Indian shuttlers win gold medals in French Para Badminton Int’l
New Delhi, June 21: India’s Krishna Nagar, Thulasimathi Murugesan, Nithya Sre Sumathy Sivan and Nitesh Kumar struck gold as India enjoyed a successful campaign at the French Para Badminton International here on Sunday. Tokyo Paralympic champion Krishna showcased tremendous composure and tactical discipline on way to a 21-19, 21-11 win over home favourite and Paris gold winner Charles Noakes in the men’s singles SH6 final. Krishna enjoyed a successful tournament overall, adding two bronze medals to his tally. He partnered Sivarajan Solaimalai to finish third in the men’s doubles SH6 category and teamed up with Nithya Sre Sumathy Sivan to claim bronze in the mixed doubles SH6 event. Thulasimathi won the women’s singles SU5 gold medal, while Nithya Sre emerged victorious in the women’s singles SH6 event and Nitesh Kumar won in men’s singles SL3 event to add another gold for India. Naveen Sivakumar finished runner-up in men’s singles SL4. Manasi Joshi and Thulasimathi Murugesan claimed silver in the women’s doubles SL3-SU5 event. Pramod Bhagat and Manisha Ramdass also won silver in the mixed doubles SL3-SU5 category. (PTI)
Harshit, Akshat win gold-silver at Asian Artistic Gymnastics C’ships
New Delhi, June 21: Indian gymnasts Harshit Damodaran and Akshat Bajaj scripted history by securing a gold-silver finish in the junior men’s vault event at the Asian Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Zunyi, China on Sunday. Harshit topped the podium with a score of 13.649, while Akshat finished second with 13.433 in the continental competition. Harshit produced two consistent vaults, scoring 13.866 on his first attempt, which carried a difficulty (D) score of 4.8, and 13.433 on his second vault. His combined effort earned him the top spot ahead of compatriot Akshat. Akshat registered scores of 13.500 and 13.366 across his two vaults to finish with an average of 13.433 and secure the silver. (PTI)
Asian Relays: Indian women’s 4x100m relay team earns gold
Shaoxing (China), June 21: The Indian quartet of Srabani Nanda, SS Sneha, Sudeshna Shivankar and Tamanna clinched the gold medal in the women’s 4x100m relay on the final day of the second edition of the Asian Relays Championships here on Sunday. The Indian gold medal women’s 4x100m relay team clocked 43.85 seconds, a season best. The mixed 4x400m relay team added silver to the medal tally with Theerthesh Shetty, Poovamma MR, Bharath Sridhar and Neeru Pathak clocking 3:17.06 seconds. Earlier, the Indian mixed 4x100m team won bronze (41.27 seconds). The members of the Indian team were Pranav Gaurav, Tamanna, Animesh Kujur and SS Sneha. Thailand won gold (41.14 seconds) while silver went to China (41.29 seconds). (PTI)
Abhay-Velavan pair clinches third successive Asian doubles squash title
New Delhi, June 21: India’s top-seeded pair of Abhay Singh and Velavan Senthilkumar extended their dominance on the continental stage by winning a third consecutive men’s doubles title at the Asian Doubles Squash Championships in Sarawak, Malaysia, on Sunday. The Indian duo rallied from a game down to defeat Pakistan’s second-seeded combination of Nasir Iqbal and Noor Zaman 7-11, 11-7, 11-2 in 47 minutes in a repeat of last year’s final. The victory completed a hat-trick of men’s doubles titles for Abhay and Velavan. The second-seeded women’s doubles pair of Joshna Chinappa and Rathika Seelan claimed bronze after reaching the semifinals, while Joshna and Velavan earned another bronze in the mixed doubles event. (PTI)
