Asian Boxing U-17 C’ships: Indian girls dominate day 1 with five wins
Tashkent, May 3: India’s U-17 girls boxers made a commanding start to their campaign at the Asian Boxing U-17 Championships 2026, registering five impressive victories here on Sunday. Rakhi (48kg) led the charge with a commanding performance, defeating her Sri Lankan opponent via RSC in the very first round. Continuing the strong momentum, Ovi (50kg) secured a unanimous 5-0 victory over Iran, while Mamta (52kg) outclassed her Thai opponent with another clinical 5-0 win. Lakshmi (54kg) added to India’s winning streak with a dominant 5-0 decision against Korea, showcasing complete control throughout the bout. Navya (57kg) capped off a stellar day for the Indian contingent, sealing victory with an RSC in Round 1 against Vietnam. In the boys’ category, Neela Narendra Kumar (46kg) impressed with a powerful showing, clinching a first-round RSC victory over Saudi Arabia’s Khalid Alhossah. Meanwhile, Daksh Pawar (48kg) faced a tough challenge and went down 0-5 against Tajikistan’s Firuzjon Boymatov. (PTI)
Baranica Elangovan improves own women’s pole vault national record
Bhubaneswar, May 3: The new indoor stadium here proved to be a happy hunting ground for Tamil Nadu pole vaulter Baranica Elangovan as she improved upon her five-week-old own national record during the inaugural Indian Indoor Open Combined Events and Pole Vault Competition here on Sunday. Baranica cleared 4.23m to better her own previous national record of 4.22m set at the inaugural edition of National Indoor Championships held in the last week of March at the same venue here. The 29-year-old crossed 4.23m on her third attempt. “It was another good day for me,” said Baranica who has shifted base from Tamil Nadu to Bhubaneswar. In men’s heptathlon, N Thowfeeq of NCOE Trivandrum took the gold with 5350. He was leading on Day One with 2943 points. Kirthik Vasan S of Tamil Nadu won the men’s U20 heptathlon title with 4609 points. Purnima Hembram of Odisha was the winner in women’s pentathlon. She secured 3835 points. The women’s U20 pentathlon title went to Jaskiran Kaur of Uttarakhand. Her points tally was 3272. (PTI)
Tsegu wins in Prague marathon, Jelimo takes women’s race
Prague, May 3: Berehanu Wendemu Tsegu of Ethiopia won the 31st edition of the Prague International Marathon on Sunday while Millicent Jelimo won the women’s race. Tsegu pulled away from Justus Kipkorir Limo of Kenya less than five kilometers before the finish line and continued unchallenged to clock 2 hours, 5 minutes and 51 seconds. Felix Kipkoech of Kenya finished second for the second straight year in Prague in 2:07:45. Another Ethiopian, Andualem Belay Shiferaw, was third in 02:07:59 while Limo dropped to fourth. Jelimo claimed her victory in 2:24:19. (AP)
Dhamne ends runner up in Shymkent tennis event
New Delhi, May 3: India’s teenage sensation Manas Dhamne fell short of a title finish in his maiden ATP Challenger singles final, going down to Belgium’s Buvaysar Gadamauri in a closely-fought summit clash in Shymkent, Kazakhstan on Sunday. The 18-year-old Dhamne put up a spirited fight before losing 6-7(8), 4-6 in a contest that lasted over two hours and hinged on fine margins. Dhamne showed nerves of steel in the opening set, stretching his more experienced opponent to a tie-break and even holding set points before Gadamauri edged ahead 10-8. The narrow loss appeared to take some wind out of the Indian’s sails as the Belgian capitalised with a decisive break in the second set to seal the title. Despite the defeat, it has been a breakthrough week for Dhamne, who is set to break into the top-400 for the first time, most likely achieving a career-high mark of 384 when the new rankings are issued on Monday. (PTI)
