Sumit Nagal progresses to semifinals of Tampere Open
NEW DELHI, July 25: India’s Sumit Nagal breezed into the singles semifinal of the Tampere ATP Challenger event in Finland following a straight-sets win over Argentine qualifier Nicolas Kicker on Friday.Nagal, ranked 306, pulled off a 6-4 6-3 win over Kicker, who is ranked 361 in the singles ATP chart.It was third meeting between the two players and Nagal now leads the head-to-head record 2-1. The last time they clashed was in 2022 when Kicker emerged winner in the Guayaquil pre-quarterfinals.The 28-year-old Indian won 67 points to 51 of his rival.Gradually getting back to form, Nagal has now matched his best finish of the season as he had ended a semifinalist at the Trieste Challenger in Italy. Nagal has won six Challenger singles titles from 10 finals.Meanwhile, competing at the Cranbrook Tennis Classic in Bloomfield Hills in the USA, second-seeded Indian pair of Anirudh Chandrasekar and Ramkumar Ramanathan made a quarterfinal exit after losing 6-4 4-6 7-10 to local wildcards Stefan Dostanic and Benjamin Kittay (PTI)
Anahat signs off with bronze medal at junior world squash
CAIRO, July 25: Teen squash sensation Anahat Singh signed off with a bronze medal the World Squash Junior Championships after going down to Egypt’s Nadien ElHammamy in the women single’s semifinals here Friday.The second-seeded Indian fought hard but eventually lost 6-11, 12-14, 10-12 to the Egyptian, who had strong support from the home crowd.Anahat led in both the second and third games but couldn’t build on the advantage.With her semifinal finish, the 17-year-old became the first Indian girl to reach the last-four stage of the tournament since Dipika Pallikal in 2010.Had she won, Anahat would have become only the second Indian to reach the final in the women’s individual category after Joshna Chinappa’s historic run in 2005. (PTI)
Badminton: Tanvi and Vennala enter semis of Asia juniors
SOLO, (Indonesia) July 25: India’s young shuttlers Tanvi Sharma and Vennala Kalagotla continued their impressive run at the Badminton Asia Juniors Individual Championships, advancing to the semifinals here on Friday.Second seed Tanvi maintained her dominant form in the women’s singles, defeating fifth seed Thalita Ramadhani Wiryawan of Indonesia 21-19, 21-14 in a swift 35-minute match.Tanvi has been in sublime touch throughout the tournament, securing all her wins in straight games so far.Joining her in the last-four is Vennala, who braved a strong challenge from Thailand’s Janyaporn Meepanthong in a gripping 58-minute contest.Vennala took the opening game 21-18 with some sharp rallies, but Janyaporn fought back to bag the second 21-17, forcing the match into a decider.In the final game, Vennala pulled ahead in the closing stages, eventually sealing a 21-18, 17-21, 21-17 victory to earn her semifinal berth.Both Indians now face Chinese opponents in the semifinals, with Tanvi set to take on eighth seed Yin Yi Qing and Vennala going up against Liu Si Ya. (PTI)