Indian sports news wrap, April 10

CHESS

Arnav and Aayush share lead

Fourth seeded Arnav Kherdekar and 10th seed Aaysuh Shirodkar broke away from the rest of the field by registering five consecutive wins in as many rounds of the All India FIDE Rating Chess Tournament, on Monday.

Playing on board 2, Arnav defeated Shanmukha Pulli from the black side while Aayush beat sixth seeded Guru Prakash, and have now emerged favourites to win the title.

Meanwhile, on the top board, seventh seeded Yohan Boricha created a bit of a flutter by holding second seed Sauravh Khherdekar to a draw. Both these players now are in joint second place with a score of 4.5, and they were joined by top seeded International Master Vikramaditya Kulkarni and youngster Ishan Tendolkar.

A group of 12 players are occupying the third spot with a score of 4/5, which includes nine-year-old Nirvaan Shah, who got the better of fifth seeded Sanjeev Mishra.

-PTI

WRESTLING

Asian Wrestling championships: Vikas wins 72kg Greco-Roman bronze

Vikas secured another bronze medal for India in Greco Roman 72kg category at the Asian wrestling championships in Astana on Monday.

Vikas beat Kroea’s Jiyeon Lee 11-0 before losing 1-6 to Iranian Sajjad Ali. In the bronze medal match, the Indian defeated Chinese wrestler Jian Tan 8-0 to ensure a podium finish.

Sumit (60kg), Rahit Dahiya (82kg) and Narinder Cheema (97kg) lost their respective bronze medal matches.

India finished the Greco Roman competitions with four medals, including one silver and three bronzes.

– Team Sportstar

HOCKEY

Pritam Siwach to clash with HAR Hockey Academy in final of Khelo India Women’s League (U21 Final Phase)

Pritam Siwach Sports Foundation Hockey team is set to encounter HAR Hockey Academy in the final of the Khelo India Women’s Hockey League (U21 Final Phase) at the Padma Shri Mohd. Shahid Hockey Stadium in Gomti Nagar, Lucknow on Tuesday, April 11.

The tournament is organized by Hockey India, with financial assistance from the Department of Sports, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports under the Khelo India Sports For Women component.

On Monday, while the Pritam Siwach hockey team got past the Sports Hostel Odisha 3-2 in the semi finals, HAR academy beat the SAI Bal Hockey team with a 5-4 score in a dramatic tie-breaker.

The final encounter is scheduled at 2 pm on Tuesday afternoon in the same venue.

-Team Sportstar

TENNIS

India meets Thailand in Billie Jean King Cup

India will open its campaign with a match against Thailand on Tuesday in the Asia-Oceania Billie Jean King Cup tennis tournament to be played at the Olympic Tennis School, Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

The strong teams in the region, China and Japan have been drawn to play host Uzbekistan and Korea respectively, on the first day.

The six teams compete in a round robin league and the top two teams qualify for the World group play-off. The bottom two teams get relegated to group-2.

India is spearheaded by Ankita Raina, Olympian and the Asian Games bronze medallist with rich experience. Rutuja Bhosale, Vaidehi Chaudhari, Sahaja Yamalapalli and Shrivalli Bhamidipaty will be the other players trying to play their role well.

With captain Shalini Thakur Chawla, coach Radhika Tulpule Kanitkar and physio Ajeeta Goel, it will be a fresh start for the all-women squad.

Thailand has very experienced players like Luksika Kumkhum and Peangtarn Plipuech, apart from talented and tenacious players like Mananchaya Sawangkaew, Punnin Kovapitukted and Anchisa Chanta.

-Kamesh Srinivasan

Asian under-14 tournament: Shivtej Shirfule beats Pasindu Rukunayaka of Sri Lanka

Shivtej Shirfule beat Pasindu Rukunayaka of Sri Lanka 6-1, 6-1 in the boys first round of the Asian under-14 tennis tournament at the Kalinga Stadium on Monday.

-Kamesh Srinivasan