Category: SPORTS

Singapore: Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu and HS Prannoy moved to the second round of the Singapore Open Super 750 tournament with contrasting victories here on Tuesday.

Sindhu made light work of Canada’s Wen Yu Zhang to notch a 21-14, 21-9 win in just 31 minutes.

A far tougher challenge awaits the former world champion in the next round, where she will face Tokyo Olympic gold medallist and current world No.5 Chen Yu Fei of China.

World No. 34 Prannoy, meanwhile, had to dig deep for his win. The 32-year-old battled past Denmark’s higher-ranked Rasmus Gemke, fighting back from a game down to triumph 19-21, 21-16, 21-14. He will lock horns with France’s Christov Popov in the round of 16.

However, it was a disappointing day for the rest of the Indian contingent with Malvika Bansod, Anmol Kharb, Priyanshu Rajawat, and Kiran George all crashing out after suffering defeats in their respective opening round singles matches.

Malvika and Priyanshu both let slip a one-game lead.

Malvika lost 21-14, 18-21, 11-21 to Thailand’s eighth seed Supanida Katethong, while Priyanshu fell 21-14, 10-21, 14-21 to seventh-seeded Japanese shuttler Kodai Naraoka in a match that lasted over an hour.

Anmol was outclassed by Chen. The Indian showed grit in the second game before going down 11-21, 22-24.

George, who reached the India Open quarterfinal earlier this year, was defeated by China’s Weng Hong Yang 19-21, 17-21, while R. Santhosh Ramraj lost his men’s singles opener 14-21, 8-21 to South Korea’s Kim Ga Eun.

In mixed doubles, the Indian pair of Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto were beaten 18-21, 13-21 by China’s Cheng Xing and Zhang Chi.

Ashith Surya and Amrutha Parmuthesh also bowed out, losing 11-21, 17-21 to Japan’s Yuichi Shimogami and Sayaka Hobara.

The women’s doubles duo of Kavipriya Selvam and Simran Singh was no match for Korea’s Baek Ha Na and Lee So Hee, going down 4-21 9-21.

 

Hong Kong:  The Indian Golf Union (IGU) has sent a four-member team to compete in the prestigious Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation (APGC) Junior Championship beginning Tuesday at the Hong Kong Golf Club.

The Indian boys’ team comprises Krish Chawla and Ranveer Mitroo and the girls’ squad includes Saanvi Somu and Kashika Mishra.

The team is accompanied by non-playing captain Komal Narwar.

The three-round championship, which is played in strokeplay format, will take place from May 27 to 29 and have boys individual, boys team, girls individual, girls team and mixed team titles on offer.

Combined scores of boys and girls will be considered for boys and girls team titles whereas best scores among boys and girls from one team will be added to calculate the mixed team standings.

Talking about his preparations, Chawla said: “My preparation for the APGC Junior Championship has been very good. I practice daily and try to improve my performance every day while noting any mistakes or shortcomings I may have.

“I expect a positive outcome from the event, and I think it’s a great learning experience that will benefit my career and me overall.”

Mitroo, who will be participating in the Singapore Junior Championship next and several events in the USA, has been working on his swing and fine-tuning his short game. He feels that his focused approach will fetch him the desired result in APGC Junior Championship.

“Competing in an event like the APGC Juniors is an incredible opportunity to showcase my level of golf against the best in the Asia-Pacific region. It’s always a proud feeling to be representing my country.

“The IGU plays a crucial role in the development of golfers in our country. They provide us with opportunities like this to experience higher levels of competition and resources that are essential for our growth,” Ranveer said.

Saanvi Somu, who is competing in an international event for the first time, has been focusing on her physical fitness, technical skills and mental game and is hopeful of gaining valuable experience from the tournament.

 

JAMMU: Bringing laurels to the Union Territory and keeping its flag high at the national scene, ace Softball players Sarabjeet Singh Sodhi and Faizan Bashir have been named in the U-23 Men’s Softball Indian team for the Asian Championship.

The duo will represent India in the Asia Cup (Men) U-23 Softball Championship scheduled to be held at Softball Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand from June 2 to June 7, 2025.

Asia Cup (Men) Softball Championship in Thailand will also be the qualifying event for the World Cup (Men) U-23 Softball Championship 2026, if the Indian team figures in the top two teams in the Asian Championship.

The selection of the players for the National Camp was done during the selection trials at Jalgaon, Maharashtra, on January 18 and 19, 2025. Both of them were part of the two National Camps–one in Maharashtra and another at Vikas Puri Stadium, New Delhi.

Both young and energetic Softball players, one from district Kulgam and another from district Jammu, started playing Softball at a very young age and participated in many national-level events.

Waseem Raja Khan, General Secretary, J&K Softball Association, congratulated Sarbjeet & Faizan for this landmark achievement.

He advised budding Softball players of Jammu & Kashmir to make this potential Olympic sport of Softball, which is presently played in 142 Countries around the World, a career option.

New Delhi: Punjab Kings lead spinner Yuzvendra Chahal on Monday missed his second IPL game in a row due to a finger injury but is expected to regain full fitness for the all-important play-offs.

Punjab Kings had paid Rs 18 crore for Chahal’s services, making him the costliest spinner in IPL auction history.

The leg-break bowler was not fit enough for the team’s last league fixture against Mumbai Indians. He had also missed the game against Delhi Capitals on Saturday.

“He is nursing a finger injury but should be available for the IPL play-offs,” a BCCI source told PTI.

In Chahal’s absence, Harpreet Brar has been the lead spinner for the franchise who have entered the play-offs for the first time since 2014.

The wrist spinner has taken 14 wickets in 12 games at an average of 25.28 and economy rate of 9.56. He has had two four-wicket hauls this season, underlining his value to the team.

After three games in Jaipur, Punjab Kings will be moving to their home ground at Mullanpur, where Qualifier 1 and Eliminator would be played.

Skipper Shreyas Iyer and head coach Ricky Ponting’s partnership has brought instant success to the franchise that has perennially under-performed since the IPL’s inception in 2008.

Bowling has been the weaker link for the team in an otherwise impressive season. The departure of Marco Jansen after the league stage could adversely impact Punjab Kings who would be banking on New Zealander Kyle Jamieson to perform a similar role.

Berhampur (Odisha):  Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday praised a 16-year-old weightlifter from Odisha, who set two new national records in weightlifting in the recently concluded Khelo India Youth Games-2025 in Bihar.

“The brilliant performances of Asmita Dhone of Maharashtra, Harshvardhan Sahu of Odisha, and Tushar Chaudhary of Uttar Pradesh in the weightlifting competition won everyone’s heart,” Modi said in the 122nd edition of his monthly radio address ‘Mann Ki Baat’ aired on Sunday.

“I was very much surprised when our Prime Minister mentioned my name along with some other Khelo India participants in his Mann Ki Baat address,” said Sahu who is now taking training in the Netaji Subhas National Institute of Sports (NSNIS), Patiala.

“I have been encouraged by his address and will try to do better in the coming events and grateful to him,” he said

A resident of Haradakhandi in Berhampur town, Harshvardhan has bagged a gold medal and set new records in the 7th Khelo India Youth Game, (under 18) held at Bihar from May 4 to 15.

In the 49-kg category, Harshvardhan has lifted 88 kg in snatch and record-breaking 115 kg in clean and jerk, totalling 203 kg. He has broken the previous record of 202 kg set by Jharkhand’s Babulal Hembrom.

Before participating in Khelo India, he had bagged a bronze medal by lifting 197 kg (snatch 87 kg, clean and jerk 110 kg) in the World Youth Championships held at Lima in Peru.

Harshvardhan belongs to a middle-class family and his father is doing a small business. He was taking training at the Army Sports Institute (ASI) Pune, before shifting to NSNIS.

Young weightlifters in the country, particularly in Odisha will be encouraged as the Prime Minister mentioned the name of the young weightlifting prodigies, including Harshvardhan from the state,” said K Ravi Kumar, Arjuna award winner in weightlifting.

Odisha Deputy Chief Minister Pravati Parida, state minister Bibhuti Bhusan Jena and several MLAs of Ganjam district thanked the Prime Minister for taking the name of Harshvardhan in ‘Maan Ki Baat’.

“We are very much grateful to the Prime Minister for taking the name of Harshvardhan of Berhampur,” said Jena, the state’s Commerce and Transport minister.

Berhampur has produced several renowned weightlifters, which brought fame not only for the state but also for the country, said K Anil Kumar, MLA of Berhampur.

 

Ahmedabad: Gujarat Titans’ hopes of a top-two finish in the IPL suffered a massive dent when they went down by 83 runs to Chennai Super Kings, who were powered by fifty-makers Devon Conway and Dewald Brevis, here Sunday.

The Titans have 18 points after a full set of 14 league matches and are still on top of the table despite the Net Run Rate taking a nose dive after this big defeat.

To maintain their position inside the top two, GT now require Royal Challengers Bengaluru (17 points) to go down to Lucknow Super Giants in their final league match.

It’s important because either Mumbai Indians (16) or Punjab Kings (17 points) will overtake GT with a win from their face-off.

Cutting back to the match, once asked to chase a stiff 231, the Titans floundered badly losing in-form skipper Shubman Gill, Jos Buttler and Sherfane Rutherford in the Power Play passage itself with just 35 runs on the board.

The Gujarat side was bowled out for 147 in 18.3 overs.

Pacer Anshul Kamboj did the early damage, claiming the wickets of Gill and Rutherford.

Sai Sudharsan (41, 28b), the latest entrant into the India Test squad, and his Tamil Nadu team-mate M Shahrukh Khan (19) added 55 runs for the fourth wicket to infuse some interest into the chase.

But left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja returned for his second spell to dismiss both Sudharsan and Shahrukh in the space of four balls in the 11th over, and the match effectively ended at that point.

CSK finished their IPL 2025 engagements at the bottom of the pile with eight points from 14 matches, the five-time champions’ worst ever finish in the 10-team league.

Earlier, seasoned Conway and promising Brevis produced fifties of contrasting character, laying the foundation for Chennai Super Kings’ healthy 230 for five.

Once the Super Kings elected to bat on a super hot afternoon, Conway and Brevis led the charge with a 52 off 35 balls, and a 23-ball 57 on a smooth pitch.

But Conway’s knock was put to shade a bit by cameos by Ayush Mhatre (34, 17b) and Urvil Patel (37, 19b), who made runs at a respective strike rate of 200 and 194, ensured runs came at a fast clip for CSK.

The CSK raced out of the paddock, making 44 in just 3.4 overs, courtesy Mhatre’s brutal assault on pacer Arshad Khan.

Mhatre carved Arshad for 2, 6, 6, 4, 4, 6 in the second over to milk 28 runs and Chennai rarely let that momentum slip.

Mhatre, who was recently appointed as the India U19 skipper, soon fell to Prasidh Krishna, skying him to Mohammed Siraj in the deep.

But Urvil continued the aggressive ways, while adding 63 runs for the second wicket with Conway.

The highlight of his innings was a pick-up shot he played against veteran spinner Rashid Khan that sailed over his head for a six.

It’s one thing to play that shot against pacers, but to impart timing and power to it against a spinner is totally another thing.

However, Urvil perished to left-arm spinner Sai Kishore immediately after hammering him for a six.

On the other hand, Conway showed a rare moment of aggression, launching Rashid for a six over long-on but was clean bowled in the very next ball.

But Brevis, who smashed India pacer Siraj for 6, 6, 4, justified his ‘Baby ABD’ tag to perfection, smashing GT bowlers all around the park.

The South African played a belligerent knock of his own to raise 74 runs for the entertaining fifth wicket alliance with Jadeja in which the latter contributed just 21 off 18 balls.

It was the CSK’s young batters’ final innings of this IPL, and it might have given a note of optimism for the management too for the next season.