TENNIS
Bhambri advances in French Open, Bollipalli exits
India’s Yuki Bhambri and his American partner Robert Galloway secured a hard-fought victory but Rithvik Bollipalli’s search for his maiden win in a Grand Slam main draw continued in the French Open men’s doubles opening round, here on Wednesday.
Bhambri and Galloway edged out Robin Haase and Hendrik Jebens 6-3 6-7(8) 6-3 in a fast-paced high-quality first round match.
However, Bollipalli and his Colombian partner Nicolas Barrientos suffered a tame straight set defeat.
Canada’s Gabriel Diallo and Briton Jacob Fearnley, who knocked out Stanislas Wawrinka in the singles on Monday, dominated the contest, winning 6-0 6-2 in just 56 minutes.
– PTI
Cem Ilkel beats S Mukund
Wild card Cem Ilkel of Turkey beat qualifier S Mukund 6-4, 6-3 in the first round of the €54,000 Challenger tennis tournament in Chisinau, Moldova, on Wednesday.
Mukund collected three ATP points for qualification and €560.
The results:
€54,000 Challenger, Chisinau, Moldova
Singles (first round): Cem Ilkel (Tur) bt S Mukund 6-4, 6-3.
$15,000 ITF men, Tashkent, Uzbekistan
Singles (first round): Alexander Ushakov bt Ishaque Eqbal 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-5; Abdulaziz Usmonjonov (Uzb) bt Atharva Sharma 7-6(8), 6-1; Kriish Tyagi bt Igor Kudriashov 2-6, 6-2, 6-4; Maxim Shin (Uzb) bt Nitin Kumar Sinha 1-6, 7-6(2), 7-6(2); Bharath Kumaran bt Adam Farag-Cao (Can) 6-4, 6-1; Madhwin Kamath bt Aayush Bhat (USA) 6-1, 6-1; Vladyslav Orlov (Ukr) bt Maan Kesharwani 6-0, 6-3.
$60,000 ITF women, Brescia, Italy
Doubles (pre-quarterfinals): Andrea Gamiz (Ven) & Aurora Zantedeschi (Ita) bt Jessica Failla (USA) & Prarthana Thombare 7-6(5), 6-1.
$30,000 ITF women, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Doubles (pre-quarterfinals): Haruna Arakawa (Jpn) & Mary Lewis (USA) bt Alisa Danilova & Prathyusha Rachapudi 6-2, 6-3.
$15,000 ITF women, Monastir, Tunisia
Singles (first round): Julie Myatovic (Fra) bt Tanisha Kashyap 7-5, 6-2.
Doubles (pre-quarterfinals): Diva Bhatia & Anjali Rathi bt Sara Pantelic (Bel) & Ximena Senties (Mex) 6-2, 7-5.
– Kamesh Srinivasan
SQUASH
Anahat reaches final of British Open qualifiers
Anahat Singh breezed past England’s Millie Tomlinson into the final of the British Open qualifiers in Birmingham on Thursday.
The 17-year-old Anahat, ranked 57th, beat 13th seed and World No. 71 Tomlinson 3-0 (11-6, 11-6, 11-4) in 24 minutes to seal her spot in the summit clash. The rising Indian will face either third-seeded Frenchwoman Marie Stephan, World No. 50, for a place in the main draw of the prestigious tournament.
Ramit Tandon (World No. 35), Abhay Singh (World No. 38) and Velavan Senthilkumar (World No. 45) have qualified for the main draw of the event, which takes place from May 31 to June 8, on the basis of their PSA Rankings.
– Team Sportstar
BOXING
Tamanna, Priya, and Deepak enter semifinals of Thailand Open boxing
Indian pugilists continued their strong showing at the fourth Thailand Open International Boxing Tournament, with Tamanna, Priya and Deepak assuring themselves of at least bronze medals by entering the semifinals in Thailand on Wednesday.
In the women’s 51kg category, Tamanna put in a composed performance to beat Liu Yu-Shan of Chinese Taipei by unanimous decision.
Priya (57kg) followed it up with a confident 5-0 win over South Korea’s Park Ah-hyun, controlling the bout from start to finish.
In the men’s draw, Deepak (75kg) showed technical clarity and ring discipline to defeat South Korea’s Kim Hyeon-tae, also by a unanimous verdict.
Jugnoo (85kg) and Anjali (75kg) ended their campaigns with reverses in their respective quarterfinal bouts.
– PTI
GOLF
Ranveer tied 4th after opening round of APGC Junior Golf Championship
Ranveer Mitroo led the Indian charge by carding a steady two-under 69 to be placed tied fourth after the opening round of the Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation Junior Championship here.
The Indian Golf Union (IGU) has sent a four-member team to compete in the prestigious tournament.
The 16-year-old Ranveer began his round with birdies on the second and fifth holes before stumbling upon a bogey on the ninth on Tuesday.
The Delhi amateur bogeyed on the 16th after six straight pars but the junior India number one for 2024 showed glimpses of top form by making quick amends with back-to-back birdies on the remaining two holes for his eventual tally.
“I made some good recoveries but also some silly errors. I think an overall improvement about decision-making and execution is something I would want to work on,” the youngster said of his performance on the day.
His compatriot Krish Chawla, the current junior India No.1, was placed tied 16th after carding a modest one-over 72.
Krish had a topsy-turvy round as he sank an eagle and three birdies against three bogeys and a triple bogey.
The Indian pair of Ranveer and Krish were placed fifth in the boys team competition with a combined total of one-under 141. The Australian duo of Hamish Farquharson and Cooper Giddings were placed on top of the standings with an overall tally of three-under 139.
In the girls’ event, Delhi’s Kashika Mishra posted a one-over 73 to be placed tied 10th. Her compatriot Saanvi Somu finished first round in joint 17th spot.
In the mixed team event, the Indian pair of Ranveer and Kashika were lying joint seventh at even-par 142.
– PTI
Vani looks at four-in-a-row feat at seventh leg of WPGT
Vani Kapoor, one of India’s most experienced players, will aim to win her fourth title of the season when she tees off at the seventh leg of the Women’s Pro Golf Tour, in Mysore.
Vani won three times in a row before the Tour took a pause in late March.
The Tour now resumes at the Jayachamaraja Wadiyar Golf Club in Mysuru with the seventh leg.
Vani has been most prolific this season. In five events, she has won three times in the fourth, fifth and sixth legs and was runner-up in the second and the third.
She did not play at the opening event, which means she has been in the Top-2 in each of the five starts she has had. Vani is now looking at a four-in-a-row feat at Mysuru.
Sneha Singh, who has won twice is not playing this week but Rhea Purvi Saravanan, who won the season opener, will be back in action. Only three players have won this season.
– PTI
MOTORSPORT
Saldanha and Murthy win RC2.1 class in RAAT Rally of Thailand
Indian rally driver Jason Saldanha and co-driver PVS Murthy dished out a commanding performance in the second round of the RAAT Rally of Thailand to clinch overall second place and a win in the RC 2.1 category to emerge as the front-runners in the 2025 international rally season.
In 2023, Saldanha became the first Indian to win a class title in the RAAT Rally of Thailand and has since continued his upward trajectory.
“The roads were extremely slippery due to the rains. It was one of the toughest events… Just one mistake could have ended it for us,” said Saldanha, who hails from Sakleshpur, a small town in Karnataka.
Veteran co-driver Murthy, with 25 years of rally experience, played a key role with precise pace notes and steady calls, enabling Saldanha to push the limits safely across all stages.
With this result, Saldanha leads the 2025 Overall Championship with a 10-point margin over Thailand’s Mana Pornsiricherd, and dominates the RC 2.1 class with 40 points, well ahead of the second-placed driver, who has 15.
Round 3 of the RAAT Thailand Rally Championship will be held at Sa Kaeo, Thesaban Mueang, from July 18 to 20.
– PTI
INDIAN FOOTBALL
Punjab FC secures AIFF U-15 Junior League title
Punjab FC beat city rivals Minerva Academy FC 1-0 to clinch the AIFF U-15 Junior League 2024-25 title in the finals which was played in Jamshedpur on Wednesday at the JRD Tata Complex.
A first half strike from Keisham Bikash Singh was enough for the club to secure its second youth league title of the season, after the Under-17 side won the AIFF U-17 Elite Youth League earlier this month.
– Team Sporstar
Content Source: sportstar.thehindu.com