Indian sports wrap, March 24: Two-time champion SSP Chawrasia to take part in Hero Indian Open

GOLF

Two-time champion and four-time runner-up, SSP Chawrasia has been given a special invitation by the title sponsor for the USD 2.25 million Hero Indian Open golf championship to be played at the DLF Golf and Country Club from Thursday.

The 46-year-old Chawrasia has six international titles, and two of them were won at the DLF.

He will be one of the three past champions returning to the tournament, apart from Keita Nakajima of Japan and Marcel Siem of Germany.

Chawrasia won the championship back to back in 2016 and 2017. He had finished runner-up in 1999, 2006, 2013 and 2015.

File photo: SSP Chawrasia when he won the Hero Indian Open in 2017.
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SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

The 138-strong field will have two champions from the last fortnight,Richard Mansell, the champion of Porsche Singapore Classic and Joshua Berry, the champion of Kolkata Challenge.

Callum Hill, John Parry, Johannes Veerman and Ryggs Johnston will be the other champions of the current season, lending intensity to the competition.

To add to the vibrant atmosphere, the organisers have thrown the gates open for the golf enthusiasts.

– Kamesh Srinivasan

HOCKEY

Odisha beats Haryana, Mizoram defeats Madhya Pradesh in National Women’s Hockey League 2024-2025

Odisha defeated Haryana 2-0 in Pool A.
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SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

On day five of the final phase of the National Women’s Hockey League 2024-2025, Odisha, Mizoram, Maharashtra and Jharkhand registered wins in their respective matches, at the Marang Gomke Jaipal Singh Astro Turf Hockey Stadium in Ranchi, Jharkhand.

In the first match, Odisha defeated Haryana 2-0 in Pool A. Prativa Kindo (9’) and Shibani Lugun (59’) scored for their team to take the game away from table-topper Haryana.

In the other match, Mizoram defeated Madhya Pradesh 2-1. With this win, Mizoram is now in the third position in the pool standings whereas Hockey Madhya Pradesh slipped to fifth position.

In the third match, Maharashtra defeated Bengal 4-2 to secure its first win in the tournament. Maharashtra is in the sixth position whereas Bengal is yet to open its account in the pool standings.

In the last match of the day, Jharkhand defeated Manipur Hockey 8-0. Jharkhand now holds the fourth position in the pool standings whereas Hockey is at the seventh position with one win in the tournament.

-Team Sportstar

BASKETBALL

Haryana, TN win U-23 Nationals

Haryana men and Tamil Nadu women emerged as the champions in the inaugural National under-23 basketball championships at the Sarusajai Stadium, Guwahati, on Monday.

The Haryana men’s team receiving the winners’ trophy from Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma at the National under-23 basketball championships in Guwahati on Monday.
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Special Arrangement

Captain B. Sahil contributed 29 points to help Haryana, leading 47-28 at the interval, record a convincing 94-73 victory over Punjab in the men’s title clash.

The Tamil Nadu women’s team posing with the winners’ trophy at the National under-23 basketball championships in Guwahati on Monday.
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Special Arrangement

In the women’s final, Tamil Nadu, which trailed by a point (29-28) at the halfway stage, fought back in the third quarter through Harima Sundari, who scored 22 points and 16 rebounds. Nitika A. (27) was the top-scorer for the winning side.

The champion teams received Rs. 3 lakh, the runners-up Rs. 2 lakh and the third-place finishers Rs. 1 lakh each.

– Y. B. Sarangi

TENNIS

Three Indians seeded in ITF tourney in Ahmedabad

Three Indian players Karan Singh, Aryan Shah and Dev Javia have been seeded in the $30,000 ITF men’s tennis tournament to be played at the Altevol-Waske Tennis Academy from Tuesday.

While the top seed Jay Clarke of Britain will be looking for a hat-trick of titles, having won the last two tournaments in Chandigarh and Ahmedabad itself at the Gujarat University, Moerani Bouzige of Australia and Alexandr Binda of Italy have been seeded second and third respectively.

Karan and Aryan follow as the fourth and fifth seeds. While Karan will face Manish Sureshkumar, Aryan, who had played a very good match in the semifinals against the eventual champion last week, is scheduled to face a qualifier in the first round.

Eighth seed Dev Javia will also get a qualifier in the first round, and figures in the same top quarter along with Chirag Duhan.

With the third and final qualifying round scheduled for Tuesday, many of the players will have another day to prepare, before their first round.

The main draw wild cards were given to Digvijay Prattap Singh, Nitin Kumar Sinha, Samarth Sahita and Madhwin Kamath.

It should be another week of lively action, with the Indian players trying to capitalise on the home advantage against strong opponents.

– Kamesh Srinivasan

India wins four medals at ITF Masters World Championships

(From left) Jitin Bishnoi, Akshitha Basavaraju, Chandril Sood, Lakshit Sood, Mishal Javia, Kartikeya Verma.
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Special Arrangement

The All India Tennis Association (AITA) has congratulated the Indian players for winning two silver and two bronze medals in the recent ITF Masters World Championships in Manavgat, Turkey.

The Sood twins Chandril and Lakshit, were the heroes as they won the doubles silver medal apart from the team silver in the Over-30 section.

Chandril and Lakshit lost to the top seeds Manuel Martinez and Roger Ordeig of Spain 3-6, 1-6 in the doubles final, after having beaten Russian, German and Austrian teams in straight sets in the earlier three rounds.

The Indian over-30 team lost the final 0-3 to Britain, after having beaten Argentina (2-1), and Turkmenistan (2-0) in the knock-out phase, apart from USA (2-1) and South Africa (2-0) in the league stage.

Apart from Chandril and Lakshit who dealt with the bulk of competition, the Indian men’s team had Shikhar Gaddh and Govind Maurya.

Jitin Bishnoi and Akshitha Basavaraju lost to the eventual champions Rita Freitas and Jose-Ricardo Nunes of Portugal in the mixed doubles semfiinals, after having beaten the German pair of Eva Jaekel and Dennis Jaekel 7-5, 4-6, [10-8] in the quarterfinals.

Mishal Javia and Kartikeya Verma lost to the top seeds Kengo Iwasaka of Japan and Yuri Mijic of Australia in the over-35 doubles semifinals after having beaten the Chileans Jaime Prohens and Rodrigo Santana in a thrilling fashion 4-6, 7-6(5), [10-7] in the quarterfinals.

The secretary general of AITA, Anil Dhupar congratulated the players for their “remarkable skill, determination and sportsmanship against top international opponents”.

– Kamesh Srinivasan

KABADDI

Yuva All Stars Championship: Yuva Yoddhas, Jaipur Pink Cubs, Junior Steelers bag victories on Day 19

Yuva Yoddhas, Sonipat Spartans, Junior Steelers, and the Jaipur Pink Cubs registered victories against their respective opponents on Day 19 of the Yuva All Stars Championship 2025 in Haridwar on Monday.

In the first match on Monday, Sonipat Spartans defeated UP Falcons 43-38. The Spartans are second in Pool B with 43 points, while the Falcons are fourth in Pool A with 33 points. Arjun Sirohi bagged 16 points (15 raid points and 1 tackle point) and Ankit Kumar Rana earned 14 raid points.

Meanwhile, Yuva Yoddhas defeated Yuva Paltan 48-30 in a one-sided encounter. Junior Steelers thrashed Palani Tuskers by 20 points with the final scoreline reading 46-26.

Later in the day, Jaipur Pink Cubs edged past Yuva Mumba in a 33-29 win which was a thrilling encounter. Jaipur Pink Cubs have moved to the top of the Pool A standings with 61 points from 12 matches. Meanwhile, Yuva Mumba are placed fourth in Pool B with 40 points from 13 encounters.

– Team Sportstar