Asian squash: Abhay-Velavan duo makes winning start
SARAWAK (Malaysia), June 18: India’s top men’s pair of Abhay Singh and Velavan Senthilkumar started its title defence on a positive note, defeating South Korean pair of Oh Seojin and MinWoo Lee in straight sets at the third Asian Doubles Squash Championships in Sarawak, Malaysia on Thursday.The top seeded Indian duo eased past the Seojin and Lee 11-7 11-10 in Pool A, with a combination of touch and control.Meanwhile, compatriots Rahul Baitha and Suraj Chand won against Singapore’s Samuel Quek Wei Yi and Justin Yap 11-3 11-3 but lost a close contest to Japan’s Naoki Hayashi and Ren Makino 8-11 11-8 6-11 in Pool B.In mixed doubles, second seeded Velavan and Joshna Chinappa thumped Cordelia Hsu and Pan Hong Rui of Chinese Taipei 11-2 11-3 in Pool B as the pair looks to better last year’s bronze medal finish.In the women’s doubles, second seed Joshna and Rathika Seelan won all three outings on the opening day in six-team Pool B, defeating Singapore’s Jayna Lim and Jacintha Han 11-5 11-5, Japanese pair of Sugimoto Risa and Erisa Sano 11-9 11-8, and compatriots Janet Vidhi and Pooja Arthi 11-5 11-8.Seventh seed Janet and Pooja won their other two matches of the day, beating higher-seeded Sugimoto and Erisa 8-11 11-4 11-5 before getting the better of Singapore’s Wai lynn Au Yeong and Naisha Singh 9-11 11-6 11-8. (PTI)
Minakshi moves to quarters of Boxing World Cup
GUIYANG (China), June 18: Indian boxer Minakshi advanced to the quarterfinals of World Cup (Stage 2) in the women’s 51kg category here on Thursday.Minakshi, the reigning 48kg world champion and current World No. 1 in that division, is transitioning into the Olympic 51kg weight class in the ongoing event.She registered a convincing 5-0 unanimous decision victory over Poland’s Natalia Kuczewska to move ahead in the competition.In the other contest on day four, Abhinash Jamwal (65kg) bowed out after suffering a 0-5 defeat to Kyrgyzstan’s Mirzokhid Imamnazarov.So far in the tournament, five Indian boxers have advanced to the quarterfinals.Nikhil (55kg), Deepak (70kg), Minakshi (51kg), Prachi (57kg), and Saneh (65kg). Meanwhile, Jyoti (48kg) and Jugnoo (85kg) have already assured medals for the country by progressing into the semi-finals.Four Indian boxers will take the ring in their quarterfinal bouts.In the women’s section, Minakshi (51kg) will square off against Kazakhstan’s Alua Balkibekova, Saneh (65kg) will face Poland’s Kinga Krowka, and Prachi (57kg) will take on Chinese Taipei’s Shih Yi Wu.In the men’s section, Nikhil (55kg) clashes with Azerbaijan’s Amin Mammadzada. (PTI)
Iniyan Pa closes in on title victory in Global Chess Festival
MUMBAI, June 18: GM Iniyan Pa leads the rest of the field by one point and a draw will be enough to clinch a title win in the master’s section of the Global Chess Festival, even as he was held for a draw by IM Harsh Suresh here on Thursday.With seven points, Iniyan has a full one point lead over the second placed Boris Savchenko, Suresh, Aakash Sharadchandra Dalvi , Apoorv Kamble and Ajay Santosh Parvathareddy, who all have 5.5 points each.Iniyan will take on Parvathareddy in the ninth round.In the Challengers category, sole leader Viresh Sharnarthi was shocked by lower rated Ashirwad Swain of Orissa and dropped down to third place with six others, who all have 6.5 points each.Nithin Babu also stunned higher rated FM Arun Kataria, with both jointly leading this category with seven points each.In the Junior Masters, Madhvendra Pratap Sharma continued his dominance by defeating Vinayak Koleru to retain his one point lead. He has so far tallied 7.5 points and a draw in the last 9th round is all he needs to win the title.Ankit Das, Balanandan Ayappan and A Amanlal have all scored 6.5 points each and have a mathematical chance, in case they win their games and Madhvendra loses his contest. (PTI)
