Indian sports wrap, June 22: Six Indians to go for gold at Seychelles National Day Boxing Tournament

BOXING

Six Indians in the fray for gold at Seychelles National Day Boxing Tournament

Six Indian boxers will compete for gold at the Seychelles National Day Boxing Tournament 2025 on Sunday, following a series of strong semifinal performances at the Paradise Arena in Mahe.

Aditya Pratap (65kg) of Uttar Pradesh, who has previously represented India at the Elorda Cup in Kazakhstan and holds a silver from the National Combined Finals, impressed with an RSC win in the third round over home favourite Jovanie Bouzin.

Neeraj (75kg), another silver medallist at the National Combined, mirrored that effort with an RSC second round victory over his opponent.

Himanshu Sharma (50kg) of Haryana, a former Belgrade Boxing Champion and bronze medallist at the 6th Elite Nationals, secured a confident 4:1 win on points against Mathieu Soupprayen of Mauritius.

In the 55kg bout, Ashish Mudshaniya of Uttar Pradesh, the reigning National Combined champion, continued his fine form with a solid 4:1 victory over Guillaume Francis, also from Mauritius.

Haryana’s Anmol (60kg), a National Combined silver medallist, earned a composed 4:1 split decision win against Dario Gaberiel of Seychelles.

Kartik Dalal (70kg) showed heart in a closely contested bout but lost 1:4 on points to South Africa’s Blessing Nziyana.

Rounding off the Indian contingent competing for gold is Gaurav Chauhan (90+kg) from Services, a seasoned heavyweight who won gold at the 37th National Games and bronze at the 2024 Elorda Cup.

Gaurav received a direct entry into the final and will look to add another medal to his name.

-Team Sportstar

TENNIS

Vijay Sundar Prashanth wins doubles title at Poznan Challenger

Vijay Sundar Prashanth, in partnership with Sergio Gorens, beat Alexandru Jecan and Bogdan Pavel 2-6, 7-5, [10-8] in the doubles final of the €145,250 Challenger tennis tournament in Poznan, Poland.

It was the 28th career doubles title for the 38-year-old Vijay, and the second of the season after the one in Pune with Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan.

For the 30-year-old Gorens, it was the 37th doubles title of his career and the first of the season.

The champion pair collected 100 ATP points and €7,220. The runner-up pocketed 60 points and €4,180.

In the $30,000 ITF women’s event in Wichita, USA, Sahaja Yamalapalli went down fighting in the semifinals to Fiona Crawley of USA in three sets.

-Team Sportstar

WRESTLING

Men’s freestyle wresters also win team title at U23 Asian championship

The Indian men’s freestyle team produced its best-ever show at the U23 Asian Asian Wrestling Championship, winning six gold and a silver to clinch the team title at Vung Tau in Vietnam.

In an unprecedented success for India, both men’s and women’s teams won the team championships. The women team had won medal in each of the 10 categories.

Winning the gold were Nikhil (61kg), Sujeet Kalkal (65kg), Jaideep (74kg), Chander Mohan (79kg), Sachin (92kg) and Vicky (97kg).

Jaspooran Singh won the silver in 125kg weight class..

The Greco Roman team won three medals, including a gold, in the tournament.

-PTI

SNOOKER

Kamal Chawla off to blazing start at Asian Snooker Championship

Kamal Chawla, the reigning IBSF World 6-Red snooker champion, was the most impressive of the three Indians in the fray, scoring a lopsided 4-1 win over Wai Ip Lam of Macao China on the opening day of the ACBS Asian 6-Red Snooker Championship in Colombo on Sunday.

After getting his eye in, the 45-year-old Chawla rifled in a brilliant 66 clearance in the second frame of the Group ‘C’ match. Chawla followed that up with a sizzling 67 clearance to take a vice-like grip over the proceedings.

An error while going for a long red pot gave his rival an opening.

Lam made a crucial break of 40 to pull one back. But before much damage could be done, Chawla closed out the match in the next frame to begin his campaign in the continental showpiece in splendid fashion.

Later, national champion Paras Gupta prevailed over (4-3) Mohamed Mubeen of Sri Lanka on the final black ball in a Group ‘D’ match.

-PTI

GOLF

Amandeep, four other Indians make cut in Czech Ladies Open

India’s Amandeep Drall birdied her final two holes as she rallied to an even-par second round and be tied in 12th place after two rounds of the Tipsport Czech Ladies Open here.

Amandeep, who had a superb 8-under 64 in the opening round, added a 72 in round two to make the cut along with four other Indians.

The next best Indian was Hitaashee Bakshi (68-70) at 6-under and in T-32 place. Diksha Dagar (71), Tvesa Malik (69) and Sneha Singh (68) also fought hard to make the cut on the line at T-61. A total of 71 players, including two amateurs, made the cut.

-PTI

Bhatia picks another eagle, lies 37th as Fleetwood leads Travelers

Akshay Bhatia landed his second eagle in as many days during his steady round of 2-under 68 at the Travelers Championship here to be placed on tied 37th spot.

Bhatia, an outside contender for a Ryder Cup place, is now down two places from overnight T-35.

While the Indian-American Hero golfer, Bhatia, had an eagle and three birdies against three bogeys, another golfer with an Indian connection, Aaron Rai shot a superb 7-under 63, including four birdies in the last five holes.

Rai is Tied-14th and had rounds 68-73 on the first two days.

Bhatia, 34th in world rankings, is trying to secure a place in Top-30 to play the Tour Championship for the second straight year.

-PTI

Saptak Talwar holds it together on third day to move to tied 6th

India’s Saptak Talwar played an even par third round at Golf Bluegreen de Pléneuf Val Andre in the Blot Play9 to move into tied sixth place in the standings despite difficult conditions with high winds here.

His three-day score was two under par and was four behind the leader, Max Kennedy (68), who finished with a double bogey.

The 26-year-old Talwar started his round on the first tee and made par for the first four holes before dropping a shot on the fifth.

He immediately picked up a shot on the sixth. On the back nine, he started with a bogey and followed it up with a birdie. On the 14th hole, he would pick up a shot, but a bogey on the 16th resulted in Talwar having to settle for an even par round.

-PTI

CHESS

Five in the lead after Round six; Aansh, Madhesh lead juniors

Overnight leaders, GM Lalit Babu (India) and IM Arsen Davtyan (Armenia) could gain no supremacy over the other and ended their match in a balanced draw, leaving the door open for others to climb into the lead after Round 6 of the Rs 40 lakh prize money Aurionpro International Grandmaster and Junior Chess Tournament at the World Trade Centre.

In one of the biggest upsets of the tournament, IM Nayaka Buddhidharma (Indonesia), held top seed GM Levan Pantsulaia (Georgia) to a well-earned draw.
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

After six rounds, five players are tied at 5.5/6, setting up a thrilling race to the finish.

In one of the biggest upsets of the tournament, IM Nayaka Buddhidharma (Indonesia), held top seed GM Levan Pantsulaia (Georgia) to a well-earned draw.

In the Under-13 section, both FM Aansh Nandan Nerurkar and CM Madhesh Kumar maintained their unbeaten records after a hard-fought draw on the top board. They continue to share the lead with 5.5/6 points apiece.

POWERLIFTING

India bags four medals on opening day of Para Powerlifting World Cup

India made a strong statement on the opening day of the Para Powerlifting World Cup in Beijing by winning four medals, including a gold, silver, and two bronze.

Gulfam Ahmed opened India’s account with a bronze in the highly competitive men’s elite 59kg category. He lifted 145kg in his opening attempt and followed it up with a best lift of 151kg in his second.

In the men’s elite 72kg category, Ramubhai Bambhava added another bronze to India’s tally with a successful lift of 151kg in his first attempt.

Veteran lifter Joby Mathew delivered a standout performance in the masters category, securing gold in the total lift and silver for the best lift. After an unsuccessful opening lift of 140kg, he bounced back with confident lifts of 145kg and 150kg.

The tournament features top para powerlifters from over 40 countries and serves as a qualification event for the 2026 World Championships and the 2028 Paralympic Games.

– PTI

SWIMMING

Rohit sets Indian best time in men’s 100m butterfly at National Aquatics Championships

Armed with his newfound mental strength, B. Benediction Rohit set the new Indian best time on his way to claim the men’s 100m butterfly gold on the opening day of the National Aquatics Championships at the Kalinga Stadium Aquatic Centre in Bhubaneswar on Sunday.

Rohit, who was born with a broken right thigh bone and took to swimming for physical fitness, clocked 52.50 to achieve his target of erasing Virdhawal Khade’s India best mark of 52.79 and co-competitor Sajan Prakash, who came second with 53.51, a four-year-old meet record of 53.24.

“I focused on my own race. Overthinking and the pressure of competition affected my performance in the past. My coach Nihar Ameen worked more on the mental side of my game,” said Rohit, who timed 54.4 in the last edition and 53.8 in the National Games, about his steady progress.

Rohit achieved ‘B’ qualification time for the upcoming World championships in Singapore.

Even as she missed the meet record by 0.37 seconds, Harshitha Jayram lowered her personal best by nearly three seconds to 2:37.72 and clinched the women’s 200m breaststroke gold.

Bhavya Sachdeva overcame a forgettable performance a year ago to match her personal best (4:26.66) for the 400m freestyle crown.

Home favourites Shristi Upadhaya and Astha Choudhury clocked an identical 1:03.50 to share the 100m butterfly gold. Paris Olympian Dhinidhi Desinghu took bronze with 1:03.52.

Karnataka, comprising Vihitha Nayana Loganathan, Meenakshi Menon, Trisha Sindhu S. and Dhinidhi, won the women’s 4x200m freestyle relay title with a new meet record.

-Y. B. Sarangi

RUGBY

Chennai Bulls and Bengaluru Bravehearts Win, Kaling Black Tigers salvage tie with Mumbai Dreamers

Chennai Bulls is back at the top of the points table, and the Hyderabad Heroes’ juggernaut was brought to a halt by the dynamic Bengaluru Bravehearts.

And in the final game of the day, the Mumbai Dreamers, which had an impressive lead at one stage, squandered its position and had to share the spoils with the Kalinga Black Tigers in Mumbai, at the Shahaji Raje Bhosale Sports Complex on Sunday.

In the first game of the day, the Bengaluru Bravehearts brought the Hyderabad Heroes’ winning streak to a halt, defeating it 26-21. International stars Akuila Rokolisoa and Philip Wokorach were combining well together, giving the Bravehearts a 12-0 lead. For the Heroes, Wolfram Hacker responded with a try, and Manuel Moreno also converted his kick.

The Heroes, who began the day at the top of the points table, stormed back into the contest with a flurry of points, courtesy of Terio Tamani, who bagged two tries and one conversion. With four minutes left, the Heroes led 21-19.

The Bravehearts though weren’t giving up, and Pol Pla added five points to the mix, whilst Rokolisoa added two more, turn the contest on its head. That though was enough on the night for the Bravehearts, who snatched a crucial win.

Game two saw Chennai Bulls jump back to the top of the points table after a comprehensive 24-7 win against the Delhi Redz. The Delhi Redz, who have had a recent uptick in their fortunes, started off the game in solid fashion.

However, the Bulls began to show glimpses of their old form again, as Vaafauese Maliko scored a couple of tries, to put his side in a slender 3-point lead at the half-time break. After the break, the Bulls decided to go through the gears, and Maliko completed a hat-trick of tries. Filipe Sauturaga backed him up with clinical conversion, to give the Bulls a 10-point lead.

Haakon Oess then added five more to the tally, and had Sauturaga scoring his conversion too, which helped the Bulls register a big win and return to the top of the points table.

In the final game on the Sunday, the Kalinga Black Tigers came from behind to clinch a 17-17 draw. The result gives the Mumbai Dreamers their first points of the season.

The Kalinga Black Tigers had the better of the early exchanges on the night, as Asis Sabar scored a try and put them in the lead. However, the Mumbai Dreamers, which was still looking for their first points in the season, first equalised through Elias Hancock’s try, and then Waisea Nacuqu made the conversion count. The two sides broke for half-time, with two points separating them.

Vuiviawa Naduvalo and Henry Hutchison scored two brilliant tries for the Dreamers in the next quarter, which extended their lead to 12 points. The Tigers had their task cut out, and they responded with a try and conversion from Ethan Turner. In the final minutes, Perry Baker equalised with a try for the Tigers, who snatched a tie from the jaws of defeat.

-Team Sportstar