Indian Sports Wrap, May 15: Dates of shotgun trials 2 and 3 announced, Khelo India Beach Games to take place in Daman and Diu

Indian Sports Wrap, May 15: Dates of shotgun trials 2 and 3 announced, Khelo India Beach Games to take place in Daman and Diu

The National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) has announced that the National Selection Trials (NST) 2 and 3 for shotgun events (Trap and Skeet), will be conducted in New Delhi and Bhopal, from May 21 and June 1, respectively.

These trials will help in finalising the Indian squad for a packed international calendar later in the year, including two ISSF World Cups (Italy and Greece), the 16th Asian Championships (Kazakhstan), the ISSF Junior World Cup (India-September) and the 3rd Asian Youth Games (Bahrain-October).

NST 2 will be held at the Dr. Karni Singh Shooting range in New Delhi from May 21-26, with Skeet qualifications scheduled on day one with the finals subsequently scheduled on May 23. The Trap event will follow from May 24-26.

There will be no separate selection trials for junior athletes in the shotgun category. The Selection Committee will consider the scores of the ISSF Junior World Cup in Suhl as NST 2 coincides with it.

NST 3 will be hosted at the Madhya Pradesh State Shooting Academy, Bhopal, from June 1-8. The Skeet event will run from June 1-4, followed by the Trap competition from June 5-8.

Eligibility for the upcoming Selection Trials is based on performances at the 67th National Shooting Championship Competitions (NSCC) and the 3rd Digvijay Singh Memorial Shooting Championship. To qualify, shooters must have recorded a minimum score of 110 (Seniors) and 100 (Juniors) in Trap and Skeet (Men), and 95 (Seniors) and 90 (Juniors) in the corresponding Women’s events. 

Additionally, Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Awardees and Arjuna Awardees will be eligible to participate irrespective of their scores.

-Team Sportstar

Seventh seed Hugo Gaston beat Sumit Nagal 6-3, 6-4 in the first round of the €227,270 Challenger tennis tournament in Bordeaux, France.

In the $60,000 ITF women’s event in Trnava, Slovakia, Prarthana Thombare made the doubles final in partnership with Arianne Hartono of the Netherlands.

-Kamesh Srinivasan

Host Kazakhstan proved a stumbling block as it beat India 2-0 in the quarterfinals of the Asia-Oceania Junior Billie Jean King Cup Under-16 girls’ tennis tournament in Shymkent on Thursday.

Parthsarthi Mundhe went down fighting in two hours and 41 minutes to Yerkezhan Zhanatayeva in the opening singles. The Kazakhs raced away with the second singles and sealed the tie.

Kazakhstan qualified for the World Group stage along with Australia, Japan and Chinese Taipei.

India will play for the 5th to 8th places, starting with the match against Korea.

-Kamesh Srinivasan

Fifth seed Deepshika Vinayagamurthy fought her way past top seed Saiyette Varadkar 6-2, 1-6, 6-2 in the girls’ quarterfinals of the ITF junior tennis tournament at the Vijayant Khand Stadium courts on Thursday.

In the boys section, top seed Tanussh Ghildyal was stretched to three sets by Sharan Somasi.

-Kamesh Srinivasan

Darsh Shetty and Yash Kapadi jointly led the standings with six points each at the conclusion of round 6 of the All India Chess Masters FIDE Rating Chess Championship here on Thursday.

Kapadi, playing with the black pieces on the top board, outmanoeuvred Shreyas G Gokhale to register his sixth consecutive victory and maintain his position at the summit.

Sharing the lead is Shetty, who also played with black pieces and secured a hard-fought win against Woman Candidate Master (WCM) Kirti Patel on the second board to stay firmly in title contention.

Vageesh Swaminathan (ELO 1763) trails closely in third place with 5.5 points.

In round 6, Swaminathan, playing with the white pieces, delivered a strong performance to defeat Hridaya Goyal and strengthen his chances of a podium finish.

-PTI

With the focus on keeping the youth engaged in sports, the Khelo India Beach Games will be held in Diu, Dadra, Nagar Haveli and Daman from May 19 to 24.

Organised under the Sports Competition and Talent Development section of the Khelo India Scheme, the Beach Games will feature football, volleyball, sepak takraw, kabaddi, Pencak Silat and open-water swimming. Mallakhamb and Tug of War will be demonstration sports.

Competition is expected to feature about 1,000 athletes from across the country.

As often emphasised by the Union Sports Minister, Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya, the government is keen to have fixed venues and a fixed calendar for different Khelo India Games to give the talented youth maximum opportunity to gain attention, recognition and get on a pathway to progress.

The government is keen to train the best talent across different levels at world class centres to achieve both the short term and long terms goals of international excellence.

The Corporate sector has assured support in a big way, and the government has categorically stated that it was not just the financial support that it sought to achieve with the collaboration of the corporate world, but to generate a healthy sports ecosystem in the country.

To further amplify the intent to support sports, the government is understood to be studying options for allowing persons of Indian origin to represent the country in sports, which is in line with the stipulations of the international sports federations.

Apart from its drive for, “Play for India”, the government is also ready to open its doors to, “Play in India”, to encourage smooth conduct of international sports events in the country to further strengthen the ecosystem.

The Sports Ministry is proactive in resolving the conflicts in various national federations so that the sports could get back on track and make meaningful progress.

-Kamesh Srinivasan

Indian golfers, including Diksha Dagar and Pranavi Urs, will aim to hit top form as they tee off at the Dutch Ladies Open, marking the Ladies European Tour’s shift from Asia to Europe.

Apart from Diksha and Pranavi, Tvesa Malik, Avani Prashanth and Hitaashee Bakshi will also compete at the tournament being held at the Goyer Golf and Country Club.

Diksha, who is lying seventh on the LET Order of Merit, had finished tied 52nd at the Aramco Korea Championship last Sunday, and she will hope for a better result this week when she plays alongside Katie Hollern of the US and Johanna Wrigley of Sweden.

Diksha missed the Dutch Ladies Open last year.

Pranavi, who finished tied 40th in Korea, has been paired with Lauren Walsh of Ireland and Ana Pelaez Trivino of Spain. Avani plays with Magdalena Simmermacher of Argentina and Alexandra Swayne of US Virgin Islands.

Tvesa is paired with Patricia Isabel Schmidt of Germany and Annabell Fuller of England, and Hitaashee will tee up with Clara Moyano Reigosa of Spain and Linda Wessberg of Sweden.

-PTI