FILMING
Indian trio wins gold in men’s 25m rapid-fire pistol at ISSF World Junior Championship
Raajwardan Paatil and Mukesh Nelavalli missed out on individual medals in the 25 meter rapid fire pistol, but won team gold with Harsimar Singh Rattha, at the World Junior Shooting Championship in Lima, Peru.
Raajwardan and Mukesh reached the individual final, but finished fourth and fifth, although the best qualifier, Frenchman Thomas Chinours (584), placed sixth.
The Indian trio had a total of 1722 to finish comfortably ahead of France and Poland in the race for team gold.
India took its tally to 11 gold, one silver and four bronze medals to top the medal table. China finished second with three gold medals and one silver.
The United States and Italy followed with two gold medals each, in addition to silver and bronze medals.
The results:
Junior men: 25m rapid fire pistol: 1. Yao Jianan (Chn) 31 (582); 2. Yan Chesnel (Fra) 23 (577); 3. Tomasz Jedraszczy (Pol) 20 (575); 4. Raajwardan Paatil 17 (579); 5. Mukesh Nelavalli 10 (579); 13. Harsimar Singh Rattha 564.
Team: 1. India 1722; 2. France 1701 (41x); 3. Poland 1701 (36x).
– Kamesh Srinivasan
GOLF
Vizag Open: Angad continues to lead in third round
Angad Cheema in action. | Photo credit: Special arrangement
Angad Cheema in action. | Photo credit: Special arrangement
Chandigarh’s Angad Cheema continued to dominate in the third round as the top contender for the Vizag Open Golf Championship title at the East Point Golf Club (EPGC) on Friday.
Angad (69-61-70), the overnight leader by four shots, had a rock-solid penultimate round, barring a setback on the final hole when he posted a score of under 70 on Friday to going into the fourth round with a three-punch. advantage with a total of 13-under 200.
Patna-based Aman Raj (66-68-69) shot a two-under 69 to end the third day in second position at 10-under 203.
Gurugram’s Kartik Sharma shot the day’s highest score of seven-under 64 to tie for third with Amardeep Malik (65) of Noida and Yashas Chandra (68) of Mysuru.
Angad Cheema, currently fourth in the TATA Steel PGTI rankings with six top-10s in the season so far, got off to a good start by extending his lead with birdies on the first two par-5 holes, the first and the seventh, thanks to his excellent approach shots. Cheema, chasing his second PGTI title and looking to end an 11-year win drought, then had a slight setback with a bogey on the 10th after a few errant shots.
Angad, 34, then rallied with two terrific iron shots to set up short birdie conversions at the 11th and 15th. Cheema enjoyed an impressive six-shot lead heading into the final hole.
However, a difficult placement in the hazard on the 18th led to a double bogey for Angad, with his lead reduced to three shots.
Cheema said: “I was already playing well, so today I just wanted to repeat what I did earlier in the week. I hit my irons and wedges well and that made for most of my birdies today. I struggled a little with my tee shots today and that’s where I’ll be looking to improve in the fourth round.
“The key to the final round will be to stay in play on every hole and hit as many greens as possible, because the entire golf course is a challenge.”
Aman Raj continued in second place after making four birdies and a double bogey on Friday that kept him in the hunt for his fifth title.
Kartik Sharma had an eagle, seven birdies and two bogeys in his round of 64, the lowest score of the day.
Last year’s champion N Thangaraja (66) of Sri Lanka was tied for seventh with a score of seven under (206).
-Team Sportstar
Four Indian golfers spend second day waiting for weather to clear at event in Japan
The Indian quartet of Krishnav Chopraa, Vedant Sirohi, Kartik Singh and Rakshit Dahiya spent the entire second day waiting for the weather to clear as Japan’s Rintaro Nakano took the lead before play was suspended at the Asian Amateur Championship -Pacific Friday.
Chopraa (68), Sirohi (69), Singh (71) and Dahiya (75), who all played in the morning slot on the first day, were waiting to be told that they could only play SATURDAY.
Nakano took a one-shot lead at seven under over China’s Wenyi Ding as the second round was suspended due to darkness on Friday evening at Taiheiyo Club Gotemba.
The second round was delayed six and a half hours due to fog and heavy rain.
“There’s not much we can do,” said Singh, who, along with Chopraa, Sirohi and Dahiya, came to the course and practiced on the green.
“There’s not much we can do about it. Weather-related stops and delays are part of golf,” Chopraa said with a laugh.
“We’re all used to it.” They will all go out early in the morning on Saturday and hope to complete their second and part of their third heats.
-PTI
Modest start for Diksha at Aramco Team Series Shenzhen
It was a disappointing start for India’s Diksha Dagar as she scored 3-over 76 to find herself tied for 73rd after the first round of the Aramco Team Series presented by PIF – Shenzhen here on Friday.
Two-time LET winner Diksha made three birdies against six bogeys, but teammate Moa Folke (73) had a slightly better day and was tied for 45th.
As a team, the duo of Dagar and Folke tied for 13th.
Céline Boutier led the individual standings while Team Marta Martin, led by Martin (71), led the team segment.
In the individual competition, Frenchman Boutier had an excellent first day, shooting a round of 66 (-7) to place at the head of the pack.
The Frenchwoman made a bogey on her first hole before making a birdie at the third and she missed another shot at the fifth.
-PTI
BASKETBALL
Amrutha’s three-point show breaks Thrissur’s heart
Olivia Shaibu (middle, jersey no. 34) supported Amrutha well as Alappuzha secured a narrow victory against Thrissur. | Photo credit: Special arrangement
Olivia Shaibu (middle, jersey no. 34) supported Amrutha well as Alappuzha secured a narrow victory against Thrissur. | Photo credit: Special arrangement
EK Amrutha, mother of a three-year-old, produced a scintillating three-pointer as Alappuzha edged Thrissur 59-57 to advance to the women’s semi-final of the 68th State Senior Basketball Championship Kerala at Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium. Friday.
The 28-year-old, one of four KSEB stars playing as guests for Alappuzha, hit seven three-pointers for a total of 27 points to break Thrissur hearts.
Thrissur, trailing 4-14 at one point in the first quarter, had already staged an impressive comeback. The team, made up of high school girls from St. Joseph’s in Irinjalakuda and Sacré-Cœur in Chalakudy, was tied at 25 at halftime and even led 43-41 after the third quarter. But Amrutha, who was well supported by Nimmy Mathew and Olivia Shaibu, produced two three-pointers at a crucial moment in the final quarter and then made a lovely layup as Alappuzha cruised to a stunning victory.
For Thrissur, Aleena Antony’s 25 runs went in vain.
Meanwhile, defending champions Ernakulam men and Thiruvananthapuram women qualified for the semi-finals.
Ernakulam men, despite losing three of their stars, including injured Indian player Vaisakh, brushed aside Alappuzha 77-37 while Thiruvananthapuram women played Pathanamthitta to a 67-20 verdict.
The results (quarter-finals):
Men: Ernakulam 77 (Muhammed Shiras 24, TM Rijas 14, Sayyan Mohammed 12) vs Alappuzha 37; Thrissur 64 (Jeo Lonappan 17, Shibin Shaji 15, Bewin K. Biju 14, Muhammed Irfan 12) but Pathanamthitta 48 (Athul Augustine 21, Subin Thomas 10); Thiruvananthapuram 52 (Jerome Prince 12) but Palakkad 38 (Ajay Diji 15, Sudarshan 12).
Women: Thiruvananthapuram 67 years (Aneesha Cleetus 20 years, Susan Florentina 16 years) but Pathanamthitta 20 years (SS Krishna Priya 11 years); Kottayam 79 years (Akshaya Philip 23 years, Reena Ronald 18 years, Sree Lakshmi 11 years, Irin Elsa John 11 years) by Kozhikode 43 years (P. Devangana 13 years, Anaga Thulasidas 13 years); Alappuzha 59 (EK Amrutha 27, Nimmy Mathew 11, Olivia T. Shaibu 11) by Thrissur 57 (Aleena Antony 25, PK Akla 10, Aleena Jaison 10); Palakkad 73 (Chippy Mathew 22, VJ Jayalakshmi 18, Aiswarya Sabu 11) by Ernakulum 54 (Rebecca Martin 19, Amanda Maria Rocha 11).
-Stan Ryan
