Indian sports wrap, February 7: Solid start for Diksha and Avani in Morocco; Shubhankar, Veer struggle

Indian sports wrap, February 7: Solid start for Diksha and Avani in Morocco; Shubhankar, Veer struggle

Indian golfer Diksha Dagar began the new season with a bogey but then turned things around with four birdies for a three-under 70 in the opening round of the Lalla Meryem Cup here.

Avani Prashanth, making her professional debut, also had a rough start from the 10th as she bogeyed twice in the first three holes.

She had six birdies from the 14th hole onwards but also dropped a double on par-four fourth. At two-under 71, she was tied 14th.

But it did not turn out well for Tvesa Malik, who shot six-over 77 and was tied 98. She needs a very low second round to make the cut which will see the top-60 and ties advance to the final two rounds.

– PTI

The Indian duo of Shubhankar Sharma and Veer Ahlawat was off to a nightmarish start at the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters as the two golfers returned over-par cards dotted with several bogeys.

The Indians struggled at the Doha Golf Club course as Sharma shot three-over 75 in the opening round and was way down at tied 104th, while Ahlawat, playing in his rookie season, carded eight-over 80 and was tied 137th.

They have a difficult task ahead of them to make the cut, which looks likely at even par.

– PTI

Jeev Milkha Singh made a modest start with a round of 1-over 73, which included an eagle, to be tied 33rd in the Trophy Hassan II here.

The event is part of the Champions Tour PGA (for Seniors) and is being held alongside the Ladies European Tour’s Lalla Meryem Cup.

Jeev, who is playing the event on a sponsor’s exemption, had an eagle, three bogeys and no birdies.

– PTI

Aditi Ashok made a slow start to her season as the Indian shot a disappointing 1-over 72 in the first round of Founders Cup, the opening event of the year on the LPGA Tour.

Aditi teed off from the tenth and was 1-under at the turn and added another birdie on the first to 2-under.

She hit a rough patch with a bogey-bogey-par-double bogey stretch. A birdie on the eighth, her 17th hole was a small compensation. She found 10 of the 14 fairways and 13 of the 18 greens in regulation, but her putting let her down with 30 putts needed for the round.

Aditi, who has been on the LPGA since 2017, is still waiting for her maiden win, though she has managed to retain her card continuously.

Tokyo Olympic bronze medallist Lovlina Borgohain clinched the women’s 75kg gold, while six-time Asian champion Shiva Thapa signed off with a silver medal in the men’s 63.5kg category at the National Games on Friday.

Playing her first tournament since the Paris Olympics, Assam’s Lovlina dominated her younger opponent Pranshu Rathore from Chandigarh across all three rounds to register a convincing 5-0 win.

In the men’s light welterweight (63.5kg) division, Thapa lost in a close bout to Services Sports Control Board boxer Vanshaj, with a 3-4 scoreline.

In other bouts of the day, Services’ Mandengbam Singh defeated Chandigarh’s Anshul Punia in the men’s flyweight (51kg) division by a 4-1 split decision.

Commonwealth Games bronze medalist Jaismine Lamboria of Services displayed her dominance with a convincing 5-0 win over World Championship bronze-winner Manisha Moun of Haryana in the women’s 60kg event.

Another gold medal for Services came from Sakshi, who outpunched Himachal Pradesh’s Vinakshi 5-0.

In the women’s bantamweight category, Madhya Pradesh’s Divya Panwar triumphed over Uttar Pradesh’s Sonia Lather with a 4-1 victory.

Local boxer Nivedita Karki showed precision and agility as she overpowered Haryana’s Kalpana to claim the top spot in the women’s flyweight (50kg) event.

Former youth world champion Assam’s Ankushita Boro reigned supreme in the women’s welterweight (66kg) event, outclassing Uttarakhand’s Kajal by a unanimous decision.

-PTI

Eighth seed Sumit Nagal was beaten 6-1, 6-4 by Hugo Dellien of Bolivia in the pre-quarterfinals of the $200,000 Challenger tennis tournament in Rosario, Argentina.

Sumit won eight ATP points and $3,370.

In the Challenger in Lille, France, top seeds Sriram Balaji and Francisco Cabral of Portugal were beaten 6-2, 6-7(7), [10-8] by Jakub Paul and David Pel in the doubles semifinals. The Indo-Portuguese pair collected 45 ATP points and €3,470.

$200,000 Challenger, Rosario, Argentina Singles (pre-quarterfinals): Hugo Dellien (Bol) bt Sumit Nagal 6-1, 6-4.

€ 181,250 Challenger, Lille, France Doubles (semifinal): Jakub Paul (Sui) & David Pel (Ned) bt Sriram Balaji & Francisco Cabral (Por) 6-2, 6-7(7), [10-8]; Quarterfinals: Balaji & Cabral bt Jiri Barnat & Filip Duda (Cze) 6-3, 6-4.

-Kamesh Srinivasan

Arjuna Awardee and former Indian cricket captain (visually challenged), Ajay Reddy, announced retirement from the sport on Friday.

Ajay played 101 internationals including T-20s in a career spanning 15 years and led India to a ODI World Cup win, two T20 World Cup victories and an Asia Cup title.The visually challenged cricketer was born in Gurazala in Andhra Pradesh and lost his left eye in a freak accident when he was just four. HIs parents were agriculture farmers.

“I am grateful to my home State Andhra Pradesh, my parents, cricketing fraternity, Samarthanam Trust For The Disabled and the Cricket Association for the Blind in India, Lutheran High School for The Blind in Narasaraopet (Guntur) and State Bank of India,” he said in a statement.

Ajay also thanked all his teammates and coaches who helped him “realise” his dreams on the cricket field.

-V V Subrahmanyam

Punjab Warriors asserted itself with a dominant 100-78 victory over Mumbai Titans in the INBL Pro basketball league at the Thyagaraj Indoor Stadium on Friday.

Even though it was a collective team effort, Uche Diblammaka provided the thrust for Punjab ranks by top scoring with 25 points. He had able assistance from Stokley Chaffee and Taane Samuel apart from Princepal Singh, Gurbaz Sandhu and Boston Mazlin in keeping the team consistently ahead.

It was the first victory in two matches for the Punjab team which had lost its earlier match to Chennai Heat. It was the second loss in as many matches for Mumbai Titans which had lost earlier to Delhi Dribblers.

With lots of matches to play, the teams have the chance to revive their fortunes in their attempt to make the semifinals.

The results: Punjab Warriors 100 (Uche Diblamaka 25, Stokley Chaffee 15, Taane Samuel 15, Princepal Singh 11) bt Mumbai Titans 78 (Dalph Panopio 25, Liam Judd 18.

-Kamesh Srinivasan