Shaina Manimuthu secures bronze at Dutch Junior International
New Delhi, March 1: India’s rising shuttler Shaina Manimuthu secured a bronze medal at the Dutch Junior International. Shaina, the U-15 girls’ champion at the Badminton Asia Championships, saw her impressive run end in the semifinals, where she went down to China’s Yi Qing Yin 17-21, 8-21 in 35 minutes. En route to the semifinals, Shaina registered notable victories over the third and 13th seeds, underlining her growing potential and consistency on the global stage. (PTI)
3,500 runners take part in Chandigarh marathon
Chandigarh, March 1: Ethiopia’s Olbana Negasa Yadate and Meskerem Tesfaye Fikadu emerged winners in the men’s and women’s full marathon categories respectively as around 3,500 runners participated in the Chandigarh International Marathon here on Sunday. In the half marathon (21 km), Harmanjot Singh of India and Ethiopia’s Tsehay Desalegn clinched the men’s and women’s titles respectively. The 10 km run saw Sahil Kapoor win the men’s race, while Soniya, also from India, finished first in the women’s category. Organised by the Chandigarh administration, the marathon featured four competitive categories: 42 km (full marathon), 21 km (half marathon), 10 km, and 5 km. A total of 323 participants competed in the 42 km, 740 in the 21 km, 1,270 in the 10 km, and 1,168 in the 5 km category. The event also saw 38 international participants from eight countries and 21 specially-abled participants. (PTI)
Federico Cina clinches Maha Open ATP Challenger 75 C’ship
Pune, March 1: Sixth seed Federico Cina saved five match points to edge past Britain’s Felix Gill to win the Maha Open ATP Challenger 75 Men’s Tennis Championship here on Sunday. In a thrilling contest lasting two hours and 29 minutes, Cina held his nerve in the decisive tie-break to prevail 6-3, 5-7, 7-6(1). The Italian looked in control after taking the opening set 6-3 with aggressive baseline play and solid serving. However, Gill fought back strongly in the second set, breaking at a crucial stage to level the match at one set apiece. The third set witnessed high-quality rallies and intense baseline exchanges, with neither player willing to concede ground. Gill held on to force a third set tie-break in which the 18-year-old Cina, a native of Palermo, raised his level remarkably, dominating the breaker 7-1 to seal the championship in commanding fashion. The singles champion was awarded a trophy, USD 17,000 and 75 ATP ranking points, while the runner-up received a trophy, USD 9,600 and 40 ATP ranking points. (PTI)
Indians shine in first round of qualifying at ITF W35 Kalaburagi
Kalaburagi, March 1: The Indian contingent witnessed a highly encouraging start at the ITF W35 Kalaburagi today, as Indian players delivered a wave of strong performances on the opening day of qualifying at the Chandrashekhar Patil Stadium in Kalaburagi. With 12 Indians progressing to the second and final round, the depth and competitiveness of the domestic field were firmly on display in North Karnataka. While a few seeds from overseas advanced smoothly, the spotlight remained firmly on the Indian hopefuls who rose to the occasion. (IANS)
