SQUASH
Velavan loses in German Open squash quarters
National squash champion Velavan Senthilkumar went down to Malaysian fourth seed Eain Yow Ng 11-7, 11-6, 11-4 in the men’s quarterfinals of the German Open, a USD 50,000 PSA World Tour Bronze event, in Hamburg on Friday.
“It’s always been a close affair (between us). For some reason, every time he upsets a few players to get to me,” Yow Ng told the official PSA website of the Indian world No 59.
“It’s getting tougher every time, but I also know my strengths, I know I can hang in there, play the big points better, and I think it showed in the first and second games. I’m just happy to get through in three today,” added the Malaysian world No 22, who has won all their three meetings in PSA events.
– Team Sportstar
TENNIS
Doubles champions Chia Yi Tsao and Ankita Raina in the ITF women’s tennis tournament in Japan on Saturday.
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
Doubles champions Chia Yi Tsao and Ankita Raina in the ITF women’s tennis tournament in Japan on Saturday.
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
ITF women’s tennis tournament: Ankita-Chia duo defeats Madeleine-Eudice in doubles final
Anita Raina in partnership with Chia Yi Tsao of Taiwan beat Madeleine Brooks and Eudice Wong Chong 6-4, 6-4 in the doubles final of the $40,000 ITF women’s tennis tournament in Kashiwa, Japan, on Saturday.
It was the 29th doubles title in the professional circuit for the 31-year-old Ankita. She has 11 singles titles to her credit.
In the €651,865 ATP tournament in Marrakech, Morocco, Yuki Bhambri in partnership with Albano Olivetti of France was beaten 7-5, 3-6, [10-7] in the doubles semifinals by second seeds Alexander Erler and Lucas Miedler. Yuki and partner collected €9,600 and 90 ATP points.
Sriram Balaji and Andre Begemann also lost the doubles semifinals in Houston, USA, to fourth seeds Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson 10-3 in the super tie-break, and collected $10,970 and 90 points.
The results:
€651, 865 ATP, Marrakech, Morocco
Doubles (semifinals): Alexander Erler & Lucas Miedler (Aut) bt Yuki Bhambri & Albano Olivetti (Fra) 7-5, 3-6, [10-7].
$742,350 ATP, Houston, USA
Doubles (semifinals): Max Purcell & Jordan Thompson (Aus) bt Sriram Balaji & Andre Begemann (Ger) 6-7(5), 6-2, [10-3].
$40,000 ITF women, Kashiwa, Japan
Doubles (final): Ankita Raina & Chia Yi Tsao (Tpe) bt Madeleine Brooks (GBR) & Eudice Wong Chong (Hkg) 6-4, 6-4.
$25,000 ITF women, Bujumbura, Burundi
Doubles (semifinals): Weronika Falkowska (Pol) & Stephanie Visscher (Ned) bt Riya Bhatia & Diana Marcinkevica (Lat) 2-6, 6-3, [10-8].
-Kamesh Srinivasan
HOCKEY
Hockey India organises specialised coaching program for former players
Hockey India has launched a new initiative aimed at bringing uniformity and consistency in coaching and former India drag-flickers and goalkeepers Rupinder Pal Singh, VR Raghunath, Adrian D’Souza and, Bharat Chetri were among the first ones to receive the training.
The programme, aimed at standardising coaching methodologies across the nation and nurturing the next generation of hockey talent, was executed by High Performance Director Herman Kruis at the SAI centre in Bengaluru recently.
Yogita Bali, Helen Mary, Dipika Murty, Akash Chikte, PT Rao, and eminent former India drag-flickers Gurjinder Singh, and Jaspreet Kaur also attended the program.
The aim is to streamline coaching approaches, enabling athletes across the nation, especially at the grassroots level, to learn the same fundamentals and skills, thereby fostering uniformity in training standards.
“By equipping former hockey icons with advanced coaching techniques, we are empowering them to shape the future of Indian hockey. This collaborative effort will not only elevate the quality of coaching but also enhance the prospects of our young athletes,” said Kruis in a HI release.
-PTI
GOLF
Pranavi lies 20th as Australian Women’s Classic reduced to 36 holes
Pranavi Urs was tied-20th after her first round in the weather-hit Australian Women’s Classic at the Bonville Golf Resort.
With the first day almost fully wiped out due to inclement weather, the event has been reduced to 36 holes and the first round is yet to be completed.
Nicole Broch Estrup sits at the top of the leaderboard after play was suspended. The Dane shot 6-under 66 and shared the lead with Chinese Taipei’s Pei-Ying Tsai and Australian Jess Whitling.
Seven groups had not finished their first round, which was completed on Saturday morning.
-PTI
Tvesa Malik maintains momentum, lies T-7th in South Africa
Indian golfer Tvesa Malik continued her momentum in South Africa as she was placed Tied-7th after the second round of the Absa Ladies Invitational on the Sunshine Ladies Tour in Kempton Park.
Tvesa, who won her first-ever international title in South Africa in February, had rounds of 72-72 and is even par for 36 holes at the Serengeti Estates, where the conditions were tough with gusting wind and testing pin positions.
The other Indian in the field, Ridhima Dilawari, a winner on the domestic Tour, also made the cut after rounds of 74-73 and was T-19th.
Tvesa, who had three birdies and three bogeys in the first round, was looking very good on a windy second day on Friday. She had three birdies against one bogey in her first six holes after starting from the 10th. She dropped shots on 17th and 18th and had two birdies against one bogey on her second nine.
Overall Tvesa had five birdies against as many bogeys on day two.
-PTI
