Vinay wins gold at Para Powerlifting World C’ships
Cairo, Oct 10: India’s rising para powerlifting star Vinay won the gold medal in the 72kg junior category at the Para Powerlifting World Championships here on Friday. Vinay recorded an impressive series of 137kg, 142kg and 147kg in his three attempts. His final lift of 147kg was ruled invalid by the referees, but his second successful lift of 142kg was enough to secure the gold medal, narrowly defeating Mikolaj Kociubinski of Poland, who lifted 141kg. The bronze medal was claimed by Sebastian F. of Ecuador with 137Kg. This marks Vinay’s second major international triumph. Earlier, he clinched gold at the Para Powerlifting World Cup 2024 in Sharm-El-Sheikh, Egypt, competing in the 59kg junior category with a lift of 120kg. (PTI)
Himanshu, Mohit excel in National Junior Athletics Championships
Bhubaneswar, Oct 10: Haryana’s Asian youth champion Himanshu booked his ticket to World U-20 Championships with a meet record on the opening day of the 40th National Junior Athletics Championships, here at the Kalinga Stadium on Friday. The meet record was also improved in the U-20 men’s 5,000m event. Himanshu hurled the javelin (700g) to a distance of 79.96m in the U-18 boys’ qualification round which was better than the meet record of 76.50m set in 2014 in Vijayawada by the great Neeraj Chopra. The qualification mark for World U-20 men’s javelin is 68.50m. The meet record was also erased in the men’s U-20 5,000m race in the morning session. Mohit Choudhary of Telangana clocked 14:09.71 seconds to better the previous meet record of 14:12.67 set by Vinod Singh in 2024 in Bhubaneswar. The qualification period for the 2026 World U-20 Athletics Championships in Oregon, USA, starts from October 1 and will end on July 26, 2026. (PTI)
Bhavtegh Singh hits perfect 50 on Day 1 of skeet qualification
Athens, Oct 10: India’s Bhavtegh Singh Gill made a perfect start to his campaign at the ISSF World Championship for Shotgun, hitting all 50 targets on the opening day of the men’s skeet qualification here on Friday. A two-time junior world championship medallist, Bhavtegh’s perfect round saw him join elite company in four-time Olympic champion and three-time world champion Vincent Hancock of the United States, 2000 Olympic gold medallist Mikola Milchev of Ukraine, World Cup medallist Henrik Jansson of Sweden, Kacper Jerzyall Baksalary (Poland), and Emil Kjeldgaard (Denmark), all of whom also registered perfect 50s to share the top of the leaderboard after day one. Among other Indians, Olympian and reigning Asian champion Anantjeet Singh Naruka hit 48 (24, 24) to sit in 35th place, while two-time Olympian Mairaj Ahmad Khan shot 45 (24, 21) to finish the day in 97th position in a highly competitive 116-athlete field at the Malakasa Shooting Range. In the women’s skeet, Olympian Raiza Dhillon and Parinaaz Dhaliwal shot 45 (23, 22) and 44 (21, 23) respectively to occupy the 37th and 38th positions. Ganemat Sekhon was placed 45th with 43 (21, 22) hits after the opening two rounds. (PTI)
Parthsarthi, Shreeniti, Mannan and Tavish reach finals of Fenesta Open
New Delhi, Oct 10: Top seed Parthsarthi Arun Mundhe and Shreeniti Chowdhury set up the girls’ U-16 singles final while Mannan Agarwal and Tavish Pahwa will clash for the boys title after hard-fought victories at the Fenesta Open National Tennis Championship here Friday. Parthsarthi continued her excellent run in the tournament, defeating fourth seed Snigdha Kanta 6-3, 6-1. Meanwhile, Shreeniti delivered an excellent performance, defeating Harsha Oruganti 6-2, 6-2 in one hour and 28 minutes. In the boys’ U-16 semifinal, Mannan Agarwal edged out Shivtej B. Shirfule 7-6(5), 6-4 in one hour and 54 minutes. Tavish Pahwa will join him in the finals after a 6-3, 6-3 win over Om Ramesh Patel in a one-hour and 28-minute semifinal contest. In the girls’ U-14 singles semifinals, top seed Padma Rameshkumar defeated Deepthi Venkatesan 6-1, 6-3, while second seed Jensi Kanabar breezed past Jahnavi Tammineedi 6-2, 6-0 to set up an exciting final. Fifth seed Aarav Mulay outlasted Heet Kandoriya (13) 6-1, 7-6, while Harsh Marwaha caused an upset by beating 15th seed Puneeth M 6-3, 6-4 to reach the title clash in the Boys’ U-14 singles category. (PTI)
Paolini stuns Swiatek at Wuhan Open; Sabalenka, Gauff in semis
Wuhan (China), Oct 10: Iga Swiatek was knocked out of the Wuhan Open on Friday in a straight-set defeat to Jasmine Paolini – a player the Wimbledon champion had never previously lost against. Paolini powered her way to a 6-1, 6-2 victory over the second-ranked Swiatek in a quarterfinal that was over in 65 minutes. It was the Italian’s first victory over Swiatek in their seventh meeting – with Paolini having previously won only one set – and secured her a semifinal spot against the third-ranked Coco Gauff. Paolini has a much better record against Gauff, having triumphed over the American in their past three meetings. Gauff cruised into a second straight semifinal with a 6-3, 6-0 victory over Laura Siegemund. She lost to eventual champion Amanda Anisimova in the final four at the China Open last week. The top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka will face Jessica Pegula in the other semifinal. Sabalenka extended her winning streak at Wuhan to 20 matches with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over eighth-seeded Elena Rybakina. (AP)
Rinderknech joins cousin Vacherot in Shanghai Masters semifinals
Shanghai, Oct 10: The semifinals of the Shanghai Masters will be a family affair. The 30-year-old Arthur Rinderknech eased past Felix Auger-Aliassime on Friday for the biggest win of the Frenchman’s career and followed his cousin Valentin Vacherot into the final four of the tournament. It will be a first Masters 1000 semifinal for either of them with the cousins potentially meeting in the final. No. 204-ranked qualifier Vacherot faces Novak Djokovic next, and Rinderknech plays 16th-seeded Daniil Medvedev. Vacherot, who had stunned 10th-seeded Holger Rune the day earlier, was watching courtside as Rinderknech showed little sign of nerves in his first Masters 1000 quarterfinal, securing a dominant 6-3, 6-4 victory over World No. 13 Auger-Aliassime. It was a third straight win over a top-20 player for Rinderknech, after defeating World No. 3 Alexander Zverev and World No. 19 Jiri Lehecka. Medvedev beat seventh-seeded Alex de Minaur 6-4, 6-4. (AP)
