Indian sports wrap, April 27: 14 Indians reach finals at Asian age-group Boxing Championships

BOXING

Fourteen Indians reach finals at Asian age-group Boxing Championships

Indian boxers continued their good run with as many as 14 pugilists moving to the finals of the Asian U-15 & U-17 Boxing Championships in Amman, Jordan.

India has secured 43 medals.

In the Women’s U-15 semifinals, Komal (30-33 kg), Navya (58 kg), and Sunaina (61 kg) secured dominant RSC (Referee Stopped Contest) victories. Khushi Ahlawat (35 kg), Tamanna (37 kg), Princi (52 kg), and Trushana Mohite (67 kg) posted convincing wins by clear points margins. Milky Meinam (43 kg) battled hard to edge out her opponent in a tight 3-2 result, rounding off a highly successful day for India’s young female boxers. Svi (40 kg) and Vanshika (70+ kg) had received byes to the final.

In the Men’s U-15 competition, Sanskar Vinod (35 kg) became the first to secure a place in the title bout with a RSC win over Kyrgyzstan’s Arsen Zhorobaev. Sanskar was later joined in the final round by Rudraksh Singh Khaidem (46 kg), Abhijeet (61 kg), and Lakhsay Phogat (64 kg), all of whom won on points.

– Team Sportstar

TENNIS

Asian U-14 tennis c’ship: Jensi Kanabar wins in girls final; Kim Siyun takes boys title

Jensi Kanabar outplayed Lim Yerin of Korea 6-1, 6-2 in the girls final of the Asian under-14 Development tennis championship at the DLTA Complex on Sunday.

In an impressive run, the left-handed Jensi won her last four matches in straight sets against opponents from Korea, China, Thailand and Malaysia, after having dropped a set to Tsai-Jung Chiang of Chinese Taipei in the first round.

The effort fetched the top seeding for Jensi in the second tournament to be played from Monday.

Kim Siyun of Korea won the boys title beating Fu Choi of Hong Kong in three sets.

-Kamesh Srinivasan

Prajwal Dev loses Abidjan Challenger final

Prajwal Dev, in partnership with Aleksandre Bakshi of Georgia, was beaten 7-6(5), 7-5 by Constantin Kouzmine and Aziz Ouakaa in the doubles final of the $60,000 Challenger tennis tournament in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, on Sunday.

The champion team won 50 ATP points and $2,980, while the runner-up team collected 30 points and $1,740.

-Kamesh Srinivasan

GOLF

Theegala and Rai slip to Tied-14th at Zurich Classic

Sahith Theegala and his partner Aaron Rai carded 8-under 64 in the third round to drop to tied-14 in the Zurich Classic, the only team event on the PGA Tour.

The players with Indian origin have so far shot 63-69-64 and are 20-under and seven shots behind the leaders Andrew Novak and Ben Griffin, who shot an 11-under 61 to take a three-stroke lead.

Another Indian origin star Akshay Bhatia and his partner Carson Young missed the halfway cut.

As a team Theegala and Rai, who were tied-seventh after round 2, had nine birdies including five on the back nine of the TPC Louisiana. Their lone bogey was on the third.

Leaders Novak and Griffin are both chasing their first PGA Tour title. Novak and Griffin took their total to 27-under 189 and will now head into the Foursomes (alternate shot) finale as favourites on Sunday at TPC Louisiana.

Novak is coming off a playoff loss last week to Justin Thomas in the RBC Heritage, his second straight top-three finish.

Masters champion Rory McIlroy and fellow Irishman Shane Lowry, the defending champions, were five strokes back after a 61.

McIlroy returned from a weather delay of about 90 minutes to make a 30-foot eagle putt on the par-5 18th.

Jake Knapp and Frankie Capan III scored 60 to join the Japanese duo of Ryo Hisatsune and Takumi Kanaya at 24-under. Hisatsune and Kanaya carded 61.

Isaiah Salinda and Kevin Velo, the PGA TOUR rookies who led after each of the first two days, had a 66 to drop into a tie for fourth at 23-under. In the first round they set the tournament better-ball record Thursday with a 58.

Danish identical twins Nicolai and Rasmus Høgaard also were 23-under. They shot 64.

– PTI

Aditi struggles in third round at Chevron Championship

Indian golfer Aditi Ashok, who squeezed into the weekend action, had a rough time in the third round on a gusty and sunny day, managing a 5-over par to be placed tied 74th at the Chevron Championship in Texas.

Aditi’s third round included one birdie, four bogeys and one double bogey. She is seven over par for the tournament.

Having started her round from the back nine Aditi made a bogey on the 16th before bouncing back with a birdie on the 17th but made a double bogey on the 18th for a score of two over par stretch on the back nine.

On the front nine Aditi made three more bogeys, the second, sixth and seventh holes respectively for a score of three over par.

First-day leader Haeran Ryu after a disappointing second round bounced back to find herself tied for the lead with Mao Saigo.

Lindy Duncan (70) was third and Yan Liu slipped down to tied fourth.

Ryu who had 65-74 on the first two days had a strong third round of four under par with five birdies and one bogey that saw her return to the lead. She made all five birdies and her sole bogey of the round in the front nine.

Saigo (70-68-69) made four birdies and one bogey for a score of three under par for the day to share the lead.

The birdies came on the second, sixth, eighth and 13th holes. The sole bogey of the round was on the fifth hole.

– PTI

Lahiri is 19th as DeChambeau leads in Liv Mexico

Indian golfer Anirban Lahiri was hit by a triple bogey as he carded an even par 71 in the second round of the LIV Golf Mexico City to be placed Tied-19th.

Lahiri had six birdies, three bogeys and a triple on Par-5 12th.

Crushers GC Captain Bryson DeChambeau (63-66), thanks to a birdie at the par-3 18th, grabbed a one-shot lead over Cameron Smith (64-66).

Both shot matching 5-under 66s while playing together during the second round, a precursor to a dramatic and entertaining finish at Club de Golf Chapultepec.

Joaquin Niemann, the current season-long points leader, is three shots off the lead and is tied for the low round of the day with a 7-under 64.

DeChambeau (13 under) and Smith (12 under) left no doubt how impressed they are with each other’s biggest strengths inside the ropes.

DeChambeau and Smith are each seeking their first LIV Golf individual titles since 2023 when they combined to win four consecutive events near the end of the season. Since then, DeChambeau has made 19 LIV Golf regular-season starts without a win; Smith’s drought is at 20.

In the team format, Rippers led by Smith are ahead of DeChambeau’s team Crushers. Torque, which has Niemann, is third.

-PTI

MOTORSPORT

Kadur-Sherif pair wins APRC Asia Cup India Round

Reigning national champion Karna Kadur and experienced co-driver Musa Sherif clinched the FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship India Round here Sunday.

The Arka Motorsports duo started cautiously in the first stage of the day, which was won by their aggressive teammates Amittrajit Ghosh and Ashwin Naik, who held on to the third gear despite losing their clutch.

Despite enjoying a cushion of over a minute lead, Kadur displayed controlled aggression to win all the other three stages on the final day with a handsome lead of 1min, 50.8 seconds at the Madras International Circuit.

For the 36-year-old Kadur from Bengaluru, it is his third international honour. This title will be a huge confidence booster for him as he begins his title defence in the Indian National Rally Championship 2025 along with Kerala’s Sherif.

Two-time national champion Ghosh of Kolkata and Naik of Mangaluru, who were third overnight, overtook Delhi’s Harkrishan Wadia and Kunal Kashyap of Shimla to finish in second place.

Wadia and Kashyap, despite suffering a 2-min penalty for early check-in, managed to get the final place in the podium.

-PTI

SHOOTING

Abhinav Shaw shines with three gold medals across categories at KSSM Shooting C’ship

Abhinav Shaw lent the Midas touch to the mixed air rifle competition as he helped West Bengal sweep the three gold medals, with different partners, in the 23rd Kumar Surendra Singh shooting championship at the Dr. Karni Singh Range, Tughlakabad, on Sunday.

The 17-year-old Abhinav won the first gold with Mehuli Ghosh, beating the Railway pair of Meghana Sajjanar and Shahu Tushar Mane 16-4.

Elavenil Valarivan and Smit Moradiya who had scored 629.6 for Gujarat in qualification, the same as the Railway pair, but got pushed out of the gold medal match on the count back, beat the Delhi team for the bronze.

Abhinav won the junior gold with Swati Chowdhury and the youth gold with Sandrata Roy for a unique hat-trick.

Meanwhile, Olympian Chain Singh won the 50-metre rifle-prone gold ahead of Akhil Sheoran and Swapnil Kusale.

-Kamesh Srinivasan

MISCELLANEOUS

BSSA registers Guinness World Record for largest Madhubani painting

The record of the largest Madhubani painting in natural colours on canvas was achieved by the Bihar State Sports Authority in Patna.

Showcasing the rich cultural heritage of Bihar, this remarkable achievement was officially recognized by Guinness World Records. The certificate was proudly received by the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Bihar, Nitish Kumar, marking another milestone ahead of the Khelo India Youth Games in the state.

The painting was conceptualised by 50 students from Mithila Chithrakala Sansthan, Madhubani, along with Padmasree Baua Devi, Variya Acharya and Pratik Prabhakar and Kaniya Acharya as a tribute to Padmasree Jagdamba Devi. The monumental painting spanned an impressive 18.69 sq.m (201.179 sq.ft).

-Team Sportstar

Historic Achievement at Maha Bodhi Temple: World’s Largest Singing Bowl Ensemble Created

Hon’ble Chief Minister of Bihar, Nitish Kumar, receives the Guinness World Record for the world’s largest singing bowl ensemble, created by the Buddhist Monks at Gaya for the Buddha Mantra.

This feat was planned as a tribute to the State being the Land of Englightenment as it has been the birth place of many religions.

375 monks, hailing from various monasteries and spanning an age range of 5 to 70 years, came together in harmonious unity.

This historic event unfolded in the presence of esteemed dignitaries, including Raveendran Sankaran, I.P.S, D.G cum CEO, Bihar State Sports Authority, Dr. Mahasweta Maharathi, Secretary of the Bodh Gaya Temple Management Committee (BTMC), and revered monastic figures such as Bhikkhu Chalinda (Chief Monk), Bhikkhu Deenanand, Bhikkhu Manoj, and other senior Bhikkhus from diverse monasteries.

The momentous achievement was officially confirmed by Rishi Nath, the Official Adjudicator from Guinness World Records, who presided over the event. He stated, “All participants successfully met the guidelines, including maintaining harmony and consistency throughout the performance. It is a historic moment not only for the record but for the very first time, this UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE is on the Guinness World Records.

This remarkable feat not only etches Bodh Gaya onto the global map once again but also beautifully showcases the rich spiritual and cultural heritage of Bihar.

-Team Sportstar

CHESS

Ayush, Pantsulaia and Savchenko in joint lead at Maharashtra Open Grandmaster Chess

India’s Ayush Sharma, Georgia’s Levan Pantsulaia and Russia’s Boris Savchenko were in the joint lead after the ninth round of the third Maharashtra International Open Grandmaster Chess Tournament in Pune on Sunday.

Ayush got the better of Abhijeet Gupta of PSPB while Pantsulaia won against Nitish Belurkar from Goa. Savchenko was the winner in the clash against India’s Deep Sengupta of PSPB to go into the lead.

Meanwhile, in the below 1800 rating event, Alaukik Sinha was in the lead after the sixth round.

– PTI