Indian sports wrap, April 28: 21 boxers from India to fight for gold at Asian U-15 & U-17 Boxing Championships
Indian sports wrap, April 28: 21 boxers from India to fight for gold at Asian U-15 & U-17 Boxing Championships
Six women were among the seven Indian boxers who booked their place in the U-17 finals as India continued its strong showing at the Asian U-15 & U-17 Boxing Championships in Amman, Jordan.
India now has 21 boxers, across the U-15 and U-17 categories, who will fight for the gold medal.
The U-17 women boxers delivered a dominant display, and were led by Ahaana Sharma (50 kg), who stormed into the final with a first-round knockout victory over Kyrgyzstan’s Akmaral Amantaieva.
Khushi Chand (44–46 kg) edged Ukraine’s Oleksandra Cherevata 3-2, while Jannat (54 kg), Simranjeet Kaur (60 kg), Harsika (63 kg), and Anshika (80+ kg) also registered commanding wins to confirm their spot in the final bouts.
In the men’s U-17 section, Devansh (80 kg) put on a composed performance to defeat Vietnam’s Nguyen Trong Tien 4-1 and secure his place in the final.
-Team Sportstar
Services Sports Control Board (SSCB) and Haryana dominated the ring in the Youth Men & Women National Boxing Championships. SSCB won the team gold in men’s category while Haryana took the crown in the women’s category.
The week-long event held at Shaheed Vijay Singh Pathik Sports Complex, Greater Noida, was also a qualifier for the prestigious Under-19 Asian Boxing Championship 2025. Twenty male and female boxers, who won gold medals, qualified for the upcoming event.
In the men’s team category, the SSCB delivered a dominant performance to claim the team gold. Their boxers consistently outclassed opponents across different weight categories, ensuring SSCB finished comfortably at the top with six gold, one silver and two bronze. REC Limited fought hard to secure the second position by securing one gold, three silver and one bronze, while Haryana’s spirited campaign earned it the team bronze with two individual gold and bronze each.
In the women’s team event, Haryana emerged as the overall champions, securing the team gold with a haul of eight medals, which included three gold and five silver. Delhi finished close behind, winning the team silver with four gold medals, one silver, and two bronze. Rajasthan rounded off the top three, taking the team bronze with two gold medals and three bronze finishes.
West Bengal beat Haryana 14-12 in the final of the senior men’s National Rugby 7s championship at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium in Guwahati, Assam on Monday.
It was a repeat of last year’s final, where Haryana had triumphed. Bihar took home the bronze medal.
Indian-origin golfers Sahith Theegala and Aaron Rai finished a creditable tied 18th after turning in one-under 71 in the final round of the Zurich Classic here.
The pair signed off with a total of 21-under 267 as old friends Andrew Novak and Ben Griffin combined to win the title, which was the first PGA Tour win for both.
They totalled 28-under 260.
Defending champion team of Masters winner Rory McIlroy and fellow Irishman Shane Lowry was in contention through 12 holes but ultimately scored even-par 72 in the final round to aggregate 22-under and finish tied 12th.
Theegala, who has been having a modest season, and Rai had two birdies against a bogey in the final round. Theegala, who is now being sponsored by the Hero group, has played 13 events and made the cut in 12. However, he has finished in the top-25 only twice.
In the world rankings, another Indian-American Akshay Bhatia was placed 26th, followed by Rai (27th) and Theegala (28th) at the beginning of the week ahead of Zurich Classic.
In terms of FedEx Cup rankings, Bhatia is 30th and Rai is 42nd and Theegala is lying 95th with a good part of the season, including three Majors, still ahead of them.
-PTI
Indian golfer Aditi Ashok endured a roller-coaster ride for an even-par 72 in the final round to sign off tied 62nd in the Chevron Championship at The Woodlands, Texas.
The Indian pro just about squeezed through after the second day to make the cut. Aditi’s rounds were 72-74-77-72 for a total of seven-over 295.
On the final day, Aditi conceded two bogeys against an equal number of birdies. She started with a bogey on the second hole and immediately bounced back on the third with a birdie.
However, another bogey on the seventh hole pulled her back before she picked up a stroke on the 12th hole to close at 72 on Sunday.
The Major was won by Mao Saigo of Japan.
-PTI
Indian golfer Anirban Lahiri returned a card of two-over 73 in the final round to finish T-22 in LIV Golf Mexico City.
Joaquin Niemann registered his third victory of the season, rallying past two major champions with his mother in attendance for the first time outside of his native Chile.
The 26-year-old Niemann also earned an invite to the U.S. Open, thanks to the LIV Golf exemption he clinched with one tournament to go.
-PTI
India bagged 13 gold and three silver in an impressive medal haul in the South Asian Youth Table Tennis Championships in Kathmandu.
The qualification event for this year’s Youth Asian Championships saw the Indian contingent dominate the competition across various categories on Sunday.
The Indian teams grabbed three gold medals in the Under-19 girls, Under-15 boys, and Under-15 girls sections and made a clean sweep of all six golds in the U-19 and U-15 doubles, including the mixed doubles events.
Additionally, India secured four gold medals in the U-19 boys and girls singles events.
However, hosts Nepal claimed the fourth gold in the U-19 boys category. Despite a lone loss to Pakistan in the five-team league phase, Nepal finished on top with seven points, securing three wins and edging out Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, who took second and third place, respectively.
India, having qualified for the Youth Asian Youth Championships last year, did not have to field its squad in the competition.
In the team events, Pritha Vartikar, Ananya Chande, Hardee Patel, and Diya Bramhachary clinched the U-19 girls gold, defeating Nepal 3-1.
Prateeti Paul, Aarushi Nandi, Advika Arawal, and Tanmayee Saha triumphed in the U-15 girls category, thrashing Sri Lanka 3-0.
In the U-19 boys’ singles final, Kushal Chopda triumphed over fellow Indian R Balamurugan 3-1 to claim the gold, as the Indians secured the top two spots.
In the U-19 girls’ singles, Ananya Chande defeated Pritha Vartikar 3-1 to take the gold, leaving Pritha with the silver.
– PTI
Twelve teams will compete in the sixth edition of the Marshal of the Air Force Arjan Singh Memorial hockey tournament to be held in Chandigarh from April 29 to May 6.
Air Force Hockey team from Bangladesh will be one of the 12 sides taking part in the tournament, Air Marshal S. Sivakumar said on Monday.
The other participating teams include Indian Air Force, Chandigarh XI, Punjab & Sind Bank, Central Industrial Security Force, Army XI, Indian Navy, Indian Railways and Rail Coach Factory.
The tournament winning team will get a prize money of Rs. 3 lakh while the runner-up side will pocket Rs. 2 lakh. The ‘Man of the Match’ for each match will get Rs. 10,000 while the player of the tournament will pocket Rs. 25,000.
The matches will be played at Raghbir Singh Bhola Hockey Ground, 3 Base Repair Depot, Air Force Station on league-cum-knockout basis.
Air Force Sports Control Board has been organising the prestigious hockey tournament in the memory of legendary late Marshal of the Air Force Arjan Singh at 3 BRD, Air Force Station, Chandigarh since 2018.
“Considering the eminence of the tournament in the Indian hockey scenario and the initiatives being taken by the Air Force Sports Control Board to encourage hockey at all levels, an all out effort is being made to promote the event,” Sivakumar said.
Sivakumar said the organisers are hoping participation of more overseas teams, including from the UK, in next year’s edition.
The organisers also plan to hold the event alternately in Chandigarh and Bengaluru beginning next year, he said.
Group Captain YS Panghal, Organising Secretary of the event, briefed about the tournament.
“Our air warriors have toiled hard and proved their mettle at all competitive levels and have brought laurels to the country as well as the Indian Air Force,” Panghal said.
“To promote hockey, the game in which our country has excelled for so many years in the international arena and to bring back its glory, it is strongly felt that there should be quality tournaments in the country where emerging talent competes and gets exposure to the fast-paced game. This has resulted in the evolution of the Marshal of the Air Force Arjan Singh Memorial Hockey tournament since 2018,” Panghal said.
Air Marshal Vijay Kumar Garg, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Maintenance Command, will be the chief guest for the opening ceremony on April 29 while Air Chief Marshal A P Singh, chief of the Air Staff, will preside over the closing ceremony on May 6.
-PTI
Coming in as a replacement in the second tournament, M Sendilkumar fought his way to a 6-7(6), 6-0, 6-3 victory over Gwar Si of Myanmar in the Asian under-14 tennis tournament at the DLTA Complex on Monday.
In the girls section, Srishti Kiran had a fluent 6-0, 6-2 victory over Amanda Teng of Malaysia.
– Kamesh Srinivasan
India overcame Thailand 6-5 in the Women’s Baseball Asia Cup Qualifiers Super Round to book its place in the Asian competition’s 2025 edition.
India had finished top in the group stage with three wins from three and suffered a solitary loss to Indonesia in the Super Round.
– Team Sportstar
Aditya Shandilya came from behind to record a 4-2 win over Rushabh Gohil in the first round of NSCI Baulkline All-India snooker tournament here on Monday.
Down by two frames, Aditya, who is the son of former world billiards champion Ashok Shandilya, staged a comeback with a couple of tidy breaks to win the next four on the trot.
Dhvaj Haria made a triple century break for a massive win by 1040-150 against Nikhil Ghadge in a Group E match of the CCI Billiards Classic here on Monday.
Haria constructed a break of 306 and followed it up with another century break of 129, besides substantial efforts of 74,71,70, and 61 for his victory.
In a Group G match, CCI’s Anurag Bagri defeated former national champion Alok Kumar 560-426, while seasoned billiards player Ashok Shandilya recorded a 747-338 victory over Aditya Agrawal in a Group A match.
Published on Apr 28, 2025
