Srikanth enters US Open final; Rounak, Devika exit
Fullerton, June 28: Star Indian shuttler Kidambi Srikanth edged out Japan’s Yudai Okimoto in a three-game thriller to progress to the men’s singles final of the US Open Super 300 badminton championships here. Srikanth, a 2021 world championships silver medallist, recorded a 22-20, 15-21, 21-19 win over World No. 33 Okimoto in 72 minutes to enter his first final of the season. Srikanth, a former world No. 1, will meet World No 46 Su Li Yang of Chinese Taipei in the summit clash. Young shuttler Rounak Chouhan’s dream run at his maiden Super 300 tournament ended with a 17-21 19-21 loss to Su Li Yang in the other men’s singles semifinal. In the women’s singles, sixth seed Devika Sihag, who won the Thailand Masters earlier this year, fell to Denmark’s second seed Line Christophersen 21-15, 11-21, 15-21 in a 54-minute semifinals. (PTI)
Pramod Bhagat bags gold, Krishna Nagar wins mixed silver
Dublin, June 28: Para badminton star Pramod Bhagat continued his impressive run on the international circuit by winning the men’s singles SL3 gold medal at the British & Irish International that concluded here Sunday. In an all-Indian final, Bhagat defeated compatriot Nitesh Kumar in a gripping contest, registering a 23-21, 21-14 victory in 44 minutes to claim the title. Bhagat also added a bronze medal in the mixed doubles SL3-SU5 category alongside Manisha Ramdass, capping off another successful campaign in Dublin. Tokyo Paralympic champion Krishna Nagar also enjoyed a productive tournament, winning a silver medal in the mixed doubles SH6 category alongside Nithya Sre, while adding a bronze medal in the Men’s Doubles SH6 event with Sivarajan Solaimalai and also singles. (PTI)
India beat Bahrain, win first-ever AVC men’s cup bronze
Ahmedabad, June 28: The Indian men’s volleyball team created history on Sunday by clinching their first-ever medal at the AVC Men’s Cup, defeating defending champions Bahrain 3-1 (25-23, 23-25, 25-21, 25-17) in the bronze medal play-off in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. The landmark victory capped a memorable campaign for India. They bounced back strongly from the disappointment of a narrow semi-final loss to Indonesia to stand on the podium for the first time in the tournament’s history. Just a day earlier, India had come close to reaching a historic final before losing a thrilling match 2-3 (25-15, 24-26, 20-25, 25-19, 13-15) against one of Asia’s volleyball powerhouses. (IANS)
Indian wrestlers clinch three gold medals in U-15 Asian C’ships
Pattaya, June 28: Indian women wrestlers produced a dominant performance, clinching three gold medals as the country bagged an impressive eight medals on the second day of the Under-15 Asian Wrestling Championships here on Sunday. Samruddhi Satish Patil (33kg), Vinakshi (46kg), and Disha Shokeen (66kg) captured gold medals in their respective weight categories to headline a stellar day for the Indian contingent. Besides the three gold medals, India won two silver and three bronze medals to ensure a 100 per cent podium record across all eight medal bouts of the day. Divya Rani (36kg) and Dnyaneshwari Vrusheshwar Shinde (42kg) settled for silver medals after going down against Japanese opponents in their respective title clashes. The Indian contingent also swept all three of its bronze-medal playoffs. Nisha Mor (54kg) secured an 8-0 victory by fall against Chinese Taipei’s Lo I Huang, Dipanshi (58kg) defeated Mongolia’s Anudari Bayanmunkh 6-1, and Anjali Santosh Vetal (62kg) outclassed Mongolia’s Khongorzul Lkhagva Ochir 15-2 via technical superiority. Meanwhile, the Indian Under-15 Greco-Roman team finished third overall in the team standings, securing 150 points following their opening-day performances. Uzbekistan claimed the top spot with 171 points, while Kazakhstan finished second with 167 points. (IANS)
