Indian sports News- October 7th
October 7, 2019
Bytes: Athletics World Championship, Gymnastic World Championship, India defeats SA, Vijay Hazare Trophy, Pro Kabaddi League, Women’s World Boxing Championship, ICA president, England Coach, Indian Open, Youth Chess Championship, Boxing Men’s Nationals
YoGems makes sure that you won’t miss a thing in the field of sports, so here is a quick recap to all the happenings from the last 24 hours:
Athletics:
World Championship- The wait continues. It is not exactly a surprise, for regular followers of Indian athletics, but the 27-member contingent will return without a medal from the 2019 IAAF World Athletics Championships. Anju Bobby George is still the only medallist for India at the event as yet another edition ended for India without a medal. There were some encouraging performances, sure, but no one could match George’s feat from 2003. In review, the 2019 edition in Doha was one of better performances for Indian athletes, especially in comparison the abysmal effort at London 2017. India had three finalists – in mixed 4x400m relay, men’s 3000m steeplechase and women’s javelin throw. The mixed 4x400m relay team and steeplechaser Avinash Sable qualified for Tokyo Olympics. While the relay team was expected to do well, Sable’s qualification came as a pleasant surprise. He also broke his own national record twice in three days.
Sprint hurdler Nia Ali led a final day gold rush for the United States as the curtain came down on the World Championships on Sunday. Ali powered to victory in the 100 metres hurdles to upset world record holder Keni Harrison with a time of 12.34sec at the Khalifa Stadium. Ali’s win was one of three final day gold medals for the USA, who finished on top of the medal table with 14 gold, 11 silver and four bronze. Kenya, meanwhile, finished in second spot with five golds, two silvers and four bronze. The final day’s action drew a line under 10 days of competition at the championships, held in the Middle East for the first time.
The USA win also saw Allyson Felix extend her record tally of world championship gold medals. The 33-year-old American, who did not run in the final but featured in the heats, now has 13 golds.
Kabaddi:
Pro Kabaddi League- Pardeep Narwal was at his scintillating best for Patna Pirates as his 36-point performance helped the three-time champions thrash semi-final-bound Bengal Warriors 69-41 in their final Pro Kabaddi match of the season at Greater Noida on Sunday. Pardeep Narwal’s 36-rampant performance at the Shaheed Vijay Singh Pathik Sports Complex also helped him cross the 300-raid point mark for the season (302) as Patna equalled their own record of highest points scored in a match. A total of 110 points, another Pro Kabaddi record, was scored in the free-flowing encounter between two sides who were playing with nothing to lose. Despite starting with a much-changed seven, Bengal Warriors began the match on the front foot with the likes of Rakesh Narwal and Mohammad Taghi impressing in the raids.
In another match of the day, UP Yoddha continued their impressive form as they edged Puneri Paltan 43-39 in a closely-fought encounter on Sunday. The win lifted them to the fourth spot in the table with two more games left to play for the home side. After a slow start, Surender Singh picked up a two-point raid to put UP Yoddha four points ahead of their opponents. That raid triggered a collapse for Puneri Paltan who succumbed to an all-out in the fourth minute to open up an 11-4 lead for the hosts. At the break, UP sat comfortably with the scoreline reading 29-14 in their favour. Pune then levelled the contest at 36-36 with three minutes left to play, but two-point raids from Rishank Devadiga and Ankush Singh tilted the game back in the home side’s favour who held their nerves to close the encounter.
Boxing:
World Boxing Championship- Former champion L Sarita Devi (60kg) was on Sunday knocked out of the World Women’s Boxing Championships after being upstaged by Russia’s Natalia Shadrina on a disappointing day for India at Ulan-Ude, Russia. The fourth seed, who got a first-round bye, frittered away a strong start to bow out with a 0-5 loss. There was more disappointment for the country when in the last bout of the day, debutant Nandini (81kg) proved to be no match for Germany’s Irina-Nicoletta Schonberger and was out-punched 0-5. Sarita, a gold-medallist in the 2006 New Delhi edition of the showpiece, was chasing her maiden world medal in over a decade. The Manipuri, who is also a multiple-time Asian champion, was in control in the opening three minutes, logging more punches against a seemingly withdrawn opponent. However, Shadrina fought back in the next two rounds and surprised Sarita to get the judges’ nod. Saweety Boora (75kg) and Jamuna Boro (54kg) are the two Indians to have advanced to the pre-quarters so far after winning their opening bouts.
Nationals- Top Indian boxers Mohammad Hussamuddin (57kg), Sachin Siwach (57kg) and Ashish Kumar (75Kg) registered comfortable wins over their respective opponents to reach the pre-quarterfinals in the fourth Elite National Men’s Championships Baddi, Himachal Pradesh on Sunday. Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Hussamuddin, representing Services, defeated Maharashtra’s Sashikant Yadav 5-0. With a cautious start in the first round, he picked up pace drawing from his experience to blank out his opponent with a solid display of power in the last two rounds. World Youth Boxing 2016 Champion Siwach (57kg) exhibited a brilliant display of speed and power against Pralhad Panda of Goa. The Railways boxer, who won a bronze medal in 52 kg last year, dominated the bout right from the start, resulting in an RSC (Referee Stopped the Contest) verdict in round three of the contest. In the middleweight category, 2019 Asian Championships silver medallist Ashish Kumar showed his class as he rained punches on his opponent Gnaneshwar Kurna of Telangana and the bout had to be abandoned in the second round. The local boxer enjoyed support from the students of Baddi University. Chandigarh’s Shubham defeated Orissa’s Dipak Kumar 5-0 in the lightweight category. Shubham’s quick movement and speed proved too good for his opponent. Pankaj Chauhan (75kg), also from Chandigarh, defeated Manikant Shaw of West Bengal 5-0 to reach the pre-quarterfinals. The finals of the fourth edition will be held on October 10.
Cricket:
SAvsInd- Mohammed Shami and Ravindra Jadeja combined to devastating effect in the second innings to power India’s comprehensive 203-run win against Africa on the fifth and final day of the first Test on Sunday in Visakhapatnam. At lunch, the hosts were left tottering at 117/8, kept afloat only by the brave rearguard action of Senuran Muthusamy and Dane Piedt. The duo put together a solid 91-run run stand for the ninth wicket to frustrate the Indian bowlers. But the partnership was finally broken by Shami, who became first Indian pacer since Javagal Srinath in 1996 to take a five-wicket haul in the fourth innings of a home Test. Kagiso Rabada was the last man out as Muthusamy was denied a deserving half century, remaining unbeaten on 49. Earlier, Shami took three key wickets early in the morning session, including that of skipper Faf du Plessis (13), to hit Proteas hopes of saving the game after they were set a victory target of 395.
Jadeja, who got first innings centurion Dean Elgar late Saturday, struck three times in one over to put India on the brink of taking a 1-0 lead in the series, with the hosts wrapping things up in the second session. It was senior batsman Rohit Sharma who put India in pole position with a century in each innings on debut as a Test opener – a first by any batsman in five-day history.
Vijay Hazare- Abhinav Mukund (84) and Baba Aparajith (87) shone as Tamil Nadu outplayed Tripura by 187 runs for its sixth straight win in Group ‘C’ of the Vijay Hazare Trophy, India’s domestic one-day cricket tournament, in Jaipur on Sunday. After posting an imposing 315/8 in 50 overs riding on impressive knocks by Mukund and Aparajith, Tamil Nadu shot out Tripura for 128 in 34.3 overs with left-arm pacer T Natarajan taking three wickets. Spinners R Sai Kishore and M Ashwin pick up two wickets each as TN made short work of Tripura to take its tally to 24 points.
Brief scores:
Tamil Nadu 315 for 8 in 50 overs (Abhinav Mukund 84 (87 balls, 11 fours), Baba Aparajith 87(97 balls, 2 four, 4 sixes), Dinesh Karthik 40, Washington Sundar 36, Ajoy Sarkar 3/51, Neelambuj Vats 2/60) beat Tripura 128 all out in 34.3 overs (Pratyush Singh 24, Milind 24, T Natarajan 3/22, M Ashwin 2/13). TN: 4 points, Tripura: 0.
Jammu & Kashmir 189 all out in 48.3 overs (Paras Sharma 49, Fazil Rashid 39, Diwesh Gurudev Pathania 4/39, Varun Choudhary 2/27) lost to Services 190 for 3 in 34.2 overs (Rahul Singh Gahlaut 124 not out (101 balls, 10 fours, 8 sixes, Rajat Paliwal 49). Services: 4 points, J&K: 0.
Rajasthan 206 all out in 47.4 overs (Arjit Gupta 90, R K Bishnoi 37, Chetan Bist 30, Himanshu Sangwan 4/44, Ananta Sinha 3/51) vs Railways 206 for 8 in 50 overs (Dinesh Mor 92 not out, A R Lamba 4/15). Rajasthan: 2 points, Railways: 2 points.
ICA President- Former Test cricketer Ashok Malhotra is set to be elected unopposed as the president of the Indian Cricketers Association after the BCCI electoral officer released the list of candidates for the newly formed players’ body. However, there will be elections for every other position. Ashu Dani, Siddharth Sahib Singh and Hitesh Majumdar are fighting for secretary’s post while Kishore Sharma and V Krishnaswamy will contest for the treasurer’s post. The contest for players’ representative in the BCCI will be interesting as Kirti Azad and Anshuman Gaekwad are among the four who are in the fray for the single post. However, Surender Khanna will be the only representative to the IPL Governing Council.
England coach- England have named Chris Silverwood as their new head coach to replace Trevor Bayliss, who stepped down last month at the end of his contract. The 44-year-old has spent the past two years serving as fast bowling coach under Bayliss. Silverwood’s first competitive series will be England’s tour of New Zealand, which includes a five-match Twenty20 series starting in November and two Tests against the Black Caps. While former India and South Africa coach Gary Kirsten and Surrey’s director of cricket Alec Stewart emerged as contenders to succeed Australian Bayliss, managing director of England men’s cricket Ashley Giles described Silverwood as the “standout candidate.” The 44-year-old, who played six Tests and seven one-day internationals for England between 1996 and 2002, coached Essex to the County Championship title in 2017 before joining the England set-up. Silverwood said he was excited to get started in the job.
Gymnastics:
World Championships- USA gymnastics star Simone Biles made history on her opening appearance at the 2019 world championships on Saturday by landing a triple double skill on the floor which will be named “Biles II”. The 22-year-old Texan then pulled off a double-twisting double tuck dismount off the beam which will be known simply as “The Biles”. Biles, who now has four skills named after her, is set to add to her record tally in Stuttgart of 14 gold medals at her fifth world championships. Biles, who now has four skills named after her, is set to add to her record tally in Stuttgart of 14 gold medals at her fifth world championships. Another four in Stuttgart would put her past the all-time record of 23 held by Vitaly Scherbo, a men’s gymnastics star in the 1990s. Biles is the clear favourite to win all-around world gold for the fifth time, extending her own record, yet she has endured testing times away from the sport in the last two years.
Chess:
Youth Championship- Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa eked out a hard-fought draw while Divya Deshmukh scored a smart victory to stay in the hunt at the World Youth Chess Championship in Mumbai on Sunday. GM Praggnanandhaa, playing black, had to be at his defensive best to thwart Iran’s Aryan Gholami in the U18 Open to share the lead with his opponent on five points after round six. In a highly-anticipated clash, International Master Aryan Gholami seemed to have a slight edge as he battled for that crucial point. But Praggnanandhaa manoeuvred his pieces smartly to share the spoils after 39 moves. The country’s other GM, P Iniyan, desperately tried to make the most of his white but was effectively stonewalled by Germany’s Valentin Buckels. After 50 moves, they decided to end their agony by splitting the point. Both are second on the leader-board, trailing by half a point each. On an interesting day, all the top seeds, including GM Shant Sargsyan of Armenia (U18 Open), Russia’s Polina Shuvalova (U18 Girls), IM Moke Hans Niemann (U16 Open), Women’s Candidate Master Leya Garifullina (U16 Girls), FM Sreeshwan Maralakshikari (U14 Open) and Divya coasted to full points in their respective games.
Key results:
U18 Open: Aryan Gholami (IRI, 5) drew with R Praggnanandhaa (IND, 5); Valentin Buckels (GER, 4.5) drew with P Iniyan (IND, 4.5); Viktor Gazik (SVK, 4.5) beat Aditya Mittal (IND, 4); Ramazan Zhalmakhanov (KAZ, 3.5) lost to Shant Sargsyan (ARM, 4.5)
U18 Girls: Viktoria Radeva (BUL, 4) lost to Polina Shuvalova (RUS, 5)
U16 Open: Rudik Makarian (RUS, 5.5) beat Arash Daghli (IRI, 4.5); Stefan Pogosyan (RUS, 4.5) drew with Aronyak Ghosh (IND, 5); Turgut Aydin (USA, 4) lost to Moke Hans Niemann (USA, 5)
U16 Girls: Mehendi Sil (IND, 4.5) drew with Salonika Saina (IND, 4.5)
U14 Open: Jiajun Sun (CHN, 4) lost to S Maralakshikari (IND, 5); LR Srihari (IND, 5) beat Alex Kolay (USA, 4)
U14 Girls: Rakshitta Ravi (IND, 5) drew with Eline Roebers (NED, 5); Anna Lhotska (CZE, 4) lost to Ekaterina Nasyrova (RUS, 5)
Golf:
Indian Open- The country’s top amateur golfer Anika Varma finished a creditable fifth in the Hero Women’s Indian Open with a 3-under par aggregate of 285 and a final day card of two-under 70 at Gurugram on Sunday. The 15-year-old Anika was one shot ahead of best-placed home professional Tvesa Malik, who was tied sixth at one-under 287. Last year, Tvesa had finished as the best home golfer at tied 13th and Sunday’s result was significant progress for the LET rookie as well. Christine Wolf of Austria buried the ghosts of the past with a bogey-free final round to clinch her maiden Ladies European Tour title. The HWIO and the DLF Golf and Country Club is becoming a happy hunting ground for first-time winners. Following Welsh veteran Becky Morgan’s breakthrough win after 19 long years on the Ladies European Tour in 2018, it was the 30-year-old Austrian Wolf’s turn as she grabbed her first title after six years on the Tour.
Taiwan Open- Indian golfer Ajeetesh Sandhu had to be satisfied with a Tied-second place after he blew his chances with a late double bogey in the final round of the Mercuries Taiwan Masters at Tamsui, Chinese Taipei on Sunday. Thailand’s Suradit Yongcharoenchai, who began the day one shot behind the leaders – Ajeetesh Sandhu of India and Philippines’ Miguel Tabuena – held his nerve in a tight finish with an even par back nine to card 70 and held out for his career’s biggest prize cheque. For Suradit, it was a breakthrough on the Asian Tour where he made his debut as a 17-year-old in 2015. Suradit carded 70, while Sandhu and Tabuena shot 72 each. Adilson Da Silva fired 68 to jump to Tied-second. He was one shot clear of Sandhu, Tabuena and Adilson Da Silva (68). Among others, Rashid Khan shot the best round on Sunday with a 67 and jumped up to Tied-fifth, while Viraj Madappa was unable to follow up on his 65 from Saturday and ballooned to 76 to lie Tied-ninth as three Indians figured in Top-10.
