Indian Sports Wrap, May 23: Diksha, Avani and Hitaashee tied 36th at Jabra Ladies

GOLF

Diksha, Avani and Hitaashee tied 36th at Jabra Ladies

Evian-les-Bains (France), May 23 (PTI) Indian golfers Diksha Dagar, Avani Prashanth and Hitaashee Bakshi finished their first round at the Jabra ladies Open with identical one over par 72 each here.

All three were tied 36th in the standings.

The fourth Indian, Tvesa Malik, had a disappointing start with 4-over 75 and she was tied 84th.

Moa Folke of Sweden led the field at the end of the first day as she put in a near perfect round with eight birdies and one bogey.

Folke started from the sixth, as players began on the sixth and 15th at the Evian Resort and Golf Club, and birdied the first, second, seventh, ninth, 12th, 13th, 15th and 18th holes. Her only bogey of the round was on the 16th hole.

After a good Top-10 last week, Diksha, starting from the sixth, made four birdies and had five bogeys in her first round.

Diksha started the day with a birdie on the sixth and the seventh and added one more on the ninth. Two bogeys on the 13th and 16th saw her fall back.

A birdie on the first saw her bounce back and she was 2-under at that stage. But three bogeys in a row from third to the fifth, her last three holes, saw her fall to 1-over.

Avani Prashanth, starting on the 15th, had three birdies against four bogeys, while Hitaashee Bakshi, who was tied 12th last week in Dutch Ladies, had two birdies, one bogey and a double bogey in her 72.

Folke leads her closest competitors by two shots. In second place there is a five-way tie between Finland’s Sanna Nuutinen, Thai April Angurasaranee, Australian Kelsey Bennett, Czech Sara Kouskova and Spaniard Amaia Latorre.

Four players are in a share of seventh place with Alexandra Swayne of the U.S. England’s Annabel Fuller, Switzerland’s Chiara Tamburlini and Italy’s Anna Zanusso all on four-under-par.

– PTI

Akshay Bhatia makes good start, lies 11th at Charles Schwab

Indian-American golfer Akshay Bhatia overcame back-to-back bogeys on his second nine but still carded 3-under 70 and was placed tied 11th in the first round of the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial here.

Bhatia, currently ranked 30th in the world, was as high as 21st previously.

Aaron Rai, the Indo-British player on the PGA Tour, shot even par 70 with one birdie and one bogey to be tied 57th.

Two-time PGA Tour winner Bhatia finished fourth behind Scheffler at Hero World Challenge and third behind Rory McIlroy at the Players this season and he had five birdies, four of them in his first 10 holes after starting from the 10th.

Bhatia bogeyed the fourth and fifth and had another birdie on the closing hole, the ninth and is four shots behind the leader, rookie John Pak (63).

World No. 1 Scheffler shot 68 and was tied 20th.

Scheffler, recent winner of the PGA Championship, his third major, began eagle-birdie by holing a putt for eagle from off the green on the par-5 first hole and a 23-footer for birdie on No. 2. But he had just one more birdie against two bogeys for a 2-under 68 and was tied 20th.

Pak shot 63 for a three-shot lead over nine players, J.J. Spaun the highest-ranked among them at 27th.

Tommy Fleetwood and 2023 Open champion Brian Harman were among a group of nine players four back of Pak, and Scheffler headlined the 15 players who were five strokes behind.

Defending champion Davis Riley, who is playing the first two rounds with Scheffler, had two double bogeys on the front nine and shot 3-over 73.

Jordan Spieth shot 69 with birdies on two of his final four holes.

– PTI

SHOOTING

Mairaj Ahmad Khan and Ganemat Sekhon top Second Shotgun National Trials

Olympian Mairaj Ahmad Khan and Ganemat Sekhon finished on top in the skeet finals of the Second Shotgun National Trials held at the Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Range.

Mairaj shot 55 in the finals, edging out Paris Olympian Anantjeet Singh Naruka, who shot 54, by a single shot. Ganemat also secured victory by a one-shot margin, finishing with 53 ahead of Maheshwari Chauhan’s 52.

The top 3 of the women’s skeet event at the Second Shotgun National Trials.
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

Angad Vir Singh Bajwa and Parinaaz Dhaliwal finished third in the men’s and women’s categories, respectively.

Earlier, in the final two rounds of qualification, Bhavtegh Singh Gill shot 22 and 24 to add to his 73 from yesterday, qualifying in first place. Mairaj totaled 118, while Smit Singh with 117, Angad with 116, and Anantjeet with 115 completed the top six qualifiers.

In the women’s category, Ganemat topped the qualification round with 114 shots, followed closely by Maheshwari with 113. Parinaaz also shot 113, while Oshmi Shrivas, Darshana Rathore, and Mansi Raghuwanshi rounded out the top six with scores of 108, 107 (SO–3), and 107 (SO–2), respectively.

A separate selection trial was not conducted for junior athletes; as a result, Oshmi and Mansi were also placed first and second in the junior category with the same scores. Agrima Kanwar placed third with a score of 104.

In the Men’s Junior category, Yuvaan finished on top with a score of 110, while Yashwardhan Singh Rajawat and Anjaneya Singh Mandawa finished second and third with scores of 108 and 106, respectively.

The Selection Committee will consider the scores from the ISSF Junior World Cup in Suhl, Germany, for junior athletes participating in that event, as Selection Trials 2 coincides with it. Scores of such shooters will not be marked as “zero.”

-Team Sportstar

SURFING

Indian Open surfing from May 30

The Indian Open of surfing, which is the second stop in the National Surfing Championship series, is set to return for its sixth edition from May 30 to June 1.

The competition will be hosted by the Mantra Surf Club against the backdrop of Sasihithlu Beach and will be organised by the Surfing Swami Foundation, the Surfing Federation of India (SFI) stated.

The three-day competition will witness participation from India’s top-ranked surfers in four categories — men’s open, women’s open, U-16 Boys and U-16 Girls.

Last year, India earned its first-ever surfing quotas for a multisport event, securing two spots for the 2026 Asian Games at the Asian Surf Championship in the Maldives.

The upcoming Indian Open offers athletes the opportunity to boost their rankings and enhance their chances of qualifying for the Asian Surf Championship, the qualifier event for the 2026 Asian Games scheduled later this year.

– PTI

SURFING

Surfing Federation of India confirms 6th edition of Indian Open of Surfing

The Indian Open of Surfing, the second stop in the National Surfing Championship series, is set to return for its sixth edition.

Set against the scenic backdrop of Sasihithlu Beach in Mangalore, Karnataka, the event will take place from May 30 to June 1, 2025.

The three-day premier surfing competition will witness participation from India’s top-ranked surfers in four categories: Men’s Open, Women’s Open, Groms (U-16) Boys and Groms (U-16) Girls.

Recognised by the International Surfing Association, the competition will be hosted by the Mantra Surf Club and organised by the Surfing Swami Foundation.

Set against the scenic backdrop of Sasihithlu Beach in Mangalore, Karnataka, the event will take place from May 30 to June 1, 2025.
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

Indian Open of Surfing holds significant importance, as it offers athletes the opportunity to boost their rankings and enhance their chances of qualifying for the Asian Surf Championship, the qualifier event for the 2026 Asian Games scheduled later this year.

“In 2024, our surfers created history by securing qualification spots for the Asian Games for the first time, marking a significant milestone that has elevated the sport’s profile across the country. As we set our sights on Aichi-Nagoya 2026, the competition promises to be more intense than ever,” Mr. Arun Vasu, President, Surfing Federation of India, said.

Kishore Kumar, Harish Muthu, Kamali P, Ajeesh Ali, Srikanth D, and Sanjay Selvamani will be some of the top surfers to watch out for at the Indian Open of Surfing, following their standout performances at the Asian Surfing Championship and the Maruhaba Cup in 2024.

-Team Sportstar

TENNIS

India loses to New Zealand, play Pakistan for 11th place in Junior Davis Cup

The Indian team lost 1-2 to New Zealand following a 9-11 loss in the super tie-break of doubles in the 9th-12th place play-off match of the Asia-Oceania Junior Davis Cup under-16 tennis tournament in Shymkent, Kazakhstan, on Friday.

Tavish Pahwa put India on par after Prakaash Sarran had lost the first singles. However, in the decisive doubles, Luca Bland and Alvin Na pulled the Kiwis through to a 5-7, 6-3, [11-9] victory over Tavish and Prateek Sheoran.

India thus will be playing Pakistan in the match for the 11th place. Japan and Korea set up a title clash, by beating Chinese Taipei and China, respectively.

The top four teams qualified for the World Group stage to be played later in the season in Europe.

-Kamesh Srinivasan