Nagal powers through, Dhamne impresses in Maha Open
Pune, Feb 24: India’s top-ranked star Sumit Nagal delivered a commanding performance while local teenager Manas Dhamne showed nerves of steel to spearhead the country’s charge at the Maha Open ATP Challenger 75 on Tuesday. Nagal thrilled a lively home crowd with a clinical 6-1, 6-2 victory over seventh seed Rio Noguchi of Japan, dictating play from the baseline and sealing the contest in straight sets. The India No.1 looked sharp in all departments, breaking serve consistently to advance comfortably into the second round. Dhamne, who secured a place in the main draw through a wildcard, continued his impressive progress on the Challenger circuit, battling past winner of last week’s Delhi Challenger, Stefanos Sakellaridis of Greece 6-4, 7-6(4). The Pune teen, ranked 489, displayed maturity beyond his years, holding his nerve in a tight second-set tiebreak to earn a memorable win over the 220 ranked, 21-year-old Greek. (PTI)
For running away from dope test, AIU bans runner Pooja for 3 years
New Delhi, Feb 24: Indian long-distance runner Pooja Aatmaram had made a nervous dash away from her Chaperone ahead of a scheduled in-competition dope test last year, revealed the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) as it handed her a reduced three-year ban for early admission of guilt. The 30-year-old Pooja, who mostly competes in the 5000m and 10,000m events, had finished third in the Indian Grand Prix 2 in 2024 while representing Rajasthan, which remains her most noteworthy performance. She was picked out for a dope test after winning the Indian Oil WNC Navy Half Marathon in Mumbai on November 23 last year. “The Athlete was verbally notified of her selection for Testing immediately after she had finished the Race by a Doping Control Officer (DCO) and a Lead DCO. The Athlete failed to sign the Doping Control Form at the time of notification,” the AIU said in its detailed judgement. “Following the verbal notification, the Athlete was accompanied by a Chaperone from the finish line heading towards the Doping Control Station (DCS). During this time the Athlete ran away from the Chaperone and into a crowd,” the AIU report stated. “Before reaching the DCS, the Athlete ran away from the Chaperone and in the opposite direction of the DCS. The Chaperone ran after her but lost sight of her in the crowd and, despite searching the area, was unable to locate the Athlete.” Disciplinary proceedings against Pooja were initiated on February 3 this year. She apologised for her action within a week of being notified of the charge against her. “On 9 February 2026, the Athlete wrote to the AIU and stated that she apologised and regretted refusing to submit to Sample collection on 23 November 2025. On 17 February 2026, the AIU received an Admission of Anti-Doping Rule Violation and Acceptance of Consequences Form signed by the Athlete,” the AIU said. As a result of her compliance, the AIU waived off one year from her four-year ban. The suspension would be effective retrospectively from February 3, the date on which she was provisionally suspended. The AIU also said her results on and since November 23 would stand disqualified. She has waived her right to have these consequences determined by the Disciplinary Tribunal at a hearing. (PTI)
Aakarshi Kashyap enters main draw in German Open
Mulheim an der Ruhr, Feb 24:Indian shuttler Aakarshi Kashyap defeated Chinese Taipei’s Lee Yu-Hsuan to enter the women’s singles main draw at the German Open Super 300 badminton tournament here on Tuesday. Kashyap, world No. 62, notched up a 21-10, 21-15 win over Lee in a lop-sided match in the qualifiers. She will next face another Chinese Taipei player Huang Yu-Hsun in the main draw. Kidambi Srikanth and Tanvi Sharma are among other Indians competing event. Lee started on a positive note but Kashyap quickly broke off at 4-4 and didn’t look back, moving to 9-4 and then 16-8 before closing the opening game comfortably. The second game was slightly more competitive with Lee managing to recover from 8-14 to 12-14 but Kashyap didn’t allow her to threaten her as she sealed the issue without ado. (PTI)
