FOOTBALL

Santosh Trophy 2024: Kerala beats Odisha to register third straight win

Kerala scored its third win in-a-row when it notched up a 2-0 win against Odisha to maintain its position at the top with nine points while Meghalaya recorded its first win in the final round of the 78th Santosh Trophy national football championship at Deccan Arena here on Thursday.

Former champions, Kerala, took the lead in the 40th minute after some impressive individual skill from Muhammad Ajsal, who raced from the half-way line, left two defenders in the lurch and rifled a left-footer into the bottom corner.

Kerala scored again with a rapid turnover in the 54th minute. Odisha lost the ball in the middle of the park and Muhammed Musharaf was quick to turn and release Naseeb Rahman through on goal. Rahman with all his composure swiftly tucked the ball past Siddhanta Padhan in the Odisha goal.

In another match, Donlad Diengdoh fired Meghalaya into top gear against Delhi, striking twice in the space of two minutes to leave Delhi stunned. The first one came in the 49th minute as he took full advantage of a rebound after Delhi goalkeeper Raj Kumar Mahato saved a long-range strike. Diengdoh was in the right place at the right time to poke home from close range.

The Delhi defence was then caught napping two minutes later as Diengdoh latched onto a through ball and went around Mahato, who had ventured out to the edge of the box in an attempt to clear the ball. As the Delhi defenders rushed to the goal line, the Meghalaya forward squeezed the ball into the net with precision.

– Team Sportstar

EQUESTRIAN

Rider Raju secures spot in Asian Continental Championships

Rider Raju Singh finished twice on the podium at the FEI’s CCI 3-star event to qualify for next year’s Asian Continental Championships in Pattaya, Thailand.

Raju secured first place with his horse Mawillan and a close second with Matakali, cementing his superiority in the prestigious event that concluded on Wednesday.

Showcasing their prowess, Raju, Pradeep Kumar and Kumabhar Mahesh K Sharayu also successfully met the challenging Minimum Eligibility Requirements by completing the event with penalties of 48 or less–and will make up the Indian team at the Asian Continental Championships.

“The exceptional performances witnessed here in Jaipur reflect the growing calibre of equestrian sports in India,” EFI Secretary General Col. Jaiveer Singh said.

“Raju Singh, Pradeep Kumar, and Kumabhar Mahesh K Sharayus’s success in this event is a significant milestone, and their achievements, especially with the MER qualification of the Indian team, set an inspiring precedent for the upcoming Asian Championship in Pattaya.”

Competing in the Dressage Test, Show Jumping, and Cross Country back-to-back days, Raju took the top podium in the latter with horse Mawillan and second place with horse Matakli, accumulating 38.8 and 40.6 penalty points, respectively.

Kumar followed with horse Parinda in third place with 42.3 penalty points, while Sharayu, with horse Indian Glory, also finished within the MER with a score of 46.7.

Furthermore, in the Dressage Test, Kumar restricted himself to a prudent 33.5 penalty points, ahead of both Raju and Sharayu.

Meanwhile, Singh prolonged his outstanding display by also taking the top two spots in Show Jumping, scoring 38.4 with Mawillan and 40.6 with Matakali. Lt Col Ashish Malik, riding on De Baune De Landette, finished third in Show Jumping with a score of 41.1.

The competition witnessed remarkable performances from a diverse group of riders, especially in the Cross Country section.

Neel Kamal, riding Rajpal Singh Rock, secured fifth place with a score of 55.0, followed closely by Vishwanath P Shankar on Amar with 55.4.

-Press Trust of India

MOTORSPORTS

Novice Cup to begin on Friday

Seven teams with 22 racers will battle it out for podium at the Novice Cup, which is a part of the JK Tyre-FMSCI National Racing Championship, scheduled for Friday and Saturday.

Zion Racing, MSport, DTS Racing, Momentum Motorsport, Delta Speed, Ahura Racing and Avalanche Racing will compete across five races over the two days to decide the overall champion of 2024.

The Novice Cup is a feeder series from where many racers have graduated to the higher level such as Ruhaan Alva, reigning Formula LGB4 champion Tijil Rao, Amir Sayed, Vishwas Vijayraj, Arjun Nair and Naethan.

-Press Trust of India

GOLF

Avani and Amandeep on course for LET card

Avani Prashanth stayed on course to getting her playing rights on the Ladies European Tour, despite an over par third round at the Final Qualifier of Lalla Aicha Q-School.

Avani, who shot 69-69 in the first two rounds carded 1-over 73 at Par-72 Al Maaden Golf Course.

Avani at 6-under through 54 holes is Tied-15th with the next best Indian being Amandeep Drall (70-71-72) at 5-under and Tied-20th.

Sneha Singh (73-70-72) is 3-under and T-35, while Hitaashee Bakshi (76-77-67) is 2-over and T-71 and Vani Kapoor (72-73-75) is 3-over and T-84.

The competitors for the 90-hole five-round qualifier alternate between the Par-72 Royal Golf Marrakech and Par-73 Al Maaden Golf Marrakech courses.

The fifth round will be played on Al Maaden Golf Marrakech.

The Top 20 and ties will get Category 12 status with No. 21-50 getting Category 16 and the rest will get Category 19.

Spain’s Blanca Fernandez fired a round of 67(-6) for a 13-under on day three at Al Maaden Golf Marrakech to lead by one-shot.

The Spaniard began the day in a share of third place and started well with a birdie on the first before making an eagle on the fourth. She had six birdies and an eagle against two bogeys.

Daniela Darquea continued her fine form at the Royal Golf Marrakech firing a round of 68 (-4) on day three in Morocco. She was second at 12-under.

Ireland’s Anna Foster had an exceptional third day firing the round of the week at Al Maaden with a 65 (-8). She is tied third with Teresa Toscano (67).

Germany’s Polly Mack, who is in outright fifth place on 10-under-par, posted a bogey-free 69 (-3) at Royal.

-Press Trust of India

Ajeetesh Sandhu lying tied fifth in Asian Tour Q-School

Ajeetesh Sandhu dropped a late double bogey and another bogey in the last three holes, but stayed in top-5 after the third round of the Final Stage of the Asian Tour Qualifying School.

Sandhu, who had a share of the first round lead, is now 12-under with rounds of 63-70-68.

The Qualifier is being played on two courses — the A and B course and the C and D at Lake View Resort and Golf Club in Hua Hin.

The next best Indians are Karandeep Kochhar (67-73-69) and Aryan Roopa Anand (69-71-69) and both are 4-under for three rounds. They are T-45.

Arjun Sharma (70) at T-96, Pukhraj Singh Gill (71) at T-110, Anshul Kabthiyal (73) and S Chikkarangappa (73) at T-123, Rashid Khan (74) and Honey Baisoya (72) at T-130 are still in the fray as top-35 earn Tour cards.

Kyungnam Kang, who has 20 years of experience in the professional game drained a 40-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole soon after an eagle on 15, on the A and B course to open up a three-shot lead after the third round.

He fired a six-under-par 65 to sit at 16-under with two rounds remaining in the school — which after Saturday’s final round will decided the top-35.

Behind the leader, Kang, are American Christopher Hickman (65) plus Japan’s Takumi Murakami (66) and Taiki Yoshida (67) who are tied for second.

Sandhu (68) and second-round leader Australian Jack Thompson (70) are a shot further back.

Lying in a tie for seventh five off top spot are Australia’s Lawry Flynn (65), Yosuke Asaji (67) from Japan, and Korean Doyeob Mun (70).

The top-70 and ties will make the second and final cut of the week.

-Press Trust of India

TENNIS

Defending champion Shrivalli goes down

Qualifier Zuzanna Pawlikowska of Poland beat the champion of the last tournament, the seventh seed Shrivalli Bhamidipaty 3-6, 6-1, 6-3 in the pre-quarterfinals of the $40,000 ITF women’s tennis tournament at the Ganesh Naik Complex on Thursday.

The top seeded Ankita Raina also retired midway through the second set against Thasaporn Naklo of Thailand. However, Ankita was able to return for her doubles quarterfinals in partnership with Prarthana Thombare, and made the semifinals.

Second seed Sahaja Yamalapalli shoulders the Indian hopes in singles, as she meets Ekaterina Reyngold in the quarterfinals on Friday.