GOLF
Diksha, Tvesa, and Avani lead India’s challenge at LET Opener
The experienced Diksha Dagar and Tvesa Malik will be joined by rookie Avani Prashanth as the Indian women’s campaign on the Ladies European Tour (LET) kicks off this week at the Lalla Meryem Cup in Royal Golf Dar Es Salam.
Avani makes her professional debut after coming through LET Q-School. Meanwhile, Pranavi Urs, India’s highest-ranked player in last year’s LET Order of Merit (17th), will begin her season next week at the Aramco Series in Riyadh, joining Diksha, Tvesa, and Aditi Ashok. Pranavi, Diksha, and Avani will then head to Australia for a three-event stretch.
Diksha, who secured a top-10 finish at the 2024 Lalla Meryem Cup, will aim to improve on that result. Notably, Pranavi, tied-fifth last year, is skipping the event this time. Tvesa returns after a long absence, having last competed in 2019 when she finished T-41.
Avani, a winner on the Hero Women’s Pro Golf Tour and the LET Access Series while still an amateur, now embarks on a full LET season. She will be the first Indian to tee off from the 10th alongside Spain’s Blanca Fernández and Thailand’s Aunchisa Utama.
-PTI
Ahlawat gaining in confidence on DP World Tour, set for Qatar with Sharma
India’s Veer Ahlawat on Wednesday said he is finding his feet on the DP World Tour as he got ready to play for the fourth week in a row at the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters 2025.
The other Indian in the field is the more experienced Shubhankar Sharma.
Ahlawat, who started the year at Hero Dubai Desert Classic but missed the cut, has since figured in the weekend rounds of the Ras Al Khaimah Championships and the Bapco Bahrain Championships. He was T-27 in Ras Al Khaimah and T-49 in Bahrain.
Saying he is improving and gathering experience with each round, Ahlawat is focussed on making the best use of the opportunity he has got on the DPWT, where he reached by topping the Indian PGTI Tour.
The two Tours have an alliance by which the OOM (Order of Merit) winner in India gets a card to DPWT.
The previous two players who came to DPWT via this route were Manu Gandas and Om Prakash Chouhan, but they failed to retain the card.
“I want to play as much as I can and ensure I am back,” said Ahlawat, who played a lot of golf with Sharma, who has been on the DPWT Tour since 2018.
An interesting feature is the consistency Ahlawat is trying to get into his game. After missing the cut in Dubai, six of his last eight rounds have been under par and the two times he went over, he shot 1-over 73.
“I am learning each day,” said Ahlawat, who trains at the DLF Golf Academy and plays at DLF Golf and Country Club, where he finished T-2 at the 2024 Hero Indian Open.
Ahlawat plays his first round with China’s Jin Zihao, with whom the Indian played the last two rounds in Bahrain. Since they will be together in the second round, too, that will make it four in a row.
The third player in the group is England’s Calum Fitzgerald and they tee off in the morning at 7.25 am from the first.
Sharma’s start to 2025 has been disappointing having missed the cut in Dubai and Ras Al Khaimah. He returns to Qatar after having missed the cut in 2024. In his five previous starts in Qatar he has made the cut only twice with T-28 in 2021 as his best.
The field includes former champions Ewen Ferguson (2022), Antoine Rozner (2021), Jorge Campillo (2020), Justin Harding (2019), Eddie Pepperell 2018), Chris Wood (2013), Alvaro Quiros (2009) and Darren Fichardt (2003).
Last week’s winner Laurie Canter is in the field after overhauling Tyrrell Hatton in the International Swing Rankings, with Daniel Hillier, Alejandro del Rey, Marcus Armitage, Dan Brown and Pablo Larrazábal all able to claim the top spot this week.
-PTI
BADMINTON
Gnana to lead 17-member junior squad for badminton meets
National U-17 champion Gnana Dattu T will lead India’s 17-member squad at the the Dutch Junior International and German Junior badminton tournaments to be played in February and March this year.
The squad also includes junior world number six Raunak Chouhan, Adarshini Shri and doubles specialists Bhavya Chhabra and Param Chaudhary, among others.
India squad:
Boys Singles
Rounak Chouhan, Gnana Dattu TT, Suryaksh Rawat, Pranauv Ram N
Girls Singles
Adarshini Shri, Tanoo Chandra, Rujula Ramu, Tanvi Reddy Andluri
Boys Doubles
Bhavya Chhabra/Param Chaudhary, Mithilesh PK/Vishnu Kedar Kode
Girls Doubles
Pragati Parida/Vishakha Toppo, Anaya Bisht/Angel Punera
Mixed Doubles
Bhavya Chhabra/Angel Punera, Lairamsanga C/Vishakha Toppo.
The Dutch Junior International will be played in Haarlem, Netherlands from February 26 to March 2, while the German Junior will be held in Mulheim an der Ruhr from March 5-9.
The Indian contingent consists of four boys and girls singles players each, two boys doubles and two girls doubles combinations, and two mixed doubles pairs.
The squad was selected based on the BAI selection committee’s guidelines, granting direct entry to winners of the All India Junior Ranking Tournament (U-19) in Hyderabad, while the remaining spots were filled through selection trials held in New Delhi, featuring top-ranked players and semifinalists from the Hyderabad event.
Surya Charisma Tamiri had bagged the girls’ singles bronze medal in the 2024 German Junior, while Ayush Shetty had won the boys’ singles bronze medal a year earlier before going on to clinch the 2023 world junior bronze.
RMV Gurusai Dutt is the only Indian boy’s singles player to win the Dutch Junior International gold medal back in 2008 — the same year he also clinched the Commonwealth Youth Games gold and the world junior bronze medal.
– PTI
GOLF
IGF objects to IOA’s interference in IGU polls, says it recognises Brijinder Singh faction
The International Golf Federation (IGF) has strongly objected to Indian Olympic Association’s interference in the Indian Golf Union elections, and recognising the rival faction led by Harish Kumar Shetty, saying the IOA has “no jurisdiction” over the federation’s poll process.
The IOA had given recognition to the IGU led by Shetty while declaring the other body, headed by Brijinder Singh, void in a letter issued on December 30.
In a strongly-worded letter to IOA president PT Usha, IGF executive director Antony Scanlon, said the world body fully supports the election won by the Singh faction held on December 15.
Shetty and Singh held separate elections and AGMs under different Returning Officers (ROs).
The election of Shetty’s faction was conducted by retired Allahabad High Court judge OP Garg, while Singh was re-elected in polls conducted by retired Punjab and Haryana High Court judge, Rameshwar Malik.
“We write to object in the strongest terms to your interference and that of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) in the recent Annual General Meeting and election of office bearers of our National Federation member, the Indian Golf Union (IGU),” Scanlon wrote in his letter.
“The IGF have found no reason to question the legitimacy of the IGU Annual General Meeting and election of the office bearers held on 15 December 2024 at Tamarind Hall, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi (where Singh was elected president) and believe they were held in accordance with their constitution and the procedures of the National Sports Development Code of India, 2011.
“As such, we recognise and fully support the office bearers announced by the Returning Officer HJ Rameshwar Singh Malik and ratified by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. We contend that neither the IOA nor you as President of the IOA has any jurisdiction over the IGU Annual General Meeting nor its electoral process.” The Sports Ministry has also pulled up the IOA for recognising IGU elections won by the Shetty-led faction.
Scanlon said the Shetty-led faction’s election was “non-constitutional and invalid”.
“We find it extraordinary that the IOA would actively undermine the IGU electoral process and facilitate a faction holding a non-constitutional and invalid alternate Annual General Meeting and elections at the premises of the IOA.
“Additionally, that your interference then extended to wrongly recognising this faction’s elections and in turn to undermine the credibility of the constitutionally and fairly-elected IGU executive,” the letter read.
“Therefore, the IGF-recognised executive body of the IGU, in accordance with Article 28 of the Olympic Charter, remains the member body for golf affiliated to the IOA. As such to recognise another executive body, not affiliated to the IGF, is in direct contravention of the Olympic Charter. We strongly implore you to immediately rectify this matter.” Scanlon also hit out at the IOA for removing golf from the ongoing National Games roster.
“Notwithstanding your spurious intervention in the electoral process of the IGU, we are also extremely disappointed with your decision to remove golf from the programme of sports at the 38th All India Games.
“It is regrettable that your actions serve to punish the athletes for political purposes and in direct conflict with Article 27.2.2 of the Olympic Charter whereby the role of an NOC is ‘to encourage the development of highperformance sport …’ “This decision does nothing but discourage high-performance golf athletes in India. As such, the IGF implores you to reconsider this decision and to place the athletes’ interests above those of personal and political interests,” he wrote in the letter, which was also marked to the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
“The IGF is guided by and believes strongly in the values of Olympism and as such it is regrettable that we find ourselves in disagreement with the IOA and that you choose to act without mutual understanding and respect for the Olympic Charter and for our athletes and National Federation.
“As such we have been compelled to copy the International Olympic Committee on this letter so as they are aware of your inappropriate actions,” Scanlon added.
– PTI
CRICKET
Telangana CM felicitates G. Trisha after U-19 World Cup heroics
Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy felicitating G. Trisha, player of the tournament and player of the final in the Women’s World Cup (under-19) cricket championship in Hyderabad.
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy felicitating G. Trisha, player of the tournament and player of the final in the Women’s World Cup (under-19) cricket championship in Hyderabad.
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy announced a cash incentive of Rs 1 crore to G. Trisha, who was the ‘player of the tournament’ and ‘player of the final’ in the recently-concluded Women’s World Cup (under-19) cricket championship which India won in Kuala Lumpur.
This gesture was made when Trisha called on the Chief Minister at his Jubilee Hills Residence here on Wednesday.
Revanth Reddy congratulated Trisha and hoped she would continue to bring laurels to the country.
The Chief Minister also announced a cash incentive of Rs 10 lakhs each to Dhruthi Kesari, who was also a member of the victorious Indian team, trainer Shalini and head coach Nooshin Al Khadeer.
Telangana Ministers P. Srinivas Reddy, Chief Secretary to the State Government Mrs Shanti Kumari, Advisor to Telangana Government (Sports) A. Jitender Reddy were also present.
V V SUBRAHMANYAM
HCA Apex Council honours G. Trisha, Dhriti Kesari, Tanay Thyagarajan
HCA Apex Council members felicitated G. Trisha, Dhriti, Tanay Thyagarajan in Hyderabad on Wednesday.
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
HCA Apex Council members felicitated G. Trisha, Dhriti, Tanay Thyagarajan in Hyderabad on Wednesday.
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
Apex Council of the Hyderabad Cricket Association announced cash rewards to outstanding cricketing achievements by players and officials from Hyderabad who represented Team India and the Hyderabad team in BCCI tournaments.
Some of them including G. Trisha, Dhriti Kesari, Tanay Thyagarajan were felicitated at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium here by the Apex Council members R. Devraj and others.
G. Trisha was presented a purse of Rs 10 lakhs, Dhriti Rs 5 lakhs, Nooshin Al Khadeer Rs 5 lakhs and trainer Shalini Rs 5 lakhs.
Tanmay Agarwal, highest scorer for Hyderabad in Ranji Trophy, leading wicket-taker and left-arm spinner and BCCI Madhav Rao Scindia Award winner Tanay Thyagarajan were also presented Rs 5 lakhs each.
V V SUBRAHMANYAM
Rowing
Olympian rower Balraj Panwar shines with men’s single scull gold in National Games
Paris Olympian Balraj Panwar, who narrowly missed out on a bronze medal at the Asian Games in China last year, strengthened his status as one of the country’s top rowers as he defended his men’s single scull gold at the National Games here on Wednesday.
Panwar, born in Haryana but competing for Services here, clocked 7 minute and 26.68 seconds to row past the 2km distance and take the first place at the Water Sports Complex here. Navdeep Singh (7:41.17) of Uttarakhand and Guru Pratap Singh (8:04.01) of Maharashtra took the silver and bronze respectively.
The 25-year-old Indian Army rower, who is also a two-time national champion, had finished fourth in the men’s single scull event in his maiden appearance at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China last year, clocking 7:01.27.
He later qualified for the Paris Olympics where he finished 23rd.
Services and Madhya Pradesh shared the spoils in a straight fight for rowing supremacy as both collected five gold each.
The neck-and-neck rivalry was expected as both are among the top-class rowing facility providers in the country. Indian Army and Navy (whose athletes compete for Services) have top-class training facilities for rowers, the same in case of Madhya Pradesh also, especially in Bhopal.
Panwar had won the men’s singles scull gold in the 2023 Goa National Games with a time of 6:28.5.
For Madhya Pradesh, rising rower Khushpreet Kaur gave them the first gold by winning the women’s single scull final with a time of 8:40.35. Maharashtra’s Mrunmayee Nilesh (8:47.65) and Andaman and Nicobar’s Amrita Minj (8:48.18) took the silver and bronze respectively.
-PTI
TENNIS
Chennai ATP Challenger: Indian duos Nedunchezhiyan/ Prashanth and Ramanathan/ Myneni advanced to quarterfinals
It was a good day for the Indians doubles team at the Chennai Open ATP Challenger, with second seeds Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan/ Vijay Sundar Prashanth and defending champion Ramkumar Ramanathan/ Saketh Myneni advancing to the quarterfinals.
The Nedunchezhiyan-Prashanth duo, which won the ATP Hangzhou Open last September, came back from the brink of defeat to overcome the wildcard pairing of Chirag Duhan and Dev Javia. After the pair split the first two sets with some exciting exchanges at the net, Duhan/ Javia built a 9-5 lead in the deciding match tiebreak and held five matchpoints. But Nedunchezhiyan/ Prashanth used all their experience to save all five and eventually emerged 6-3, 3-6, 13-11 winners.
Ramanathan/ Myneni, who are seeded third in the doubles draw, had a much smoother ride into the last eight with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Kimmer Coppejans/ Ergi Kirkin.
In the singles draw, Sweden’s Elias Ymer booked his spot in the quarterfinals with a 7-5, 7-6 win over Great Britain’s Jay Clarke in a match that lasted nearly two and a half hours. Japan’s Rio Noguchi also secured his berth in the last eight with a 7-5, 6-3 win over Italy’s Jacopo Berrettini, the younger brother of former Wimbledon runner-up Matteo Berrettini.
The three remaining first-round singles matches were also completed on Wednesday with fourth-seeded Alexis Galarneau and Turkey’s Ergi Kirkin moving into the round of 16. However, eighth seed Zsombor Piros was knocked out by Ukraine’s Oleksandr Ovcharenko 7-6, 6-4.
The Doubles finals will be played on Saturday, February 8, 202,5 while the singles final has been scheduled for Sunda,y February 9, 2025. The tournament is looking forward to the participation of the tennis fans from all over Chennai.
Results
Singles Main Draw First Round
[4] Alexis Galarneau (CAN) def. [Q] Egor Agafonov 6-4, 6-1
Ergi Kirkin (TUR) def. Jiri Vesely (CZE) 6-7, 7-6 (retd.)
Oleksandr Ovcharenko (UKR) def. [8] Zsombor Piros (HUN) 7-6, 6-4
Singles Main Draw Second Round
Elias Ymer (SWE) def. Jay Clarke (GBR) 7-5, 7-6
Rio Noguchi (JPN) def. Jacopo Berrettini (ITA) 7-5, 6-3
Doubles Main Draw First Round:
[1] Ray Ho (TPE) / Matthew Christopher Romios (AUS) def. Alexis Galarneau (CAN) / Kelsey Stevenson (CAN) 6-2, 6-1
[2] Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan (IND) / Vijay Sundar Prashanth (IND) def. [WC] Chirag Duhan (IND) / Dev Javia (IND) 6-3, 3-6, 13-11
[3] Saketh Myneni (IND) / Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND) def. Kimmer Coppejans (BEL) / Ergi Kirkin (TUR) 6-3, 6-1
[4] Francis Casey Alcantara (PHI) / Pruchya Isaro (THA) def. {7] Timofey Skatov / Alexey Zakharov 6-3, 4-6, 10-7
Shintaro Mochizuki (JPN) / Kaito Uesugi (JPN) def. [Alt] Luca Castelnuovo (SUI) / Eric Vanshelboim (UKR) 6-4, 6-0
[Alt] Egor Agafonov / Evgenii Tiurnev def. Michael Geerts (BEL) / Billy Harris (GBR) 7-6, 4-6, 10-5
Courtney John Lock (ZIM) / Rio Noguchi (JPN) def. Corentin Denolly (FRA) / Sascha Gueymard Wayenburg (FRA) 6-3, 7-6
-Team Sportstar
Sriram Balaji moves into Lille Challenger quarters
Sriram Balaji in partnership with Francisco Cabral of Portugal beat Arthur Bouquier and Arthur Gea of France 4-6, 7-5, [10-4] in the doubles pre-quarterfinals of the €181,250 Challenger tennis tournament in Lille, France, on Wednesday.
The results:
€181,250 Challenger, Lille, France
Doubles (pre-quarterfinals): Sriram Balaji & Francisco Cabral (Por) bt Arthur Bouquier & Arthur Gea (Fra) 4-6, 7-5, [10-4].
$100,000 Challenger, Brisbane, Australia
Doubles (pre-quarterfinals): Jesse Delaney (Aus) & Mark Whitehouse (GBR) bt Charles Broom (GBR) & Anirudh Chandrasekar 6-4, 6-7(5), [10-7].
– Kamesh Srinivasan
MORE SPORTS
Yogasana, Mallakhamb now medal sports at National Games
Yogasana and Mallakhamb are not just demonstration sports at the ongoing National Games now and will offer medals, a decision which was taken on the request of the organisers, an Indian Olympic Association (IOA) source confirmed to PTI on Wednesday.
The IOA had classified the two games as demonstration sports ahead of the multi-sport event, which began on January 28.
In December last year, the IOA had said that the 38th National Games in Uttarakhand (January 28 to February 14) would feature 32 core and four demonstration sports — yogasana, mallakhambh, kalarippayattu and rafting.
But on Wednesday, the organisers issued a release in which yogasana and mallakhamb were added as medal sports.
The move meant that the ongoing National Games are being competed in 34 sports and two demonstration sports.
Kalarippayattu — a form of martial arts that originated in Kerala — and rafting — of which Rishikesh in Uttarakhand is a well-known place — will remain as demonstration sports (non-medal).
“Yes, they (yogasana and mallakhamb) were confirmed as medal sports by the IOA as the host (state) has a right to request two sports (as medal sports),” an IOA source told.
Yogasana is a sport that focuses on the physical aspect of yoga, where players have to perform yogic postures and are judged on their difficulty, balance, control, flexibility and endurance.
Mallakhamb is a traditional Indian sport in which the practitioner performs yoga-like postures and movements on a vertical wooden pole or a rope. Mallakhamb is derived from the terms ‘malla’ which means a wrestler and ‘khamb’ meaning a pole.
As per the statement issued by the IOA in December last year, the Games were to feature 34 sports disciplines under the original Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the IOA and the Uttarakhand State Olympic Association in 2014.
However, IOA President PT Usha and the GTCC (Games Technical Conduct Committee) had approved 32 sports disciplines and four demonstration sports.
-PTI
