Karnataka named champions in sub-junior national swimming
Bengaluru, Aug 5: Karnataka emerged overall champions in the 41st Sub-Junior National Swimming Championships, securing 104 points here on Tuesday. Manipur were the runners-up with 81 points, even as Koijam Athoiba Singh from the state was adjudged the best male swimmer with 28 points. The corresponding award in the girls’ section went to Goa’s Purvi Ritesh Naik with 19 points. Athoiba shone on the final day of the swimming competition, winning the 100m freestyle gold. The event saw the lead change between Athoiba and Hemanshu Nahakpam but Hemanshu was unable to keep up with the former, who touched the pads first at 58.59 seconds. Hemanshu ended second at 59.75s. A P Arya Sathar from Tamil Nadu (1:00.79s) finished third. In the girls’ 100m, freestyle, Karnataka’s Stuti Singh, Maharashtra’s Amatullah Dholkawala and Purvi went head to head. But halfway through, Stuti and Purvi made it a two-horse race with Purvi (1:04.40) clinching the top spot, followed by Stuti with 1:04.49 and Amatullah with 1:05.30. (PTI)
Hockey: MP, Haryana, J’khand, Odisha win in Jr Women C’ship
Kakinada, Aug 5: Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Jharkhand and Odisha won their respective pool matches of the Junior Women’s National Championship here on Tuesday. In the first Division ‘A’ match, Madhya Pradesh defeated Chandigarh 5-0. Krishna Sharma (36’, 45’) scored two goals whereas Kajal (29’), Aayushi Patel (50’), and Annu (58’) netted one each. In the next match, Haryana defeated Bengal 7-1. While Jharkhand defeated Karnataka 2-0 in a closely contested penultimate match of the day, the final match saw Odisha defeat Andhra Pradesh 3-1. In the Division ‘B’ games, Uttarakhand thrashed Puducherry 11-0 while Tamil Nadu and Delhi played out a 3-3 draw. (PTI)
India clinches Racketlon World Championship Challengers Cup
Rotterdam (Netherlands), Aug 5: India, led by Vikramaditya Chaufla, clinched the the Racketlon World Championship Challengers Cup after a registering a thrilling victory over Denmark in a dramatic final here. The road to the title was far from smooth. India battled past USA in the quarter-finals before pulling off a tense win against Germany in the semifinal. Each tie came down to the wire, testing the grit and resilience of every player on court. Chaufla’s calm leadership, strategic clarity, and match temperament steered India through one of their most memorable racketlon runs. Already a Nations Cup gold medallist, this becomes the former badminton player’s second world title. The title-winning squad also included Prashant Sen, Nihit Singh, Suhail Kapur, Krishna Kotak, Nidhi Tiwari and Raghav Jatia. Racketlon is a combination sport in which the competitors are required to play four racket sports: table tennis, badminton, tennis and squash. (PTI)
Namshum, Chengappa win RFC India 2025 in 4×4 extreme category
Panaji, Aug 5: Chow Ujjal Namshum from Arunachal Pradesh and his co-driver Chethan Chengappa from Karnataka emerged champions in the in the ‘4×4 Extreme’ category of the 11th edition of the Rainforest Challenge (RFC) India, after a week-long off-road motorsport competition held here. The duo secured 2302 points out of a possible 2600, completing all 26 special stages and winning 12 of them with perfect 100 scores. They also clocked the fastest timings in 14 special stages. While Namshum won the title for the first time, Chengappa enjoyed fourth win as a co-driver, a release said. Namshum also earned a free automatic entry into the Rainforest Challenge Global Grand Finale, scheduled to be held in Malaysia later this year. Cedrick Jordan Da Silva and co-driver Mackwin Dias finished runner-up 1999 points, while Telangana’s Rambabu Mareedu and Kumaraswamy Thalam were third with 1957 points. In the newly introduced ‘4×4 Modified’ category, Goa’s Steven Fernandes of Goa and his co-driver Balwant Jagram clinched the top spot with 1622 points out of 2000. Cyril Dmello with co-driver Ameer Sadiq of Maharashtra and Manoj Biradar with co-driver Sachin Gadashetti from Karnataka finished second and third respectively. Mihir Dharkar and co-driver Shantanu Grover of Maharashtra won the ‘4×4 Stock’ category with 1303 points out of 1400, followed by Bopaiah Kongettira with co-driver Bopanna Maleyanda and Prathan Chittiyappa with co driver Anush Byramudi, both from Karnataka. (PTI)
India push Jordan to overtime in FIBA Asia Cup Opener, fall 84-91
Jeddah, Aug 5: India delivered a spirited performance, taking higher-ranked Jordan to overtime before going down 84-91 in their opening game of the FIBA Asia Cup here on Tuesday. Facing one of the tournament’s top contenders, India showcased immense grit and composure, holding an 80-76 lead with less than a minute left in regulation. But Jordan’s experience and clutch shooting saw them claw back, eventually edging past the young Indian team in extra time. Arvind Krishnan led India’s charge with 14 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists, while Pranav Prince added 12 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, and a crucial block. Prince’s all-round performance was instrumental in India taking control late in the fourth quarter, including the key bucket that gave them a two-possession cushion with 53 seconds remaining. “We have a young team and we just had some mental breakdowns at the end. But really proud. This is a team that I guess was not supposed to be as good as, but we had a chance,” said India head coach Scott Flemming after the game. India’s defensive effort stood out throughout, with the team pushing Jordan to the limit. The final possession in regulation saw Prince, once again in the thick of things, drawing defenders before dishing to Muin Bek Hafeez, whose buzzer-beating attempt narrowly missed. Jordan’s Dar Tucker led all scorers with 30 points. India next take on 16-time champions China on Thursday. (PTI)