Abhay advances, Anahat bows out in El Gouna squash
New Delhi, April 5: India’s Abhay Singh rallied to beat Egyptian world no 13 Aly Abou Eleinen 3-2 in the men’s singkles opening round of the El Gouna Open, a PSA Platinum event, in El Gouna, Egypt. World no 25 Abhay eked out a 9-11, 11-8, 3-11, 11-4, 11-8 on Saturday. He will next meet Egyptian sixth seed and world no 7 Youssef Ibrahim. Meanwhile, world No 20 Anahat Singh lost to world No 1 Hania El Hammamy, the Egyptian advancing with a 11-8, 11-5, 9-11, 11-8 first-round win in the women’s singles. (PTI)
Punjab, UP, Bengal, Arunachal win at Sub Jr men Hockey Natl C’ship
Rajgir, April 5: Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Bengal and Arunachal registered wins at the 16th Hockey India Sub Junior men National Championship at the Rajgir Sports Complex here on Sunday. In Pool A of Division A, Punjab secured a 2-0 win against Maharashtra with Sangat Singh (10’) and Akash Deep (53’) sounding the board. In Pool C, Uttar Pradesh defeated Manipur 17-1 with Shahrukh Ali (5’, 22’, 23’, 24’, 29’, 33’, 35’, 36’, 49, 49’, 59’) scoring as many as 11 goals. Nitish Yadav (3’, 18’) scored a brace, while captain Kushwaha Ketan (6’) and Karan Dhanak (17’) also found the back of the net. For Manipur, Maibam Manimatum (14’) scored their lone goal. In Pool D, Madhya Pradesh registered 10-1 win over Kerala with Raiyan Ul Haq (5’, 34’, 36’) scoring a hat-trick and Gazee Khan (49’, 55’) striking twice. Captain Ansh Bahutra (15’), Ayush Singh Lodhi (25’), Karan Gautam (37’), Deepak Singh (45’), Devraj Prajapat (52’) also added to the goal tally for their side. In Pool B, Jharkhand clinched a 1-0 win against Dadra & Nagar Haveli And Daman & Diu Hockey with Ashish Tani Purti (22’) scoring the only goal. In Pool A of Division B, Bengal registered an 18-0 win over Gujarat with Munna Kumar Singh (5’, 27’, 37’, 49’, 50’, 55’) scoring six goals. Sujal Turi (28’, 32’, 42’) and Sujal Balmiki (57’, 59’, 60’) bagged hat-tricks, while Risav Ray (17’, 24’) and Ratan Bind (24’, 29’) scored braces and captain Riju Bar (28’) and Abhishek Thakur (47’) also contributed. In Pool B of the same division, Arunachal got over the line with a 5-3 win against Chhattisgarh. (PTI)
PNB ‘Soldierathon’ draws over 27,000 participants
New Delhi, April 5: More than 27,000 participants, including soldiers, athletes, fitness enthusiasts and people from all walks of life, took part in the PNB ‘Soldierathon 2026’, which also commemorated the success of ‘Operation Sindoor’, symbolising the courage and dedication of the country’s brave soldiers. Satyam clinched first place in the men’s half marathon (21.1 km), while Neeta Rani topped the women’s field. In the10 km run, Gaurav emerged winner in the men’s category, with Sanjana Singh finishing first among women. (PTI)
