HOCKEY
Hockey India announces Indian Junior Women’s Squad for Australia Tour
Hockey India on Saturday announced the 23-member Indian Junior Women’s Hockey squad for the upcoming Australia Tour, scheduled to be held at the National Hockey Centre in Canberra from September 26 to October 2.
The team will play a total of five matches during the tour. The first three fixtures will be against the Australia Junior Women’s Team, followed by two matches against Canberra Chill, a club side from Australia’s Hockey One League. The series will serve as a crucial step for the Indian side ahead of the FIH Hockey Women’s Junior World Cup 2025 to be held in Santiago, Chile in December.
The squad will be lead by Jyoti Singh, who has already made headway into the senior team during the FIH Hockey Pro League earlier this year.
Speaking on the team selection, team coach Tushar Khandker said, “This is a talented group of young players who have been working very hard in training. We have tried to strike the right balance across all departments, with players who can adapt to any situation. Although they are young, they are quite experienced for their age and have been playing together really well. The Australia Tour will be a great opportunity for this group to showcase their abilities and gain valuable international experience.”
Indian Junior Women’s Hockey squad for Australia Tour 2025:
GOALKEEPERS – Nidhi, Engil Harsha Rani Minz
DEFENDERS – Manisha, Jyoti Singh (C), Lalthantluangi, Mamita Oram, Sakshi Shukla, Puja Sahoo, Nandni
MIDFIELDERS – Priyanka Yadav, Sakshi Rana, Khaidem Shileima Chanu, Rajni Kerketta, Binima Dhan, Ishika, Sunelita Toppo, Anisha Sahu.
FORWARDS – Lalrinpuii, Nisha Minj, Purnima Yadav, Sonam, Kanika Siwach, Sukhveer Kaur
-Team Sportstar
CRICKET
Yash Dhull shines in Atray tournament
A superb century by Yash Dhull (121 off 59 balls) steered Minerva Academy Cricket Club (MACC) to a seven-wicket win over Rann Star Cricket Club (DRSCC) in the 30th All India JP Atray memorial cricket tournament at the Mahajan Cricket Groun.
In another match, Union Territory Cricket Association (UTCA) defeated Reserve Bank of India (RBI) by 51 runs.
The scores:
Rann Star 179 in 49.3 overs (Aditya Verma 56, Anmol Sharma 36, Mayank Rawat 4/37) lost to MACC 183 for three in 17.1 overs (Yash Dhull 121).
UTCA 251 for nine in 50 overs (Raman Bishnoi 95, Rishit Saini 3/48) beat RBI 200 for seven in 50 overs (Jyot Chhaya 53, Rajesh Bishnoi (Jr) 43 not out, Vishu Kashyap 3/35).
– Kamesh Srinivasan
WRESTLING
Nitesh loses repechage
Nitesh lost 4-5 to Georgia’s Georgi Melia in a Greco Roman 97kg repechage round match and went out of the medal race at the World Wrestling Championships in Zagreb.
Sunny Kumar (63kg), Anil (67kg) and Karan Kamboj (87kg) exited in the first round.
– Y. B. Sarangi
GOLF
Aditi Ashok in Top 20 after first round
India’s Aditi Ashok carded a bogey-free first round of five-under 66 to lie tied 18 at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship here.
Sarah Schmelzel and Minami Katsu shared the lead at the end of the first round after shooting rounds of eight-under 63 at the Pinnacle Country Club.
Teeing off on the front nine, Aditi started with two birdies and also made birdies on the 13th, 15th and 18th holes to take her birdie tally of the day to five. She was bogey free for the day.
Indo-Canadian Savannah Grewal carded three-under 68 in her first round and to lie T-45, while Gurleen Kaur shot one-under 70 after making four birdies and three bogeys to be T-86th.
The event has been low scoring and the projected cut stands at three under par.
-PTI
MOTORSPORT
Navi Mumbai to host Maharashtra’s First-Ever Formula Night Street Race
Navi Mumbai is set to host the finale of the Indian Racing Festival (IRF) on December 2025.
The announcement marks the arrival of Mumbai’s first-ever FIA-grade Street racing circuit. The race will happen on a 3.753km FIA-grade Street circuit, featuring 14 turns.
“We are proud to bring the Indian Racing Festival to Navi Mumbai,” said Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. “The Mumbai Street Race marks a historic milestone in Maharashtra’s motorsport journey, showcasing our capability to host world-class events that drive tourism and generate jobs. This event will not only inspire young racers but also motivate young talent across fields such as engineering, technology, and event management.”
-Team Sportstar
PARA BADMINTON
Abu Hubaida-Prem Kumar pair bags bronze in China Para Badminton tournament
Indian men’s para badminton pair of Abu Hubaida and Prem Kumar Ale clinched a bronze medal in the WH1-WH2 category after the top seeds lost their semifinal match to China’s Mai Jianpeng and Qu Zimo 4-21, 10-21 in the China Para Badminton International, in Beijing on Saturday.
Abu Hubaida and Ale had finished second in Group A with two wins and one defeat. They beat Australia’s Nang Nguyen and Chinese Taipei’s Yu-Yu Ong 21-6, 21-10, and then overcame the Indian-Czech team of Haris Mythili Srikumar and Zbyněk Sýkora 21-10, 21-12.
Their only loss (12-21, 9-21) in the group stage came against Japan’s Daiki Kajiwara and Keita Nishimura.
“Every match is a new challenge, and every medal is a reward for the hard work and support behind me. This bronze motivates me to push harder and represent India on bigger stages,” said Abu Hubaida.
– PTI
TENNIS
Shruti Ahlawat and Zeel Desai to meet in final
Shruti Ahlawat overcame spells of inconsistent play to beat Shihomi Leong of Malaysia 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 in the semifinals of the $15,000 ITF Women’s Tennis Tournament at the Tennis Project, Baliawas, on Saturday.
In her maiden final, the 19-year-old Shruti will face top seed Zeel Desai who stopped the fine run of Akanksha Nitture with a 6-3, 6-4 victory.
After the injury spells, Shruti has been diligently training at the DLTA High Performance Centre for the last few months. She would have waited for more time to compete in tournaments, but it was felt that what she needed the most was match exposure.
A natural competitor who steps up her game against better challenge, Shruti was cruising at 6-2, 2-0 before the athletic Malaysian played better to tease her. However, Shruti was able to get into the next gear, cut her errors, and find a way to victory.
It is only her fourth tournament in the professional circuit. Shruti had made the quarterfinals in her first two tournaments. She had qualified and lost in the first round in her last tournament in March to Vaidehee Chaudhari at the same venue.
Shruti has also lost her only match against the 26-year-old Zeel, who has the rich experience of playing more than 350 matches in the international circuit.
Having beaten a string of quality players, Shruti promises to make it a memorable final on Sunday. Zeel will also be equally ready, having turned the matches around in her favour against a string of strong players.
In the doubles final, Sravya Shivani and Pranjala Yadlapalli combined remarkably well to beat the young duo of Mahika Khanna and Sohini Mohanty 6-4, 6-0.
Doubles champions Sravya Shivani and Pranjala Yadlapalli in
the ITF women’s tennis tournament in Gurugram on Saturday.
| Photo Credit:
Kamesh Srinivasan
Doubles champions Sravya Shivani and Pranjala Yadlapalli in
the ITF women’s tennis tournament in Gurugram on Saturday.
| Photo Credit:
Kamesh Srinivasan
It was her third doubles title in the professional circuit for the 25-year-old Sravya, while it was the seventh doubles title for the 26-year-old Pranjala. It was the first doubles title after 2018 for Pranjala.
Ranked as high 265 in singles in 2019, Pranjala had to endure a long time away from the game owing to injuries.
Sravya too had to grapple with injury time out in her career, and it was her first doubles title since 2022.
The results:
Singles (semifinals): Zeel Desai bt Akanksha Nitture 6-3, 6-4; Shruti Ahlawat bt. Shihomi Leong (Mas) 6-2, 3-6, 6-3.
Doubles (final): Sravya Shivani & Pranjala Yadlapalli bt. Mahika Khanna & Sohini Mohanty 6-4, 6-0.
-Team Sportstar
Balaji and Bollipalli in ATP semifinals
Sriram Balaji and Rithvik Bollipalli beat third seeds Fernando Romboli and John-Patrick Smith 6-7(5), 6-2, [10-5] in the doubles quarterfinals of the $1,019,185 ATP tennis tournament in Hangzhou, China.
In the semifinals, the Indian pair will play the top seeds Francisco Cabral and Lucas Medler.
The results:
$1,019,185 ATP, Hangzhou, China
Doubles (quarterfinals): Sriram Balaji & Rithvik Bollipalli bt Fernando Romboli (Bra) & John-Patrick Smith (Aus) 6-7(5), 6-2, [10-5]; Guido Andreozzi (Arg) & Manuel Guinard (Fra) bt Arjun Kadhe & Vijay Sundar Prashanth 6-4, 6-2; Pre-quarterfinals: Balaji & Bolliipalli bt Theo Arribage (Fra) & Ray Ho (Tpe) 6-4, 7-5; Arjun & Vijay bt Learner Tien (USA) & Wu Yibing (Chn) 6-2, 6-4.
$1,190,210 ATP, Chengdu, China
Doubles (pre-quarterfinals): Constantin Frantzen (Ger) & Robin Haase (Ned) bt Rohan Bopanna & Takeru Yuzuki (Jpn) 6-3, 6-7(2), [12-10]; Luke JOhnson (GbR) & Austin Krajicek (USA) bt Siddhant Banthia & Ramkumar Ramanathan 7-6(9), 6-4.
$100,000 Challenger, Columbus, USA
Doubles (semifinals): Patrick Harper (Aus) & Johannus Monday (GBR) bt Sai Karteek Reddy & Ryuki Matsuda (Jpn) 6-2, 6-1.
$15,000 ITF women, Hurghada, Egypt
Doubles (semifinals): Lamis Aziz (Egy) & Anja Wildgruber (Ger) w.o. Saoirse Breen (Fij) & Ashmitha Easwaramurthi.
– Kamesh Srinivasan
PICKLEBALL
India’s first-ever beachside pickleball tournament to be held in Chennai
Selvakumar Baalu, founder of the RUC Foundation with former F1 driver Narain Karthikeyan at the launch of the foundation.
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
Selvakumar Baalu, founder of the RUC Foundation with former F1 driver Narain Karthikeyan at the launch of the foundation.
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
Chennai will play host to ‘Pickleball By The Bay’, India’s first PWR (Pickleball World Ranking) 1000-sanctioned tournament, set against the backdrop of the VGP Golden Beach Resort between September 26-28.
The three-day tournament is being held in association with the Indian Pickleball Association (IPA), Tamil Nadu Pickleball Association (TNPA), and Dynamic Universal Pickleball Rating (DUPR).
The event will feature top athletes from across the country and beyond, competing in five categories: men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s doubles, women’s doubles and mixed doubles.
The winners will be awarded from a prize pool of ₹25 lakh. The tournament will also feature daily sundowner parties, live music performances and more.
“Pickleball is a fast-paced, fun and highly engaging sport. By bringing it to the beach and surrounding it with live music and food, we’re taking the sport to an entirely new level, creating an unforgettable blend of athleticism, entertainment, and lifestyle,” says Selvakumar Baalu, founder of RUC Foundation.
-Team Sportstar
SHOOTING
Isha Taksale scored 252.9 in the final and beat Asian Championship gold medalist Elavenil Valarivan by 0.1 point in women’s air rifle in the National shooting selection trials at the Madhya Pradesh Academy on Saturday.
Isha qualified in the eighth place with 631.8, but wound up the final with sterling shots of 10.6 and 10.8 to pip the experienced Elavenil who had enjoyed a 0.6 point lead before the last two shots of the 24-shot final.
Qualification topper Narmada NIthin (634.8) placed third ahead of Shreya Agrawal, Sakshi Padekar, Ismita Bhowal, Meghana Sajjanar and Ananya Naidu.
In the 25 metre rapid fire pistol, Neeraj Kumar beat Raajwardan Paatil 33-26 for the top spot, after having top scored in qualification with 588.
Adarsh Singh who qualified in the sixth place with 577, rose to the third spot ahead of Sameer, Udhayveer Sidhu and Omkar Singh.
Top shooters Bhavesh Shekhawat, Anish Bhanwala and Ankur Goel shot 577 along with a few others and missed the final on lesser number of inner-10s.
RESULTS
10m air rifle: Women: 1. Isha Taksale 252.9 (631.8); 2. Elavenil Valarivan 252.8 (632.6); 3. Narmada Nithin 231.2 (634.8).
25m rapid fire pistol: Men: 1. Neeraj Kumar 33 (588); 2. Raajwardan Paatil 26 (583); 3. Adarsh Singh 24 (577).
– Kamesh Srinivasan
Published on Sep 20, 2025
Content Source: sportstar.thehindu.com