TENNIS
ITF $25k women’s tennis tournament: Ankita Raine reaches semifinals in Solapur
Top seed Ankita Raina beat sixth seed Ekaterina Yashina of Russia 7-6(0), 6-3 to reach the semifinals of the Balaji Amines $25,000 ITF women’s tennis tournament at the District Sports Complex in Solapur on Friday.
In the semifinals, Ankita will play third seed Anastasia Kulikova of Finland, who beat qualifier Mananchaya Sawangkaew of Thailand in three sets.
Qualifier Shrivalli Bhamidipaty’s fine run was stopped by eighth seed Priska Nugroho, as the Indonesian won 6-2, 6-2.
In doubles, Ankita and Prarthana Thombare set up a title clash against second seeds Nugroho and Yashina.
RESULTS
Singles (Quarterfinals)
Ankita Raina bt Ekaterina Yashina (Rus) 7-6(0), 6-3; Anastasia Kulikova (Fin) bt Mananchaya Sawangkaew (Tha) 5-7, 6-3, 6-4; Daira Kudasova (Rus) bt Katarina Kozarov (Srb) 6-2, 6-3; Priska Nugroho (Ina) bt Shrivalli Bhamidipaty 6-2, 6-2.
Doubles (Semifinals)
Ankita Raina & Prarthana Thombare bt Shrivalli Bhamidipaty & Vaidehi Chaudhari 6-3, 6-2; Priska Nugroho (Ina) & Ekaterina Yashina (Rus) bt Mananchaya Sawangkaew & Lanlana Tararudee (Tha) 6-2, 3-6, [10-5].
– Kamesh Srinivasan
GOLF
SSP Chawrasia Invitational: Lahiri, Manu share lead after third round
Anirban Lahiri in action during third round of the SSP Chawrasia Invitational.
| Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
The man with seven international titles to his name and one of the pre-tournament favourites, Anirban Lahiri joined in-form Manu Gandas in the lead at nine-under 207 in the inaugural S.S.P. Chawrasia Invitational, at the Royal Calcutta Golf Club on Friday.
With gusty winds challenging the players’ ability, Anirban and Manu managed sedate rounds of one-under 71 and even-par 72 respectively and kept themselves in the joint lead. Gaganjeet Bhullar, another Indian star with 11 international wins, struck the day’s joint best score of 67, which featured birdies on the last four holes, and closed the penultimate round in tied-third place along with Veer Ahlawat (70), at eight-under 208.
Another fine performance came from Delhi’s Kapil Kumar, who also fired a 67 to end the day in fifth place at seven-under 209.
Tournament host S.S.P. Chawrasia did not find his form and shot a 73 while Shankar Das matched the day’s best 67 as the duo ended the day at 13th at two-under 214 to be the highest-placed among the Kolkata-based professionals. The PGTI Rankings leader Yuvraj Singh Sandhu (75) of Chandigarh continued to struggle with his form and was placed tied 18th at one-under 215.
– Amitabha Das Sharma
TENNIS
$15k ITF men’s tennis tournament: Sasikumar Mukund reaches semis in Egypt
Top seed Sasikumar Mukund beat Grigoriy Lomakin of Kazakhstan 6-2, 7-6 (2) in the quarterfinals of the $15,000 ITF men’s tennis tournament in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, on Friday.
In the semifinals, Mukund will play qualifier Seydina Andre of Senegal.
RESULTS
$15,000 ITF men, Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt
Singles (quarterfinals): Sasikumar Mukund bt Grigoriy Lomakin (Kaz) 6-2, 7-6 (2).
$15,000 ITF women, Wellington, New Zealand
Singles (pre-quarterfinals): Mia Repac (Aus) bt Ashmitha Easwaramurthi 6-1, 6-4.
– Kamesh Srinivasan
SQUASH
Northern India squash championship: Tanvi Khanna, Prithviraj Singh win titles
Winners of the Northern India squash championship at the Delhi Gymkhana Club on Friday
| Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Tanvi Khanna and Prithviraj Singh won the women’s and men’s titles in the IndusInd Bank Northern India squash championship at the Delhi Gymkhana Club courts in New Delhi on Friday.
Tanvi beat the top seed Sanika Choudhari 11-5, 11-3, 11-3. Prithviraj recovered after a slow start to beat Ranjit Singh 5-11, 11-5, 11-4, 11-2.
In the only final that went the full distance, Aryan Pratap Singh beat the top seed Aarav Gill 11-6, 11-9, 8-11, 6-11, 11-9.
RESULTS (FINALS)
Men: Prithviraj Singh bt Ranjit Singh 5-11, 11-5, 11-4, 11-2
Women: Tanvi Khanna bt Sanika Choudhari 11-5, 11-3, 11-3
Boys: Under-19: Aryan Pratap Singh bt Aarav Gill 11-6, 11-9, 8-11, 6-11, 11-9.
Under-17: Arihant KS bt Karan Yadav 11-9,11-7, 11-7.
Under-15: Yusha Nafees bt Subhash Choudhary 11-9, 11-7, 11-7.
Under-13: Abhinav Tomer bt Rudra Pathania 3-11, 11-8, 11-9, 11-4.
Under-11: Dhruv Johri bt Amarya Bajaj 11-6, 11-8, 11-5.
Girls: Under-17: Anahat Singh bt Unnati Tripathi 11-3, 11-3, 11-3.
Under-15: Sanvi Batar bt Aradhya Porwal 11-6, 11-7, 11-8.
Under-13: Aroma bt Bria Sharma 11-9, 3-11, 11-9, 11-9.
Under-11: Chhavi Panchal bt Divyanshi Jain 11-5, 11-8, 11-9.
Over-45 men: Vikas Nayar bt Satyajit Sahay 11-5, 13-11, 13-15, 11-4.
– Kamesh Srinivasan
FOOTBALL
Santosh Trophy’s Group 2 matches in Kozhikode from Dec. 26
The Santosh Trophy National football championship’s Group 2 league matches will be held in Kozhikode from December 26 to January 8.
The host Kerala, Mizoram, Rajasthan, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir are the teams in the group.
The Kerala team for the Santosh Trophy will be announced on December 22.
Fixtures
Dec. 26: Bihar v J&K; Rajasthan v Kerala.
Dec. 27: AP v Mizoram.
Dec. 29: Bihar v Kerala; J&K v Mizoram.
Dec. 30: Rajasthan v AP.
Jan. 1: Bihar v Mizoram; Kerala v AP.
Jan. 2: J&K v Rajasthan.
Jan. 4: Bihar v AP; Mizoram v Rajasthan.
Jan. 5: Kerala v J&K.
Jan. 7: Bihar v Rajasthan; AP v J&K.
Jan. 8: Mizoram v Kerala.
– Stan Rayan
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)