Tharun Mannepalli enters second round of Swiss Open
BASEL, March 12: Indian shuttler Tharun Mannepalli advanced to the men’s singles second round after his opponent Kenta Nishimoto of Japan retired in the decider at the Swiss Open here.Mannepalli, ranked 43rd in the world, was leading 16-21 21-16 7-2 when the fifth-seeded Nishimoto retired from the round of 32 match on Wednesday night due to a shoulder issue.The 24-year-old, who had reached the semifinals of the Macau Open last year, will next face Malaysia’s Justin Hoh.In women’s singles, Malvika Bansod failed to get past Thailand’s world No. 4 Pornpawee Chochuwong, going down 11-21 15-21 in a lop-sided contest. It was her fourth defeat in as many meetings against the Thai player.Later in the day, world No. 4 men’s doubles pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, along with Kiran George and the Indian mixed doubles pair of Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto, will be in action. (PTI)
Gunjan, Radhamani register wins at Boxing Futures Cup
BANGKOK, March 12: Gunjan, Radhamani Longjam and Chandrika Pujari registered victories in their respective bouts as the Indian Youth boxing team recorded a series of strong performances on the fifth day of the World Boxing Futures Cup here on Thursday.In the morning session, Gunjan (48kg) secured a convincing 5-0 unanimous decision victory over Poland.Radhamani Longjam (57kg) delivered a dominant display, defeating her opponent from Ecuador by Referee Stopped Contest (RSC) in the first round.However, Prachi (60kg) went down 5-0 to a Slovakian rival , while Priyansh Sehrawat (70kg) suffered a 5-0 defeat against a Morocco boxer in the men’s division.Later in the evening session, Chandrika Pujari (50kg) added another win to India’s tally with a 5-0 unanimous decision victory over the United States pugilist. (PTI)
Bhambri enters maiden ATP Masters 1000 semifinal
INDIAN WELLS, March 12: India’s Yuki Bhambri entered his maiden ATP Masters 1000 semifinal as he and his Swedish partner Andre Goransson defeated Alexander Erler and Andrea Vavassori in straight sets in Indian Wells here.The 33-year-old Indian had previously reached the doubles quarter-finals at the Masters 1000 level twice, including at Indian Wells last year.Bhambri and Goransson defeated the Austrian-Italian pair 6-3 7-6 in the quarterfinals that lasted over one hour 30 minutes.The Indo-Swedish duo dominated on their first serve, winning 83 per cent of the points (29/35), which proved crucial in taking the second-set tie-break and closing out the match.They will take on France’s Arthur Rinderknech and Monaco’s Valentin Vacherot in the semifinals on Friday.Rinderknech and Vacherot defeated the Russian duo of Andrey Rublev and Karen Khachanov 6-3 6-4 in their quarterfinal. (PTI)
MOC extends support to top Indian tennis players
NEW DELHI, March 12: Indian tennis players Yuki Bhambri and Sumit Nagal were on Thursday sanctioned financial assistance of close to Rs 30 lakh each by the Mission Olympic Cell (MOC) while rising player Dhakshineswar Suresh was included in the Target Asian Games Group (TAGG) to bolster preparations for the 2026 Asian Games and the 2026 Davis Cup Qualifiers.The approvals were cleared during the 169th meeting of the MOC under the Sports Authority of India (SAI).Bhambri, who is currently ranked world No. 23 in doubles and is Asia’s top-ranked doubles player, will receive a financial assistance of Rs 28.89 lakh to support his training and competition schedule between February and September 2026.The funding covers his participation in ATP and Grand Slam events across a 33-week international calendar along with professional training commitments. Bhambri’s assistance will also include support for personal physiotherapy services from Daniel Hatch. (PTI)
