All India Chess Federation (AICF) at the Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Balewadi.
Results (second round):
Girls: Divi, Bijesh (2pts) bt Sathvika, S (1pts); Niyola, Pinto (1pts) lost to Tvesha Jain (2pts); Anaya, Sharma (2pts) bt Avantika Priyesh (1pts); Vonti Sri Guruvarshini (1.5pts) drew with Vihana Kothari (1ts); Kiyanna, Parihaar (2pts) bt Krutika, Aggarwal (1pts); Karthik Uthaara (2pts) bt Aashvi Agarwal (1pts); Avani Sawaikar (1pts) lost to Anointah A (2pts); Radhya Malhotra (2pts) bt Abhishikta Shikre (1pts); Mishika Kapadia (1pts) lost to Hariprana B (2pts); Aarini, Singh (2pts) bt Aditi Sunkara (1pts); Yakshini P (2pts) bt Alankrita, Sharma (1pts); Avyukta Nayyar (1.5pts) drew with Saanvika BV (1.5pts).
Open: Advik Agrawal (2pts) bt Imadabattini Joel (1pts); Priyansh Jariwala (1pts) lost to Sattwik, Swain (2pts); Divith Reddy Adulla (2pts) bt Vihan Pandey (1pts); Agraarth Mishra (1pts) lost to Nidhish, Shyamal (2pts); Aarit Kapil (2pts) bt Rudra Roy (1pts); Hitansh Gohil (1.5pts) drew with Lishanth B (1.5pts); Oishik Mondal (2pts) bt Jayapriyan Prakash (1pts); Vivan Gupta (1pts) lost to Mani Sarbartho (2pts); Saransh Goel (1pts) lost to Krithik Muthukumar (2pts); Kavish Palaniappan K (2pts) bt Shanmukha Annambhotla (1pts); Maulesh Konar (1pts) lost to Muhammad Ibrahim (2pts); Sragvidha S (2pts) bt Timmaraju, Venkata Sathvik (1pts); Vihaan V (1pts) lost to Sidhant Rana (2pts); Aadwik Krishna (2pts) bt Satya Tripathy (1pts).
Content Source: sportstar.thehindu.com