Shubhankar opens two-shot lead at Boulders Classic
HYDERABAD, April 15: Shubhankar Sharma carded a second consecutive six-under 66 to take a two-shot lead after round two of the inaugural Rs 1 crore Boulders Classic here on Wednesday.The 29-year-old Shubhankar (66-66), a six-time DP World PGTI winner, is playing his first event on the tour since the Tour Championship in Jamshedpur in December 2021.He moved to the top of the leaderboard at 12-under 132 with a steady and controlled display over the first two days.Thirty-six-year-old Divyanshu Bajaj (69-65) of Kolkata produced an error-free seven-under 65 to climb from tied 14th to solo second at 10-under 134.Overnight leader Vishesh Sharma (65-70) of Hyderabad slipped to third at nine-under 135 after a round of two-under 70 at the Boulder Hills Golf & Country Club.Honey Baisoya, a winner on the DP World PGTI this year, broke the course record with an immaculate round of eight-under 64 that propelled him 38 spots from overnight tied 42nd to tied fourth at a total of eight-under 136.Ajeetesh Sandhu (68) and Anshul Kabthiyal (67) shared fourth place with Baisoya.Shubhankar fired seven birdies against a lone bogey, closing strongly with back-to-back birdies to build on his opening-round momentum.Yuvraj Sandhu, one of the pre-tournament favourites, followed his opening round of 73 with a four-under 68 to be placed tied 27th at three-under 141.The cut fell at even-par 144, with 53 of 131 players advancing to the last two rounds. (PTI)
TN, Bengal, Delhi storm into pre-quarters TT
DEHRADUN, April 15: Powerhouses Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, and Delhi stamped their authority early on, cruising into the pre-quarterfinals from their respective groups in the Under-19 girls’ team event at the UTT Inter-State Junior and Youth National Table Tennis Championships here on Wednesday.With just one round of league matches remaining — Telangana vs Punjab (Group A), Uttarakhand vs Assam (Group B), and PSPBA vs Chandigarh (Group C) — the outcomes will have little impact on the three dominant leaders, who have already sealed their spots.However, the final round will determine the second qualifiers from each group, adding intrigue to the closing league fixtures.Elsewhere, Maharashtra (Group D), Uttar Pradesh (Group E), NCOE (Group F), Karnataka (Group G), and Gujarat (Group H) have virtually secured their pre-quarterfinal berths.Yet, the race for the remaining knockout spots remains intense, particularly in Groups E and F, where the battle for the second qualification place is expected to go down to the wire.Placed in a tough Group C, hosts Uttarakhand lost their match to West Bengal 0-3, but they can redeem themselves when they take on Assam in their last-round tie later on Wednesday.The day witnessed a gripping contest between Chhattisgarh and Kerala, with the former edging through in a tense decider.Lavnya Pandey rose to the occasion, defeating PV Sreelakshmi 11-6 11-9 11-2 to seal the match.Earlier, Lavnya had suffered a narrow loss to Gouri Niranjana, while Samaya Pandey too faltered against the same opponent in the reverse singles.It was Pragya Pathak who turned the tide, producing a resilient performance to overcome Mariya Angel in a five-game battle and give Chhattisgarh a crucial 2-1 lead.In Group F, NCOE survived a stern challenge from Haryana in another nail-biting encounter.Subhomita Basak emerged as the hero, clinching the deciding rubber against Kashvi Kalra in five hard-fought games, despite an earlier straight-game loss to Tanmayee Saha.Haryana had briefly taken control when Meher Garg defeated Moupia Das to go 2-1 up.However, Archismita Mahato’s win over Tanmayee in the reverse singles forced a decider, where NCOE held their nerve. (PTI)
