GOLF
International Series Championship: Joaquin Niemann leads after day 2
Joaquin Niemann tackled the tricky course with great poise as he led with a 6-under 138 on the second day of the $ 2 million International Series Golf Championship at the DLF Club on Friday.
The 26-year-old Chilean, who has four titles on the international circuit, Niemann shot a four-under 68 for the day, to build on his 2-under score from the first round.
The backlog of unfinished first-round matches delayed the start of the second round, and thus half the field was unable to finish the round and decide the cut.
While Anirban Lahiri did well to improve his chances with a 1-under 143, the same as the reigning PGA Major winner, Bryson DeChambeau, four players Ollie Schneiederjans, Kazuki Higa, Jose Toledo and Chase Koepka did well to stay close to the leader.
Niemann was a class act. He was consistently brilliant in recording 2-under in the front and back 9s. He had an eagle on the par-5 eighth hole and hit a phenomenal tee shot on the 16th. He was tactically sharp and flawless in his execution as he hit par on 15 holes.
Quite remarkably Niemann had dropped only one shot in 36 holes.
“I had to hit high and soft, and it came out just perfect. Got a great catch from the hole,” said Niemann about the eagle on the eighth.
Happy to be ahead at the halfway stage, on a tricky course, Niemann said, “You have to hit your tee shots well, find the right lines. Everything can come down to the last hole. There is still a lot of golf left to play, and I am looking forward to it”.
Anirban Lahiri was pleased to find his rhythm, despite all the commitments as the host, and looked forward to building up his game over the weekend.
Bryson DeChambeau was also confident after having finished the first round 1-under in the morning, and managing a par in the second round.
“A couple of four or five-unders should do it. Totally doable. I just need to get my ball striking into a better place. I am a bit rusty,” said DeChambeau.
For the few thousand lined up for the weekend, it should be an awesome fare.
The leading scores (second round):
1. Joaquin Niemann (70, 68) 138; 2. Ollie Schniederjans (USA) (71, 69), Kazuki Higa (Jpn) (69, 71) 140; 4. Jose Toledo (Gtm) (75, 66) 141; 5. Chase Koepka (USA) (70, 72) 142; 6T. Anirban Lahiri (72, 71), Bryson DeChambeau (USA) (71, 72) 143; 8T. Cameron Tringale (USA) (72, 73), Soomin Lee (Kor) (75, 70) 145; 10T. Santiago De la Fuente (Mex) (70, 76), Jeunghun Wang (Kor) (71, 75), Wooyoung Cho (Kor) (72, 74), Joel Stalter (Fra) (70, 76) 146.
-Kamesh Srinivasan
TENNIS
Pune ITF women’s tournament: Leolia Jeanjean reaches semifinal
Top seed Leolia Jeanjean of France beat third seed Panna Udvardy of Hungary 6-4, 7-6(2) in the semifinals of the NECC $60,000 ITF women’s tennis tournament at the Deccan Gymkhana in Pune on Friday.
In her second successive final, following the one last week in the $100,000 event in Bengaluru, Leolia will play the champion of the Delhi event, Tatiana Prozorova.
Alevtina Ibragimova and Elena Pridankina bagged the doubles title.
The results:
Singles (semifinals): Leolia Jeanjean (Fra) bt Panna Udvardy (Hun) 6-4, 7-6(2); Tatiana Prozorova bt Elena Pridankina 6-2, 6-2.
Doubles (final): Alevtina Ibragimova & Elena Pridankina bt Maria Kozyreva & Iryna Shymanovich 6-2, 1-6, (10-8).
-Kamesh Srinivasan
Indore ITF juniors: Diya Ramesh sets up title clash vs Harshini Nagaraj
Top seed Diya Ramesh outplayed Parthsarthi Mundhe 6-1, 6-3 to set up a title clash against her doubles partner and second seed Harshini Nagaraj in the ITF junior tennis tournament at the Indore Tennis Club on Friday.
The boys final will also be between the top two seeds Samarth Sahita and Praneel Sharma.
The results (semifinals):
Under-18 boys: Samarth Sahita bt Aditya Mor 6-1, 4-1 (retired); Praneel Sharma bt Aashravya Mehra 6-1, 6-2.
Doubles: Aditya Mor & Praneel Sharma bt Mahit Mekala & Vishal Vasudev 7-5, 7-5; Tanussh Ghildyal & Samarth Sahita bt Daksh Kukreti & Aashravya mehra 7-6(5), 6-3.
Under-18 girls: Diya Ramesh bt Parthsarthi Mundhe 6-1, 6-3; Harshini Nagaraj bt Prachi Malik 6-0, 6-3.
Doubles: Harshini Nagaraj & Diya Ramesh bt Shaivi Dalal & Parthsarthi Mundhe 6-4, 6-2; Sejal Bhutada & Pehal Kharadkar bt Nainika Bendram & Saiyette Varadkar 6-2, 6-3.
-Kamesh Srinivasan
WEIGHTLIFTING
Tamil Nadu lifter N Ajith completes hattrick of gold medals in National Games
Tamil Nadu’s N Ajith sealed his place in National Games history with a third consecutive gold medal in the men’s 73kg category in Dehradun on Friday.
After dominating the National Games in Gujarat and Goa, Ajith added Uttarakhand to his list of victories.
Ajith’s journey to the top is a tale of perseverance, grit, and defying the odds. Hailing from the small village of Sathuvachari in Vellore District, Tamil Nadu, Ajith’s rise has been anything but smooth.
Growing up in a financially strained family, with his father working as a fruit seller in Bangalore, Ajith’s dreams of weightlifting seemed distant. It was his maternal uncle, Baskaran, a Railways weightlifter, who encouraged him to return to Sathuvachari and rediscover his passion.
The decision proved to be transformative. Ajith joined the Sports Authority of India (SAI) Centre in Mayiladuthurai, where his talent blossomed. His dedication and discipline propelled him to the top ranks of Indian weightlifting.
At the 38th National Games, Ajith’s journey to gold was nothing short of spectacular. Despite failing in his first attempt at 136 kg in the snatch, Ajith bounced back with remarkable resilience, lifting the same weight in his second attempt and then adding 140 kg in his final attempt.
He began the clean and jerk section with a 166 kg lift, then stunned the crowd with a 171 kg lift in his second attempt.
With a total of 311 kg, the gold medal was all but secured, and Ajith chose not to take a third attempt, having already sealed his victory.
While Ajith’s gold was never in doubt, his competition was fierce. Haryana’s Deepak Lather took an early lead in the snatch, lifting 141 kg in his third attempt, just 1 kg ahead of Ajith.
However, Lather faltered in the clean and jerk. Despite a shaky start at 156 kg, he successfully lifted 160 kg on his third attempt, finishing with a total of 301 kg, securing silver. The bronze medal was claimed by Lalhunthara of the Services Sports Control Board, who fought valiantly through the clean and jerk, finally lifting 167 kg on his third attempt to bring his total to 293 kg.
-PTI
PICKLEBALL
Chennai Super Champs sign off in style with 3-2 win against Hyderabad Superstars
Chennai Super Champs signed off its World Pickleball League (WPBL) campaign with an emphatic 3-2 win against the Hyderabad Superstars in Mumbai on Friday.
Chennai thus finished fifth in the points table with 25 points as a result of two tie triumphs and eight victorious matches.
This was the second straight time that the Super Champs came from behind to land a decisive blow on the opponents, and it all began with its incredible men’s doubles duo of Tanner Tomassi and Etienne Blaszkewycz storming past Ben Cawston and Kuldip Mahajan by 32-5 in the third match of the fixture.
It was an extraordinary effort by the Joey Farias-coached team, which didn’t bog down after trailing the clash by two matches. Instead, it immediately got its act together and swamped past Hyderabad by registering one key win after another to sign off from the tournament on a formidable high.
Edward Perez faced a 21-17 setback against Ross Whittaker at the beginning of the match. Returning to the men’s singles after Sonu Vishwakarma being fielded in the last couple of ties, Perez looked fresh and sharp in his movements.
His laudable reach allowed him to cover every blade of the court and win some breath-taking points, but Whittaker managed to prevail in an end-to-end contest.
A similar pattern unfolded when Thaddea Lock and Anna Clarice Patrimonio took court against the duo of Madalina Grigoriu and Ava Cavatio.
Both the pairs were relentless in their pursuit of every point, making it an exhilarating contest that eventually went in the favour of Hyderabad.
It took Tanner and Blaszkewycz to bring Chennai back in the contest as it steamrolled its way to a record victory, notching its fourth straight win in a row.
It embraced an indomitable aura, as Mahajan and Cawston were no match to their skilful prowess that signified every bit right with the Super Champs’ franchise in the tournament.
Lock picked up on that momentum and built on it, sweeping aside Grigoriu by 21-15 in women’s singles.
Loc made Grigoriu fight for every point and firmly controlled the pace of the proceedings until the very end.
The concluding mixed doubles fixture kept everyone on the edge as Sarah alongside Blaszkewycz beat Cavatio and Maxwell Freeman by a 11-10 margin.
-PTI
Content Source: sportstar.thehindu.com