Asian Youth TT: Indian eves, boys begin on a winning note
SHIMLA, April 8: Indian girls stamped their authority with a 3-0 victory over Sri Lanka, while the boys routed Maldives by a similar margin to begin their campaign in the ITTF-ATTU Asian Youth Table Tennis Championships on a winning note here on Wednesday.Having received a higher seeding, the Indian U-19 girls made an immediate impact.Jennifer Varghese, Ananya Muralidharan, and Prisha Goel registered straight or four-game wins to complete a comprehensive sweep against Sri Lanka.The Under-19 girls remain the only category competing for qualification to the Asian Youth Championships.However, the continental event, originally slated for June in Muscat, has been postponed owing to the West Asia crisis.In the Under-15 boys’ section, India mirrored that dominance with a 3-0 rout of Maldives in the second round.Aditya Das, Akshay Kirikara, and Akash Rajavelu conceded very few points across their matches, underlining India’s depth at the sub-junior level. (PTI)
RESULTS
Under 19 Girls: India bt Sri Lanka 3-0 (Jennifer Varghese bt Shamaisha 12-10 11-8 11-9, Ananya Muralidharan bt Tamadi 11-7 11-7 12-10, Prisha Goel bt Sandin Mudiyanselage 8-11 11-4 11-5 11-9).Under 15 Boys: India bt Maldives 3-0 (Aditya Das bt Mlohamed Rafiu 11-3 11-3 11-2, Akshay Kirikara bt Faaz Latheef 11-2 11-5 11-2, Akash Rajavelu bt Ayoob Saleem 11-4 11-6 11-3).
Top talents line-up for national Surfing and Paddling c’ship
PORT BLAIR, April 8: Country’s top talents such as Kishore Kumar, Sivaraj Babu and Kamali Prakash will vie for honours when the inaugural Little Andaman Pro 2026, the national Surfing & Stand-Up Paddling championship gets underway in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands on Thursday.The four-day event, organised by the Surfing Federation of India, will feature close to 100 participants competing across categories including men’s open surfing, women’s open surfing, SUP sprint (men & women), and SUP Technical (men & women). Surfing will make its debut at the Asian Games in Japan later this year and India had secured qualification quotas through strong performances at the recent Asian Surfing Championships.Leading the charge in the men’s surfing division will be Kishore, Sivaraj Babu, Srikanth D, and Ramesh Budhial.Kishore has been one of India’s standout performers internationally, clinching a silver medal at the Asian Surfing Championships in Taiwan and becoming one of the first Indians to reach the semifinals at the continental level.He has also contributed to India securing qualification slots for the upcoming Asian Games.Sivaraj brings consistency and experience from the national circuit, while Srikanth has built a strong reputation through multiple domestic podium finishes.In the women’s division, Kamali, Sugar Shanthi, and Shristi Selvam are expected to be among the frontrunners.Kamali has represented India at multiple international competitions and remains one of the country’s most recognised surfing talents.Shanthi and Shristi Selvam have emerged as strong competitors on the national circuit, reflecting the growing depth in Indian women’s surfing. (PTI)
IGPL Mauritius: Bhullar confident of good show
PORT LOUIS (Mauritius), April 8: Eleven time Asian Tour and four-time IGPL event winner Gaganjeet Bhullar is confident of a good show at the AM Green IGPL Invitational 2026, Mauritius, hosted by Leander Paes.The 37-year-old Bhullar had won the opening IGPL Tour event in Chandigarh last month.“A win is what we all tee up for and that’s my goal this week, too. Last year, I won the first two events in Chandigarh and Greater Noida, and I hope I can make it back-to-back once again,” said Bhullar, who nevertheless is aware that the opposition in the IGPL is quite strong with the presence of in-form players like Karandeep Kochhar and Pukhraj Singh Gill.Bhullar, who arrived in Mauritius on Tuesday, said, “I just reached (Mauritius). I’m going to play a practice round. But having said that, you know, I did play an event here some years ago. It’s a beautiful golf course.“I think it’s a great achievement for IGPL to come all the way to Mauritius. It’s a beautiful place, it’s such a great experience for so many youngsters, who have not played so many tournaments outside India to come here.” Bhullar, who played here in the event in the past, when it was co-sanctioned by the Asian and European Tours, is now looking forward to this week’s event and adding it to his list of successes.On the season so far, he added, “I got off to a great start on IGPL. I won my first event this year and the goal is just to build on that momentum and keep doing well and keep on doing better.” (PTI)
