Indian Sports Closing, September 12: Jolly, Gayatri fall in pre-quarters of Hong Kong Open

BADMINTON

Hong Kong Open Jolly and Gayatri fall in pre-quarters

Commonwealth Games bronze medalist duo Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand fought hard before losing to Liu Sheng and Tan Ning in the pre-quarter-finals of the women’s doubles at the Badminton Open. Hong Kong here on Thursday.

Liu and Ning won 21-11, 22-20.

The first match was one-sided as the two Chinese seeds broke away from a 3-2 score to win 21-11.

But the unseeded Indian duo came back strongly in the second match where they fought hard and were tied up to 15 and then 20 before the Chinese finished the match 22-20. The match lasted 41 minutes.

For the Indians, ranked 26th in the world, it was their second consecutive defeat against the Chinese, ranked third in the world, who now lead 2-1 head-to-head.

Jolly and Gayatri earlier beat Ukrainians Polina Buhrova and Yevheniia Kantemyr 21-14, 21-13 in their first-round clash.

Sumeeth Reddy and Sikki Reddy are the only other Indians competing in the BWF World Tour Super 500 event. They will face eighth seed Goh Soon Huat and Lai Shevon Jemie of Malaysia in the pre-quarters of the mixed doubles plus late in the day.

-PTI

CHESS

Google is the title sponsor of the World Chess Championship

Google is the title sponsor of the World Chess Championship match between Ding Liren and D. Gukesh, which begins in Singapore on November 23.

Chess’s world governing body FIDE said the technology leader’s sponsorship would set a new standard for the game’s reach and influence.

Simon Kahn, Google’s marketing director for Asia Pacific, said the company was delighted to sponsor this historic event.

“Chess represents a profound intersection of human ingenuity and technological potential, and has always been a testing ground for AI innovation,” he said. “In fact, some of our first advances in AI came from mastering chess as a proof of concept. Through search, YouTube and AI, we are now excited to enhance the Championship experience for chess fans around the world, celebrating the beauty of this game that continues to inspire and challenge us .

FIDE CEO Emil Sutovsky said the sport’s world governing body was delighted to partner with Google. “This is an important step for our sport,” he said. “This collaboration brings a new dimension to the competition, blending the tradition of chess with the innovation of AI. The partnership is expected to increase the visibility of the World Chess Championship, taking the event’s broadcast to the next level and attracting new audiences globally.

-PK Ajith Kumar

GOLF

Hero Women’s Pro Golf: Vidhatri Urs extends lead by three shots

Rain and wet conditions did not deter Vidhatri Urs from extending her lead by three more shots as the second round was reduced to nine holes during the 11th stop of the Hero Women’s Pro Golf Tour at Delhi Golf Club on Thursday.

Aiming for a hat trick of titles, Vidhatri shot 2-under 34 for the nine-hole second round, which took her to a total of 7-under 101. She was six shots ahead of Sneha Singh, who also shot a commendable 2 under. 34 to move up to 1-under 107. Sneha was joined by Hitaashee Bakshi, who slipped to 1-over 37 with a bogey and no birdies. Tvesa Malik Sandhu was 2 for 38 for the day and 1 for 109 for fourth place.

Shweta Mansingh was fifth with 1 for 110, while Amandeep Drall and Anvvi Dahhiya were tied for sixth with 111, while Ridhima Dilawari and Seher Atwal were tied for eighth with 113.

The cut fell to 13 out of 121, and 35 players reached the final round. Organizers had to cut the schedule in half due to difficult weather conditions which caused the match to start two hours late.

– Sportstar Team

TENNIS

Prabir defeats ITF Juniors second seed

Prabir Chavda beat second seed Adhiraj Thakur 7-5, 6-2 in the men’s quarterfinals of the ITF junior tennis tournament at the Ahmedabad City Foundation Courts on Thursday.

In the girls’ race, qualifier Prachi Malik, who had beaten second seed Kashvi Sunil in the first round, continued her strong run and beat sixth seed Aleena Farid in thrilling fashion, 3-6, 7- 6 (3), 6-4.

– Kamesh Srinivasan

Leander Paes meets the Minister of Sports

Leander Paes, Atlanta Olympics bronze medalist and multiple Grand Slam champion, met Union Sports Minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya in New Delhi and shared his experience and insights on what it takes to succeed at the highest level.

Leander, a seven-time Olympian, discussed the need to build a stronger sporting base in the country, with a focus on identifying and developing talent at the grassroots level.

Leander Paes, Atlanta Olympics bronze medalist and multiple Grand Slam champion, met Union Sports Minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya in New Delhi. | Photo credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

The Sports Minister was happy to meet the latest inductee into the prestigious Tennis Hall of Fame and opted to get more clarity on strategies to further improve the country’s performance at the Olympics, Paralympics, etc.

Dr Mandaviya highlighted the government’s commitment to creating a more conducive environment for sports in the country, so that budding athletes have access to world-class facilities, training and competitions.

– Kamesh Srinivasan

The game was wiped out at the AITA women’s tournament

Persistent rain and wet conditions spoiled the day’s play in the Chamunda Rs. 100,000 AITA Women’s Tennis Tournament at the Faridabad Academy on Thursday.

The semi-finals have been postponed to Friday and will be followed by the final on the same day.

– Kamesh Srinivasan

Shrivalli in quarter-finals in Australia

Shrivalli Bhamidipaty maintained her strong game and beat Gabriella Da Silva Fick 6-3, 7-5 to reach the quarterfinals of the $60,000 ITF women’s tennis tournament in Perth, Australia, on Thursday.

In the quarterfinals, Shrivalli will challenge top seed Talia Gibson.

– Kamesh Srinivasan