Indian sports wrap, February 27: Sports Minister focuses on strengthening sports ecosystem

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Sports Minister focuses on strengthening sports ecosystem

In an attempt to strengthen the sports ecosystem in the country, the Sports Authority of India (SAI) has launched the Special Capacity Building Course for athletes turned coaches at the Netaji Subhash National Institute of Sports in Patiala.

Giving details about the project, the Union Sports Minister Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya said that the focus was to help the employees in central government and central public sector undertakings who have primarily been employed in sports quota.

“We need a lot of good coaches,” said the Minister.

The course would be open to a wide range of athletes from national medal winners to Olympic medallists, with a minimum educational qualification of graduation from any recognised University in the country.

The course will have four certification levels – foundation, primary, intermediate and advanced. There will be a flexibility of learning options allowing a candidate to complete each level within two years while being occupied with their job.

The six-week course at each level can be taken in hybrid mode of two weeks online plus four weeks of physical presence at the centre, or fully offline. The course will address modern coaching, sports science, yogasana, leadership, etc. to equip the aspiring coaches with a wide range of professional skills. It will also look to touch the topics of, best practices, administration, talent development and competition management.

“We will further enhance the knowledge of the deserving coaches by sending them for international courses abroad,” the Sports minister said.

Looking at the immediate task, Dr. Mandaviya announced that there would be a three-day session to plan the preparation for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, at the Kanha Shanti Vanam in Hyderabad, from March 7.

The State Sports Ministers, State Sports Secretaries, IOA members, apart from experts and eminent sports personalities are scheduled to be part of the brainstorming session.

– Kamesh Srinivasan

GOLF

Chhattisgarh Open: Shaurya Bhattacharya fires 61 to move five shots clear at the top on day three

Delhi golfer Shaurya Bhattacharya fired a superb eight-under 61, which moved him five shots clear at the top on day three of the Rs one crore Chhattisgarh Open in Naya Raipur on Thursday.

Bhattacharya (64-61-61), winner on the PGTI in his rookie season last year, has a total of 21-under 186 over three days and moved one spot from his overnight tied-second position.

Sri Lankan N Thangaraja (66-63-62) shot a 62 that propelled him 13 spots to tied-second place at 16-under 291.

Khalin Joshi (64-60-67), the halfway leader, returned a third round of 67 to stay in contention as he shared the second place with Thangaraja.

Sixteen-year-old rookie S. Manoj (65) of Bengaluru, playing only his third professional event, was tied fourth at 15-under 192 along with Faridabad-based Abhinav Lohan (64) and Bengaluru’s M Dharma (66) at the Fairway Golf & Lake Resort.

Bhattacharya, 22, the 2024 PGTI Emerging Player of the Year, had a quiet front-nine where he sank three birdies in exchange for a bogey.

However, the Delhi golfer hit his stride on the back-nine where he collected six birdies.

– Kamesh Srinivasan

Women’s Pro Golf Tour: Vani beats Anuradha by a shot in the fourth leg

Champion Vani Kapoor (in blue) receives the cheque from the captain of the Bombay Presidency Golf Club, Sanjeev Vaz, in Mumbai on Thursday.
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

Vani Kapoor came up with a birdie on the 15th hole to beat amateur Anuradha Chaudhuri by a shot in the fourth leg of the Hero Women’s Pro Golf Tour at the Bombay Presidency Golf Club on Thursday.

Vani’s one-under 69 took her overall score over three rounds to one-over 211. After having finished runner-up to Sneha Singh in the last two legs in Kolkata and Pune, it was a welcome title for Vani who had won the 12th leg last season at the DLF Course in Gurugram.

After birdies on the first two holes, Vani looked to have undone her good work with bogeys on the 11th and 13th, but was able to play her best in the climax to pull through. Sneha Singh (66), Ridhima Dilawari (67) and amateur Saanvi Somu finished joint third with 3-over 213. Sneha Singh continued to lead the Order of Merit with earnings of Rs.5,76,900 while Vani Kapoor jumped to the second place with Rs.4,54,000.

Jasmine Shekar found herself third on the list with Rs.3,26,500. It was a good week for the amateurs as four finished in the top-10. Two of them, Saanvi and Mannat Brar will compete in the Women’s Amateur Asia Pacific Championship in Vietnam next week.

– Kamesh Srinivasan

TENNIS

Vaidehi Chaudhari beats qualifier Akanksha Nitture at ITF women’s tennis tournament in Ahmedabad

Two-time national champion Vaidehi Chaudhari stopped the fine run of qualifier Akanksha Nitture with a 6-3, 6-2 victory in the third round of the $40,000 ITF women’s tennis tournament at the Abmedabad Tennis Foundation courts on Thursday.

In doing so, Vaidehi emerged the only Indian to reach the singles quarterfinals, as Ankita Raina was beaten 7-5, 6-4 by Sohyun Park of Korea, and Shrivalli Bhamidipaty was pipped 7-6(5), 6-4 by the fifth seed Haruka Kaji of Japan.

Vaidehi will face Haruka in the quarterfinals. There was some cheer in doubles for the Indian camp, as Vaishnavi Adkar and Ankita Raina beat the top seeds Riya Bhatia and Ekaterina Yashina in straight sets in the quarterfinals.

The Indian pair will play Zeel Desai and Rinon Okuwaki of Japan in the semifinals. The third-seeded Indian pair of Shrivalli and Vaidehi got beaten by the Thai duo of Thasaporn Naklo and Bunyawi Thamchaiwat in straight sets.

– Kamesh Srinivasan

Dubai Tennis Championship 2025: Yuki Bhambri and Alexei Popyrin in semifinals

Yuki Bhambri in partnership with Alexei Popyrin of Australia beat Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool of Britain 5-7, 7-6(5), [10-5] in the doubles quarterfinals of the $3,415,700 ATP tennis tournament in Dubai on Thursday.

The Indo-Aussie pair will play Jamie Murray of Britain and John Peers of Australia in the semifinals.

– Kamesh Srinivasan

WTT Youth Contender Vadodara Day 2: Taniksha Kalbhairav, Prateek Talsani, Punit Biswas, and Divyanshi Bhowmick emerge champions in U-17 and U-13 categories

Punit Biswas triumphed in the U/17 boys’ category, defeating seed-toppler Sahil Rawat 3-2 in the finals. Throughout the match, both players seemed on the verge of victory but soon found themselves chasing each other as the match reached a tight decider. Divyanshi Bhowmick showed true character by turning around a shaky start to win the U/17 girls’ category. She looked uncertain in the initial rounds but found her form exactly when it mattered, beating Jennifer Varghese 3-1 to claim the top honor.

Tanishka Kalbhairav was solid from the first match and maintained that momentum to win the U/13 girls’ category, defeating the higher-ranked Aradhya Dhingra. Prateek Talsani had a flawless run to the title, becoming the U/13 boys’ champion without losing a single set throughout the main draw.

The semifinal stages for all categories saw some upsets and runaway matches. Sahil Rawat defeated top seed Abhinandh Pradhivadhi 3-1 in the semifinals to secure the first spot in the finals, while Punit Biswas overcame Rupam Sardar 3-1. Rupam Sardar had been in great form, beating second seed Priyanuj Bhattacharya 3-1, but fell short against Punit Biswas. Divyanshi Bhowmick found her form in the semifinals, defeating Kavya Bhatt 3-0. Nandini Saha had a dream run to the semifinals, defeating second seed Ananya Muralidharan in the Round of 16, but was defeated 1-3 by Jennifer Varghese in the semifinals.

Earlier in the day, the U/19 and U/15 mixed doubles pairs began their campaigns, with the top pairs cruising through the draw. The biggest upset of the day came in the U/19 mixed doubles semifinals, where Taneesha Kotecha and Preyesh Suresh stunned favorites Ankur Bhattacharya and Pritha Vartikar with a commanding victory. Meanwhile, Jennifer Varghese and Balamurugan Rajakesaran secured a solid win to book their place in tomorrow’s final.

– Team Sportstar