Jyoti to lead 20-member Indian squad in Women’s Jr Asia Cup
NEW DELHI, Dec 1 : Hockey India on Sunday announced a strong 20-member squad for the upcoming Women’s Junior Asia Cup, set to take place in Muscat, Oman, from December 7 to 15. The team will be led by captain Jyoti Singh, with Sakshi Rana serving as vice-captain.Defending champions, India secured their maiden title last year, defeating South Korea 2-1 in the final. This tournament serves as a qualifier for the FIH Hockey Junior World Cup 2025.Goalkeepers Nidhi and Aditi Maheshwari will provide a strong presence in goal, while the defense will be marshalled by Manisha, Jyoti Singh, Lalthantluangi, Pooja Sahoo, and Mamata Oram.The midfield features a talented lineup with Vaishnavi Vitthal Phalke, Sunelita Toppo, Ishika, Rajni Kerketta, Sakshi Rana, and Khaidem Shileima Chanu. Up front, India will rely on forwards Deepika, Beauty Dungdung, Kanika Siwach, Mumtaz Khan, and Lalrinpuii to lead the attack. Binima Dhan and Himanshi Sharad Gawande have been named as alternate players.Several players bring valuable senior-level experience, with Deepika, Vaishnavi Vitthal Phalke, Sunelita Toppo, Mumtaz Khan, and Beauty Dungdung already having represented the Indian Women’s Hockey Team at the senior level.The competition will feature 10 teams divided into two pools: India is placed in Pool A alongside China, Malaysia, Thailand, and Bangladesh, while Pool B consists of South Korea, Japan, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong China, and Sri Lanka.India will take on Bangladesh in their opening match on December 8. (IANS)
Luke Griffiths wins singles title in Indian Racketlon open
MUMBAI, Dec 1: England’s Luke Griffiths defeated his brother Leon in a hard-fought final to clinch the men’s singles title in the Willingdon Indian Racketlon Open here on Sunday.The 21-year-old world No. 4 Luke pipped his elder brother and world No. 2 Leon 12-21, 16-21, 21-9 and 21-18 in the final.While Luke lost the table tennis and badminton matches, he bounced back to win the squash game and then the tennis contest by a two-point margin to emerge victorious.Luke won 1200 Euros (Rs 1.7 lakh).Luke and Leon, though, went on to win the elite men’s doubles title later on.In elite women’s singles, France’s Pauline Cave upset the world No. 1 Stine Jacobsen 21-9, 4-21, 21-9, 15-10.Later, Pauline also completed a double, winning the elite women’s doubles with Denmark’s Jacobsen.Morocco’s Kouba Mohammed Tariq added the singles crown in seniors’ 40+ category to the doubles title he won on Saturday. (PTI)
India lose 3-8 to USA in ITTF Mixed Team WC opener
CHENGDU, Dec 1: The Indian table tennis team suffered an 8-3 loss to America in their opening Group 1 match in the first stage of the ITTF Mixed Team World Cup on Sunday.The tie begins with a mixed doubles rubber, where India’s Snehit Suravajjula and Poymantee Baisya lost 1-2 (10-12, 8-11, 11-4) to USA’s Naresh Nandan and Ke Tiffany.In the women’s singles, Yashaswini Ghorpade Yashaswini Ghorpade went down 1-2 (9-11,8-11,11-7) against Sally Moyland, followed by the men’s singles loss of Jeet Chandra (9-11,9-11,11-7) by similar margins against Xiangjing Zhang.In the subsequent men’s doubles rubber, Snehit Suravajjula and Jeet Chandra lost 2-0 (9-11, 9-11) to cap off a disappointing day for the Indian team.As per the tournament format, each rubber, whether singles or doubles, consists of three games. The first team to win eight games wins the overall team match.India have been drawn in Group 1 for the first stage of the tournamen with reigning champions and top seeds China, Australia and USA. After round-robin matches, the top two from the group will advance to the second stage of the competition. (IANS)