Jash, Magar, Arya top groups to reach knockouts at WTT Feeder
VADODARA, Jan 8: Jash Modi, Parth Magar and Sarthak Arya topped their respective groups to advance to the qualifying knockout rounds of the WTT Feeder Series here on Thursday.In Group 3, Jash followed his win over third seed Rubin Maharjan with a 11-1, 11-7, 11-1 victory over Bhutan’s Dorji Leki. He will now face fifth seed Sriram Sivam, who topped Group 5 with two wins.In Group 2, Parth defeated Harsh Merotha 11-4, 11-8, 11-4 in his second match on Thursday, while Sarthak hammered Shayan Sarkar 11-2, 11-5, 11-3 in Group 11.In the knockout round, Parth will face 9th seed Mehan Senthil, while Sarthak will take on the experined Regan Albuquerque.In the mixed doubles qualifying, top seeds Raegan Albuquerque and Suhana Saini had to work hard to beat Sriram Sivan and Ananya Muralidharan 5-11, 11-9, 11-9, 9-11, 12-10. Second seeds Abhinandh Pradhivadhi and Nithya Mani ended the run of Dhairya Parmar and Anusha Kutumbale 11-0, 11-0, 11-0 at the SAMA Indoor Sports Complex. (PTI)
Sanjay Takale retires from Dakar Rally due to mechanical failure
NEW DELHI, Jan 8: Indian rally driver Sanjay Takale has withdrawn from the Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia after a major mechanical issue forced an early halt.The 57-year-old, competing alongside Maxime Raud of France, retired following an engine-related failure encountered upon arrival at the bivouac after Stage 3. The issue could not be resolved, bringing their run in the Dakar Classic category to a close.The rally got underway from Yanbu, Saudi Arabia on January 3.The withdrawal came at a particularly unfortunate stage, as Takale was leading the H3 class at the time. He had delivered an exceptional performance in the opening stages, topping the Prologue and maintaining class leadership through Stages 1, 2, and 3.“This is a very tough way to end our Dakar,” said Takale in a release.“We were in a strong position and leading the H3 class, but unfortunately the engine issue meant we could not continue. That’s the nature of Dakar, sometimes it tests the machine more than the driver.” The retirement of the Takale Raud crew reshapes the H3 class contest, with focus now shifting to the remaining contenders as the Dakar Rally 2026 continues.The Dakar, one of the world’s most demanding motorsport events, covers stages across sand dunes, rocks and varied terrain over two weeks. The rally will conclude on January 17. (PTI)
Suresh, Dhamne out; Balaji, Oberleitner reach doubles semis
BENGALURU, Jan 8: The Indian singles contingent had a tough day at the Bengaluru Open as Dhakshineswar Suresh and Manas Dhamne suffered defeats in the quarterfinals while doubles top seeds Sriram Balaji and Neil Oberleitner advanced to the semifinals.France’s Matteo Martineau produced a composed and well-rounded display to halt 18-year-old wildcard Dhamne’s run.The 26-year-old struck early by breaking serve in the opening set and then relied on his solid baseline game to protect the advantage, fending off multiple break opportunities with some spectacular defence. Dhamne, raised his level in the second set and pushed the contest into a tie-break, but Martineau’s dominance at the net proved decisive.He won all 11 of his points at the net and saved all five break points he faced to close out the match in straight sets.Later in the day, Suresh endured a difficult outing against second seed Harold Mayot, struggling with both form and fitness. He finished with only three aces and hit four double faults and was visibly hampered by a right leg issue. Despite the challenges, Suresh showed resilience midway through the first set, pushing Mayot hard and forcing a tie-break, which the Frenchman won.In the second set, Suresh was unable to sustain the intensity, allowing Mayot to capitalise and secure a straight-sets win.Meanwhile, top seed Pedro Martinez and sixth seed Timofey Skatov registered straight forward victories to advance to the last four.In the doubles quarter-finals, top seeds Balaji and Oberleitner provided some cheer for the local fans with a 6-7, 6-4, 10-6 win over Petr Bar Biryukov and Grigoriy Lomakin.(PTI)
