Spotlights on Haryana men and AAI women
Pudhucherry:Top-seeded Petroleum Sports Promotion Board (PSPB) men and women’s teams posted identical 3-0 wins over Tamil Nadu and Delhi, respectively, to enter the semifinals of the 76th Table Tennis Senior Nationals, which began at the Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium here on Tuesday. But the spotlights fell on both Haryana men, who beat Maharashtra A 3-1 and Airports Authority of India (AAI) women who downed Tamil Nadu 3-1. Haryana, no doubt, had to depend on the experience of Sourav Chakraborty who won both his singles, but it was Sarthak Gandhi’s third singles triumph that gave Haryana the edge over Maharashtra. Though Jubin Kumar, their main player’s loss to Aman Balgu did not matter in the end as Chakraborty made amends by beating Balgu in his reversingles. In the last quarterfinal, West Bengal overcame a stiff Railway Sports Promotion Board (RSPB) to win 3-1 and earn the right to take on Haryana in the semifinals. With just Anirban Nandi, the most reliable player in their ranks, could not do much against the likes of Sourav Saha and Surajit Das, their weakest player, as Sougata Sarkar won his reverses to see their team home.(PTI)
Sumit, Amandeep in finals of Boxing Nationals
Nagpur:Olympian Sumit Sangwan and Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Amandeep Singh stormed into the finals of their respective weight categories at Boxing India’s first elite men’s National Championship, here on Tuesday. While Haryana’s Sumit defeated Rahul Pasi of Madhya Pradesh by 3:0 score in the semifinals of the light heavy (81kg) category, Amandeep got the better of Punjab’s Manoj Kumar in the flyweight (52kg) division. Sumit will face Himachal Pradesh’s Geetanand in the light heavy weight category final, Amandeep will be up against Odisha’s Yogindera at the rings of the Divisional Sports Complex. In one of the most anticipated bouts of the day, M Thomas of Manipur defeated Assam boxer Govind Thapa in the semifinals of the light welter weight (64kg) division. Thomas will now be up against Services boxer Duryondyan Singh, who beat Murunal Bhosale of Maharashtra. (PTI)
Amandeep steals show on day 1 of Hero Women’s Golf Tour
Ahmedabad: Amandeep Drall returned with an impressive one-under 71 to grab the lead on the first day of the second leg in the Hero Women’s Professional Golf Tour 2015, here on Tuesday. The girl from Panchkula carded the only under par score of the day at the Kalhaar Blues and Green golf course. Trailing Amandeep by one shot is Chandigarh golfer Saaniya Sharma, who is placed second after the first round. Playing in only her second event as a professional, Amandeep played an inspired front nine, carding four birdies on the fourth, fifth, sixth and eighth holes with a lone bogie on the second hole. However, the latter half was a different story as she carded bogies on the 13th, 14th and 18th holes. She carded just one birdie on the 10th hole to return with a score of one-under 71.(PTI)
TT coach suspended following confrontation with girl player
New Delhi: A CCTV footage on Tuesday created a controversy as it showed a table tennis coach and a girl player getting involved in a physical confrontation outside a hotel room in Andhra Pradesh, following which the player-cum coach was suspended. The Secretary of the Chhattisgarh Association has also resigned from his post, taking moral responsibility since he had sent the coach there for the 76th National Cadet and Sub-Junior Championship in Rajahmundry.”The matter reached us yesterday and a three-member committee has been constituted by the Chhattisgarh Association to find out the truth. It will file a report in three days,” TTFI Secretary Dhanraj Choudhary told PTI.”I myself have seen the video and there is nothing indecent in it. The secretary of the local association resigned taking moral responsibility but no girl player or anyone has complained about anything. ” Choudhary added.(PTI)