Indian sports wrap, February 3: Veer Ahlawat finishes tied 49th in Bahrain

GOLF

Veer finishes tied 49th in Bahrain, gets ready for Qatar Masters

India’s Veer Ahlawat put together a gritty 1-under 71, his third under par round in four days, to finish the 2025 Bahrain Championship at 4-under and tied-49th.

It was a modest finish after his T-27 in Ras Al Khaimah, but Veer showed that he was getting used to the elite Tour, which he got into by topping the PGTI Order of Merit in 2024.

As a result of an alliance between the PGTI and the DP World Tour, the OOM winner gets a card to play on the DPWT.

The 28-year-old DLF Academy golfer birdied four times in the final round with the gains coming from second, eighth, ninth and the 17th.

He dropped shots on third, 13th and the 16th. His earlier rounds were 70-70-73.

Veer is slated to play the Qatar Masters next and he will be joined by Shubhankar Sharma, a regular on DPWT.

Laurie Canter saved his best until the last as he beat Pablo Larrazabal and Dan Brown in a play-off to win the 2025 Bahrain Championship and claim his second DP World Tour title.

-PTI

TENNIS

Italy’s Berrettini upsets sixth seed Shimakukuro while Indians fall in the final round of qualifying at Chennai Open ATP Challenger

Italy’s Jacopo Berrettini, the younger brother of former Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini, caused the first big upset in the main draw of the Chennai Open ATP Challenger with a straight sets win over sixth seed Sho Shimakukuro. Meanwhile, the four Indians in action on Monday failed to win their final round in the qualifying draw against higher-ranked opposition.

Berrettini, ranked No. 324 in the world, won 6-3, 7-6 against Shimakukuro in the first main draw match of the tournament. In the only other main draw match held today, fifth seed Shintaro Mochizuki, of Japan, defeated Italy’s Enrico Dalla Valle 6-2, 6-1 to move into the last 16.

In the qualifying draw, all four Indians who won their matches on Sunday failed to repeat their success in the final round of qualifying. 21-year-old Chirag Duhan battled hard before falling in a third set tiebreak to seventh seed Yurii Dzhavakian 4-6, 6-1, 7-6. Dev Javia also went to three sets against Egor Agafonov before going down 4-6, 7-5, 6-3.

Second seed Kimmer Coppejans, fourth seed Hynek Barton, fifth seed Eric Vanshelboim and 11th seed Maxim Zhukov joined Dzhavakian and Agafonov as qualifiers in the main draw.

The main draw matches will continue at the SDAT Tennis Stadium in Chennai on Tuesday with three Indians – Ramkumar Ramanathan, Mukund Sasikumar and Karan Singh – playing their first-round matches. The tournament’s top two seeds, Great Britain’s Billy Harris, ranked No 129 in the world, and South African Lloyd Harris, ranked No 142, will also begin their singles campaign on Tuesday.

-Team Sportstar

MMA

IPBL & Anthony Pettis’ APFC confirm six cities ‘Road to IPBL” India Tour in March

Former UFC Lightweight Champion Anthony Pettis is set to visit India for the first time for a six-city “Road to IPBL” tour in March to promote combat sports in India and bridge the gap between international and domestic talent.

The “Road to IPBL” tour, will have stops in Delhi, Jaipur, Mumbai, Goa, Hyderabad and Bangalore.

The tour builds on the momentum created last August when Pettis faced off with Indian actor and IPBL co-founder Rana Daggubati in Mexico.

“India has an incredible passion for combat sports, and I’m excited to be part of this movement with IPBL,” said Pettis in a release.

“Bringing APFC to India and setting up a fight between my brother and one of India’s top boxing champions is a huge step forward for the sport. I can’t wait to experience the energy of the Indian fans firsthand.” IPBL has officially announced a major fight between WBC India Champion Sabari Jaishankar and Sergio Pettis, the former Bellator Bantamweight Champion and brother of Anthony Pettis.

Sergio is an American mixed martial artist currently signed with Bellator MMA, where he previously held the Bellator Bantamweight Championship.

Before joining Bellator, he competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), earning recognition as one of the top fighters in the bantamweight division.

His opponent, Sabari Jaishankar, known for his technical skill and power, is India’s top professional boxer, having won multiple World Boxing Council (WBC) titles, including WBC India, WBC Australasia, and WBC Middle East Titles.

-PTI

WEIGHTLIFTING

Four national records broken in weightlifting, three by Punjab’s Mehak Sharma

Punjab weightlifter Mehak Sharma broke three national records — all in her name — out of the four that tumbled on Sunday en route to winning the gold medal in a stunning performance at the 38th National Games in Dehradun.

The 29-year-old Mehak was the star performer on the final day of weightlifting competition.

Competing in the women’s 87+ kg category, Mehak lifted 106kg in snatch, surpassing her previous national mark of 105kg. She then came up with 141kg in her final clean-and-jerk attempt, bettering her national record of 140kg.

With a total lift of 247kg, three kilograms more than her previous national mark of 244kg, Mehak beat her rivals by a huge margin for the gold.

The silver medal went to Purnima Pandey of Uttar Pradesh, who lifted a total of 216kg, while the bronze was secured by Satya Jyothi of Karnataka with a total lift of 201kg.

“I was confident because I had practised well, but I never thought I would break all three records. Now that I have done it, I am satisfied,” an elated Mehak said after the win.

“I am very happy. I thank my coaches and my family members for this achievement. Nothing can be achieved in this game without the help of coaches.” Mehak had set her earlier three national records less than four months back during the National Championships in Himachal Pradesh in October.

Medals are awarded only for total lift of the participants.

In the men’s 109+kg category, another national record was broken by S Rudramayan of Tamil Nadu when he lifted 175kg in snatch, bettering the national mark of 172kg in the name of Gurdeep Singh of Railways.

However, Rudramayan could not maintain his form in the clean and jerk, lifting 180kg and finishing with a total of 355kg, which earned him the silver medal.

The gold medal was won by Lovepreet Singh of Services, who lifted 165kg in snatch and 202kg in clean and jerk, bringing his total to 367kg. Uttarakhand’s Vivek Pandey secured the bronze medal with a total lift of 280kg.

-PTI

BASKETBALL

INBL Pro basketball league: Hyderabad falcons beat Gujarat Stalions; Delhi Dribblers win against Mumbai Titans

Alex Robinson and Kushal Singh were in top form as they scored 52 points between them in guiding Hyderabad falcons to a 96-71 victory over Gujarat Stallions in the second league match of the INBL Pro basketball league at the Thyagaraj Indoor Stadium on Monday.

Hyderabad raced to a 34-11 lead in the first quarter and kept the control of the proceedings to lead 56-30 at half time. In the second half, Gujarat was able to regroup and match Hyderabad scoring 41 to 40 points, lending some interest to the contest. In the inaugural match on Sunday evening, Delhi Dribblers scored a 93-85 victory over Mumbai Titans, after being locked 45-45 at half time.

“By integrating international talent with home grown players, we are laying the foundation for hte sport’s success. “This league will inspire the next generation and showcase India’s capabilities on the global stage,” said the president of the Basketball Federation of India (BFI), Aadhav Arjuna, at the inauguration.

The league features six teams, Punjab Warriors, Delhi Dribblers, Mumbai Titans, Gujarat Stallions, Hyderabad Falcons and Chennai Heat, competing in a round-robin format till February 24. the top four teams iwll advance to the semifinals on February 28. The final will be played on March 1 at the prestigious Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.The league features six teams, Punjab Warriors, Delhi Dribblers, Mumbai Titans, Gujarat Stallions, Hyderabad Falcons and Chennai Heat, competing in a round-robin format till February 24. the top four teams iwll advance to the semifinals on February 28. The final will be played on March 1 at the prestigious Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.

The league will also feature the Rapid League format, designed to accelerate player development.

“The Rapid league format ensures that every player gets a chance to contribute, fostering greater growth and engagement in the sport,” said the Chairman and Founder of InBL Pro, Rupinder Brar.

– Team Sportstar

SWIMMING

Nataraj vs Desinghu matched at 7 gold medals each

Karnataka swimmers Srihari Nataraj and Dhinidhi Desinghu matched one other in their fierce rivalry as the southern state picked up five gold medals from the pool to leapfrog to the top of the medal tally in the National Games on Monday.

At the swimming pool in Haldwani, Nataraj and Desinghu continued their fierce rivalry, both clinching their seventh gold medal to stay on course to becoming the best male and female athletes, respectively, of the Games.

With five gold medals from the pool, Karnataka leapfrogged Services to return to the top spot with 42 medals (22 gold, 10 silver, 10 bronze). The southern state was also on top of the medal tally on the first two days of competition.

Services is at second spot with 38 medals (19 gold, 10 silver, 9 bronze), followed by Maharashtra (15 gold, 26 silver, 20 bronze) and Manipur (11 gold, 10 silver, 5 bronze).

Meanwhile, Desinghu, the 14-year-old swimming sensation, came first in the women’s 400m freestyle with a new Games record of 4 minutes and 24.60 seconds and then formed the quartet with Nataraj and two others to win gold in mixed 4x100m freestyle with a time of 3 minutes and 41.03 seconds.

The other two members of the team were Akash Mani and Nina Venkatesh.

“I started swimming at the age of seven to make friends… Setting a Games record is a proud moment for me, and I hope to continue improving,” Desinghu said.

The 24-year-old Nataraj, also a Paris Olympian like Desinghu, grabbed his second gold of the day in the men’s 50m backstroke with a time of 26.09 seconds.

With the two gold on Monday, Desinghu has won nine medals so far in the Games, having earlier won five gold (200m freestyle, 100m butterfly, 4x100m freestyle relay and 50m freestyle and 4x200m freestyle relay), one silver (50m butterfly) and one bronze — (4x100m relay medley).

For Nataraj, Monday’s two gold took him to eight medals in total in the ongoing Games. He has earlier won five gold — 200m freestyle, 4x100m freestyle relay, 4x100m freestyle relay medley, 4x200m freestyle relay and 100m backstroke — and a silver — 50m freestyle.

Nataraj and Desinghu would be strong contenders to win the best male and female athletes of the Games award. Nataraj had won the accolade in the 2023 edition of the Games in Goa with eight gold, one silver and one bronze.

In the 2022 edition in Gujarat, Nataraj was beaten by Sajan Prakash (who won the accolade in 2015 also) for the honour despite winning eight medals, including two gold.

In shooting, Karnataka’s 15-year-old Jonathan Antony delivered a grand performance on the biggest domestic stage when he outwitted Paris Olympics bronze-medallist Sarabjot Singh and the more fancied Saurabh Chaudhary to clinch the 10m air pistol gold.

Jonathan, whose shooting career took wings when he won gold in the CBSE South Zone Rifle Shooting Competition in 2022 while studying in eighth standard, shot a superb 240.7 in the final to overcame the challenge of Services veterans Ravinder Singh (silver, 240.3) and Gurpreet Singh (bronze, 220.1) and Sarabjot, who won a bronze in the Paris Olympics’ 10m air pistol mixed team event with Manu Bhaker last year.

Sarabjot finished fourth on Monday.

“I’m thrilled with this win. Competing against such talented shooters who have represented India at the highest level makes this victory even more meaningful. Today was my day, and I’m proud of how it all came together,” Antony said.

Punjab’s Asian Games gold medallist Sift Kaur Samra secured gold in the women’s 50m rifle 3-positions event after shooting a superb 461.2 to overcome the challenge of state-mate Olympian Anjum Moudgil, who shot 458.7.

Surabhi Bharadwaj of Telangana bagged the bronze medal, shooting 448.8.

-PTI