Top seeds sail through to QFs at ITF W35 Tumakuru Open
TUMAKURU (Karnataka), May 7: The stage is set for an exciting finish at the Tumakuru Open ITF W35 as all the top seeds stormed into the singles quarterfinals after a gripping day of action here on Thursday.Top seed Justina Mikulskyte survived a dramatic start against Poland’s Zuzanna Kolonus before bouncing back strongly to register a 0-6, 6-3, 6-1 victory. The Lithuanian, one of the tournament favourites, recovered impressively after being bageled in the opening set and now looks firmly back on track heading into the business end of the tournament.Second seed Zuzanna Pawlikowska too continued her steady run with a straight-sets win over India’s Sonal Patil, while third seed Vaidehee Chaudhari and fourth seed Zeel Desai ensured strong Indian representation in the last eight with commanding victories.Vaidehee looked in complete control during her 6-2, 6-2 win over compatriot Madhurima Sawant, displaying aggressive baseline play and consistency throughout the contest.Zeel, meanwhile, produced one of her cleanest performances of the week to outplay Jennifer Luikham 6-2, 6-3.Fourth seed Zeel showed admirable composure to recover from a slow start and defeat compatriot Jennifer Luikham 6-2, 6-3 to storm into the quarterfinals.In doubles, Indian duo Sravya Shivani Chilakalapudi and Zeel advanced to the semifinals with a straight-sets victory over the Indian combination of Laxmisiri Dandu and ChevikaReddy Sama.The Indo-Japanese pair of Akanksha Dileep Nitture and Michika Ozeki fought back brilliantly after losing the first set to overcome India’s Diva Bhatia and Jennifer Luikham in a tense match tiebreak.Top seeds Vaidehee and Zuzanna Pawlikowska also entered the semifinals with a convincing win over the Indian pair of Soha Sadiq and Madhurima Sawant, while Ksenia Laskutova and Elina Nepliy completed the semifinal lineup with a comfortable victory over India’s Aishwarya Jadhav and Aakruti Narayan Sonkusare. (PTI)
T20 Mumbai League to be held from June 1-13
MUMBAI, May 7: India skipper Sury
akumar Yadav and IPL stars like Shreyas Iyer will be in action when the T20 Mumbai League returns for its fourth season on June 1 here at Wankhede Satdium.Ajinkya Rahane, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shivam Dube are also set to compete in the event which will conclude on June 13.The inaugural women’s tournament will also be held simultaneously.The player auction was held earlier this month with 363 women cricketers along with men’s players going under the hammer as three teams — Sobo Mumbai Falcons Thane Sky Risers and Aakash Tigers — collectively spending Rs 1.47 crore to pick 50 players.“The men’s and women’s competitions will be conducted simultaneously marking a significant step in the Mumbai Cricket Association’s vision to create a high visibility platform for cricketing talent across categories,” Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) said in a release.MCA president Ajinkya Naik said that the tournament featuring eight men’s teams and three women’s sides will help further strengthen and solidify Mumbai’s cricketing ecosystem.The men’s competition will also feature Sarfaraz Khan, Shardul Thakur, Tushar Deshpande, Ayush Mhatre, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Musheer Khan, Suryansh Shedge and Abhigyan Kundu, adding strong domestic and emerging talent to the league.The women’s league will see leading and rising names such as Sayali Satghare, Saima Thakor, Humaira Kazi, Ira Jadhav, Sanika Chalke and Simran Shaikh showcasing the depth of women’s cricket in Mumbai. (PTI)
