Ajeetesh Sandhu is top Indian
in Hong Kong Open
HONG KONG, Nov 9 : Ajeetesh Sandhu strung together a series of four birdies from the fifth to eighth holes as he compiled a 4-under 66 in the first round of the Hong Kong Open and was the best-placed Indian at tied 10th here on Thursday.Cameron Smith, returning to Hong Kong Open after almost 10 years, shot 7-under-par 63 to take the lead with rising star Eugenio Chacarra at the Composite Course at the Hong Kong Golf Club.Karandeep Kochhar (67), who carried on his fine form which saw him finish in Top-5 a week ago, was tied 21st alongside Gaganjeet Bhullar.Veer Ahlawat and Shiv Kapur shot 68 each to be T-36, while Rashid Khan (69) was T-54th.Meanwhile, S Chikkarangappa (70) was T-70 and Honey Baisoya (73) was T-115 and SSP Chawrasia (74) was T-123.Sandhu opened with a bogey, but his four-in-a-row run of birdies saw him make up quickly. He dropped a shot on the ninth, but birdies on Par-5 13th and the par-4 16th saw him finish strongly.Kochhar had four birdies against one bogey, while Bhullar had six birdies against three bogeys.Smith, 30, played in this event in 2014, the year after he turned professional, and tied for ninth.Korean Yubin Jang, who only turned professional last month after helping his country win the team gold at the Asian Games, and Thailand’s Gunn Charoenkul came in with 64s, while American Andy Ogletree, Thailand’s Phachara Khongwatmai, Taehee Lee from Korea, Chinese-Taipei’s Lee Chieh-po and Harrison Crowe of Australia returned 65s. (PTI)\
Wrestler Bajrang gets bail in criminal defamation case
NEW DELHI, Nov 9: Bajrang Punia was on Thursday granted bail by a Delhi court in a criminal defamation case filed by coach Naresh Dahiya, who had accused the top wrestler of tarnishing his image with his statement during the protest against federation chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.During the wrestlers’ protest, Bajrang had said that Dahiya did not have any credibility to oppose the agitation since he himself was facing a rape case.Dahiya had then moved the court, which had summoned Bajrang, who recently suffered defeat at the Asian Games to return without a medal.“Bajrang had sought exemption from physical appearance and missed the first three hearings. He appeared physically today and the court has granted him bail. The next date for hearing is March 5,” advocate Rajesh Kumar Rexwal, who represented Dahiya, told after the proceedings.Dahiya had contended in the court that he has been acquitted in the rape case and Bajrang’s comments brought him bad name. Wrestlers Bajrang, Vinesh Phogat and Sakshi Malik had led a protest against WFI chief, alleging that he had sexually exploited several women wrestlers.Singh, who is now facing a court case in the matter, has denied all the charges. (PTI)
Spain lose opener to Canada
in Billy Jean King Cup
SEVILLE, Nov 9: Spain are in serious danger of exiting the group stage of the finals of the Billie Jean King Cup after losing their opening match 3-0 against Canada.Canada got off to a winning start with Marina Stakusic defying the ranking disparity with Spain’s Rebeka Masarova to win 6-3, 6-1 in an hour and nine minutes in their Group C match.Masarova was the favorite to win, given her ranking of 65 in the world compared to 319 for Stakusic, but the hard-court specialist struggled to find her form on the clay surface in Sevilla and was decisively defeated.In the second rubber of the tie, Sara Sorribes was involved in a thriller against Leylah Fernandez, 7-6 (8), 7-6 (7) in a tie match that could have gone either way. Sorribes had set points in both sets, but Fernandez persevered and was able to take her chances.Canada then sailed to the doubles win 6-2, 7-5.Italy started their Group D tie with France on Wednesday morning on a positive note. Martina Trevisan, 43rd ranked in the world, staged a comeback to eventually defeat Alize Cornet 2-6, 6-2, 6-2, in a match lasting two hours and 12 minutes.World number 30, Jasmine Paolini then secured Italy an unassailable 2-0 lead in the tie by defeating Caroline Garcia 7-6 (6), 5-7, 6-4 in a hard-fought match that came down to the wire in the third set.The French team then won the doubles 5-7, 6-2, 10-6. (IANS)