Indian sports wrap, March 18: Haryana, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh register wins at National Women’s Hockey League 2024-2025
Indian sports wrap, March 18: Haryana, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh register wins at National Women’s Hockey League 2024-2025
The final phase of the National Women’s Hockey League 2024-2025 saw Hockey Haryana, Hockey Association of Odisha and Hockey Madhya Pradesh register wins in their respective matches.
In the first match of the day, Hockey Haryana defeated Manipur Hockey 7-1 in Pool A. Saavi (32’, 37’) and Kirti (45’, 56’) scored a brace each for Hockey Haryana. Khasa Shashi (11’), Supriya (54’) and Kirty (58’) also scored one goal each for their side. In response, Deena Devi Naoram (2’) scored the consolation goal for Manipur Hockey.
In the next match, Hockey Association of Odisha defeated Hockey Bengal 1-0 in a closely contested game. Dipika Barwa (3’) scored for Hockey Bengal in the first quarter of the match.
In the third match, Hockey Madhya Pradesh defeated Hockey Maharashtra 2-0 in Pool A. Bhumiksha Sahu (4’) and Captain Soniya Kumre (58’) scored for Hockey Madhya Pradesh in the first and final quarter of the game to take the game away from Hockey Maharashtra.
The opening ceremony for the National Women’s Hockey League 2025 (Final Phase) will take place later today at the Marang Gomke Jaipal Singh AstroTurf Hockey Stadium.
Also, Hockey Jharkhand will face off Hockey Mizoram in Pool A, later today.
– Team Sportstar
Prachi Malik sailed past fifth seed Sunira Thapa of Nepal 6-3, 6-0 in the girls first round of the ITF junior tennis tournament at the Shanti Academy.
In the pre-quarterfinals, Prachil will play Disha Behera who recovered from the brink of defeat to beat wild card entrant Ananya Jain 3-6, 7-6(2), 6-4.
-Kamesh Srinivasan
Kabir Hans sailed past Lawrence Bataljin of Australia 6-0, 6-4 in the first round of the $15,000 ITF men’s tennis tournament at the Gujarat University Tennis Academy on Tuesday.
In another match, seventh seed Siddharth Vishwakarma overcame resistance from Manish Sureshkumar for a 6-4, 4-6, 6-1 victory. He will play Grigoriy Lomakin of Kazakhstan in the pre-quarterfinals.
-Kamesh Srinivasan
Ankita Raina in partnership with Priska Nugroho of Indonesia beat Meiqi Guo and Qiang Wang of China 7-6(3), 6-2 in the doubles pre-quarterfinals of the $60,000 ITF women’s tennis tournament in Luan, China, on Tuesday.
-Kamesh Srinivasan
Tamil Nadu rode on top-scorer Rishikesh’s brilliant performance to bounce back from a 33-50 deficit in the third quarter and beat Telangana 70-69 in a thrilling men’s Group-E match on the opening day of the inaugural National under-23 basketball championships at the Sarusajai Stadium in Guwahati on Tuesday.
– Y. B. Sarangi
Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Tuesday lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Khelo India programme, and said it has become an “umbrella” for young athletes to showcase their talent and win laurels for the country at the international stage.
“Now we are here for the launch ceremony of the Khelo India Para Games. Khelo India has become such an umbrella for the young athletes of the country to excel, get exposure and then go onto represent India at the global stage,” Mandaviya said at the launch of logo, anthem and mascot of the Khelo India Para Games 2025 here.
The Khelo India Para Games 2025 will be held from March 20-27 with over 1300 athletes in six different sporting disciplines.
“It is a very important day for me. The FIT India carnival came to an end today. Over 25000 people came to take part in the carnival. In the coming days FIT India movement will take over India,” the minister said.
Paralympic Committee of India president Devendra Jhajharia said it’s just the start and hoped that the nation can host major para events in the future.
“SAI organised the World Para Grand Prix which sent out a message that India can host major Para events. Khelo India Para Games will help us identify talent for the future competitions,” Jhajharia said.
“The PM wants no athlete to spend from their own pocket to get proper training. We hope that it can be made possible,” he said.
-PTI
Yuva Mumba, Palani Tuskers, Warriorz K.C won their respective matches on Day 13 of the ongoing Yuva All Stars Championship in Haridwar on Tuesday. Chandigarh Chargers and Sonipat Spartans played out a tie when they faced each other in the opening match of the day.
In the first match on Tuesday, Chandigarh Chargers and Sonipat Spartans played out a tie 29-29. While Virender Singh took 9 points for Chandigarh Chargers, Ankit Kumar Rana and Rahul Ahri grabbed 7 points each for Sonipat Spartans.
In the second kabaddi clash, Warriorz K.C secured a thrilling 43-34 victory over UP Falcons. Vishal Chaudhary led the charge for UP Falcons with multiple successful raids, but Shivansh Thakur’s strong defense halted key attempts. Himanshu Yadav and Punit Kumar delivered crucial points, keeping the game competitive.
In third match of the day, Kesavan Raja showcased stellar raiding skills as Palani Tuskers edged past Yuva Yoddhas 41-37.
In the fourth match on Tuesday Yuva Mumba secured a thrilling victory against Yuva Paltan in a closely contested match (40-31). Both teams showcased impressive raiding and defensive skills, keeping the scoreline tight throughout.
-Team Sportstar
SC Bengaluru withstood a final half-hour barrage to win 3-2 against Real Kashmir FC at the Bangalore Football Stadium on Tuesday after defender Sanatomba Singh was sent off in the 60th minute.
Thomya Shimray (5’) opened the scoring for the host, but Gnohere Krizo (12’ p, 32’) put Real Kashmir ahead with two goals. Shravan Shetty (36’) drew SC Bengaluru level before Faslurahman Methukayil (48’) scored the winner after the restart.
The win sees SC Bengaluru leapfrog Aizawl FC into 10th place with 20 points from 19 matches, and pushes it out of the relegation zone. Real Kashmir, meanwhile, stay third with 32 points from as many games.
-Team Sportstar
Published on Mar 18, 2025
