Manipur clinch U-14 football crown
NEW DELHI: Manipur’s under-14 team beat Maharashtra 3-1 in the final to clinch the U-14 National Championship Football Tournament, held in Kolkata, on Sunday. N Dhruba Singh recorded a hat-trick to cancel out Maharashra’s MD Kamran’s opener in the first minute of the summit clash. Manipur had been steamrolling opponents – barring a couple of occasions, including a goalless draw against their eventual finalists in Group B of the Quarter Final League tie – en route to the final and continued their good showing in spite of conceding in the opening exchanges of the title clash. (Agencies)
Assam grab three points against Andhra in Ranji Trophy
Anantapur (ANDHRA): Andhra Pradesh produced a strong batting display in their second essay on the final day but Assam walked away with three points due to their first innings lead in the drawn Group C Ranji Trophy match here on Sunday. In reply to Assam’s first innings total of 432, Andra, who scored 297 in their first essay, reached 176 for one, courtesy to the opening partnership of 146 between Prasanth and Bharat at Rural Development Trust Stadium here. Prasanth Kumar (73) and Srikar Bharat (90) came up with twin half-centuries after Assam added 80 runs to their overnight score of 352 in their first innings. Prasanth and MUB Sriram (8) were at the crease when the stumps were drawn for last time. Every other Ranji match held at the same time ended in a draw, except one between Haryana and Jharkhand, which the former won by a margin of 30 runs. Brief scores: Assam: 432; Andhra: 297 and 176/1 in 50 overs (DB Prasanth 73, S Bharat 90; J Syed Mohammad 1/31). (PTI)
Randhawa 13th, Liang wins Manila
Manila: Jyoti Randhawa signalled his return to form with a fine six-under 66 in the final round as he finished a creditable tied 13th at the inaugural Manila Masters here on Sunday. Randhawa, who reeled off six birdies on front nine with five of them in a row, finished at 10-under overall and was the best Indian of the week. Behind him SSP Chowrasia missed a great opportunity to add another top-10 finish as he dropped two crucial double bogeys on the back nine and finish tied 20th down from overnight sixth. Chowrasia carded 73 and ended at nine-under 279. Meanwhile, Himmat Rai, lying fourth overnight, also crashed to tied 20th as he carded a 74 which included a double bogey and four bogeys besides an eagle and two birdies. Among other Indians Digvijay Singh (71) was tied 37th at five-under 283, Sujjan Singh (71) was tied 41st at three-under 285 and Abhinav Lohan (76) was tied 54th at even par 288. China’s Liang Wen-chong (69) marked his return to the Philippines after more than five years by defeating Thailand’s Prom Meesawat in the first play-off hole after a nailing a birdie on the 18th to get into the tie-breaker. Then, the Chinese star’s third Asian Tour win was made even more significant as he decided to donate half of his total winnings to victims suffering from the aftermath of the devastating Typhoon Haiyan. (PTI)
Bhullar 13th, Adam Scott retains Melbourne title
Melbourne: Indian golfer Gaganjeet Bhullar finished a highly creditable tied 13th after carding a one-under 70 in the final round of the Talisker Masters at Royal Melbourne Golf Club here on Sunday. The Indian star, who will play at the coming week’s World Cup of golf at the same venue, was on way to a superb top-10 finish at five-under but he dropped a late bogey on par-4 17th hole to sign off with a total of four-under 280. He began with birdies on second and third and later added three more on eighth, 11th and 15th holes. But he also dropped shots on sixth, ninth, 13th and 17th. Earlier in the week, Anirban Lahiri, who will partner Bhullar at the World Cup, had missed the halfway cut. At the top, Masters champion, Adam Scott successfully defended his Talisker Masters title, winning by two shots. (PTI)