Jay Clarke of Great Britain lifts singles title

 

 Jay Clarke (of Britain lifts singles title

 CHANDIGARH, MARCH 16          

Top seed Jay Clarke of Great Britain won the singles title of M15 Chandigarh ITF World Tour Tennis Men’s (US$-15K prize money Tournament at the Sector 10 Tennis Stadium here today.

. Jay Clarke (GBR) defeated third seed of Woobin Shin (KOR) in a 3 setter marathon match 7-6(5), 4-6, 6-0. Jay Clarke and Woobin Shin played high level tennis. Jay Clarke won the first set in tie break, in the second set Woobin Shin of Korea came back strongly and took the  set 6-4. In the final set Jay Clarke lift his level of game and played a high energetic game, finally Jay Clarke won the set and match without conceding a single game 6-0.

 Mr. Vishav Bandhu Monga, Chief State Coordinator, HPCL-Mittal Energy Limited; and. Sudhir Rajpal, IAS, Honorary Secretary  distributed the prizes to the winners and runners-up of Men’s doubles event.

Filiberto Fumagalli (ITA) and his partner Aryan Lakshmanan (IND) upset second seed S D Prajawal Dev (IND) / Nitin Kumar Sinha (IND) in the 3 setter match 2-6, 6-4, 11-9 in the Men’s doubles final.

Men’s Singles  (final): Jay Clarke (GBR) [1] bt. Woobin Shin (KOR) [3] 7-6(5), 4-6, 6-0.

Semi-finals:    Jay Clarke (GBR) [1] bt. Stefan Vujic (AUS) 6-3, 7-6(3), Woobin Shin (KOR) [3] bt. Ishaque Eqbal (IND) 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(2) 

 Men’s Doubles (final):Filiberto Fumagalli (ITA)/ Aryan Lakshmanan (IND) bt. S D Prajawal Dev (IND) / Nitin Kumar Sinha (IND) [2] 2-6, 6-4, 11-9.

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England’s Joshua Berry caps dream week at Kolkata Challenge 2025 with playoff victory

 England’s Joshua Berry caps dream week at Kolkata Challenge 2025 with playoff victory

India’s Om Prakash Chouhan finishes joint runner-up

 KOLKOTA, MARCH 16

Nineteen-year-old Englishman Joshua Berry capped a dream week with a playoff victory at the US$300,000 Kolkata Challenge 2025, a HotelPlanner Tour & PGTI joint sanctioned event, played at the revered Royal Calcutta Golf Club (RCGC).

Joshua Berry (72-62-70-73), who set the course record of 10-under 62 earlier in round two, returned an ordinary one-over 73 in regulation play on the last day to total 11-under 277 along with three other players, Norway’s Andreas Halvorsen (69-66-71-71), Austria’s Lukas Nemecz (67-70-68-72) and India’s Om Prakash Chouhan (66-68-73-70).

The four players headed into a playoff where Joshua finally triumphed with a dramatic 19-feet birdie conversion on the second extra hole.

The trio of Halvorsen, Nemecz and Chouhan thus finished joint runners-up. While Chouhan, who struggled with his short putts all day, bowed out after missing a three-footer for par on the first playoff hole, Halvorsen and Nemecz lost out to Berry on the second playoff hole.

Om Prakash Chouhan’s tied second finish earned him a cheque worth INR 20,64,000 that pushed him up 41 places to third position in the PGTI Order of Merit 2025.

Teenager Joshua Berry, the overnight leader by one shot, had a slow start to the day as he conceded two bogeys on the front-nine. Joshua then made a crucial tap-in birdie on the 15^th to climb into contention. Berry made par on the first playoff hole along with Halvorsen and Nemecz. The Englishman then nailed his 19-feet birdie conversion on the second playoff hole to emerge champion.

Joshua, who won his maiden HotelPlanner Tour title, said, “I didn’t have the best of rounds today but I guess I earned the reward for staying patient till the end and keeping my emotions together. All parts of my game fired this week and I was particularly sharp with the mental aspect of my game.

“I’m absolutely buzzing. This win is important and it’s good for my confidence as well. I know I can do it now, which I think is the key thing.

“I did feel some nerves but that’s what you practice for. I’m looking forward to watching that putt in the play-off back.

“You’ve always got to be confident going into a play-off but obviously it’s nerve-racking. You really want to win, and I just tried to hit one good shot at a time. Luckily, I holed that putt on the second extra hole. It’s a game of such fine margins.”

Thirty-eight-year-old Om Prakash Chouhan, who was tied fifth and three off the lead after round three, couldn’t get his putting rhythm going on Sunday as he missed short putts to drop two bogeys on the front-nine in exchange for just one birdie.

Om Prakash, a former winner on the HotelPlanner Tour and at the RCGC in 2023, had a far better back-nine where he scored three birdies including a tap-in on the 11th and a 10-feet conversion on the 13th to move into contention.

Chouhan, who was the sole leader for a few holes on the back-nine, then missed a golden opportunity for victory on the 18^th where his 15-feet putt for birdie lipped-out.

On the first playoff hole, Chouhan missed out on another short putt conversion from three feet that cost him a bogey and put him out of contention.

Chouhan said, “I once again struck the ball well, landing it within five feet for three of my birdies today. But the rhythm of my putting stroke continued to elude me. That resulted in a few missed short putts which turned out to be decisive.

“It was one of those days when things didn’t go as per plan. I was quite disappointed about missing out on the win after getting into contention towards the end.”

SSP Chawrasia and Samarth Dwivedi shot scores of 67 to make major gains on the final day. While SSP jumped 18 spots to secure sixth place at nine-under 279, Samarth moved up 22 spots to end the week in tied seventh position at eight-under 280.

 =====balbirsingh227@gmail.com

Kohli steers India into Champions Trophy final

  Kohli steers India into Champions Trophy final

DUBAI, MARCH 4

Virat Kohli’s knock of 84 led India to a four-wicket victory over Australia in the first ICC Men’s Champions Trophy semi-final after Mohammed Shami had earlier picked up three for 48 to help restrict the world champions to 264 all out.

Captain Steve Smith hit 73 for Australia with Alex Carey adding 61, but with wickets falling at regular intervals, Shami, alongside Varun Chakravarthy (two for 49) and Ravindra Jadeja (two for 40), made sure their opponents never got away from them.

Lower-order hitting from Hardik Pandya (28 from 24 balls) tipped the balance in India’s favour during the chase with the 2002 and 2013 ICC Men’s Champions Trophy winners looking to become the first nation to win the competition three times.

The first Australian wicket fell at the end of the third over as Cooper Connolly feathered Shami through to wicket keeper KL Rahul for a nine-ball duck, given out on review.

Travis Head, given a life on nought by Shami with his first legal delivery, attempted to counter the Indian bowlers’ tight start, hitting both Pandya and Kuldeep Yadav for six, before holing out to Shubman Gill at long-off for 39 off Chakravarthy.

Smith and Marnus Labuschagne put on 56 for the third wicket as they took Australia onto 110 before Labuschagne was trapped LBW by Jadeja for 29.

Smith, who was dropped by Shami on 36, went past 50 in the 26th over but lost partner Josh Inglis seven balls later to Jadeja when the Australian wicketkeeper found Kohli at short cover for 11.

Shami ended Smith’s stay at the crease in bizarre fashion, bowling the Australian skipper with a full toss for 73 for his second wicket, to leave the opposition 198 for five inside 37 overs.

In between the wickets of Glenn Maxwell – bowled by Axar Patel for seven – and Ben Dwarshuis – caught at deep midwicket by Shreyas Iyer off Varun for 19 – Alex Carey reached his half century off 48 balls.

Carey’s stint at the crease was ended on 61 after a brilliant direct hit by Iyer with Australia eventually bowled out for 264 following Nathan Ellis and Adam Zampa being dismissed late on.

India’s chase began in earnest, reaching 30 without loss inside five overs until Gill inside-edged Dwarshuis back onto his stumps for eight.

Smith’s decision to bring on Connolly paid off instantly as the opener struck Rohit Sharma in front for 28 having previously been given lives by Connolly himself and Labuschagne in the field.

Kohli powerfully pulled Zampa to the fence to reach a 53-ball fifty at the end of the 25th over as part of a stabilising 91-run stand with Iyer, before the latter was bowled by Zampa for 45 in the 27th.

Maxwell, who dropped Kohli on 51 at short cover, struck the Indian number three on his pad during the 32nd over with the score 160 for three, but the faintest of edges denied Australia a fourth wicket.

Ellis clattered Axar’s off stump while on 27 with 87 runs still required for victory.

The next five overs were then milked for 22 runs by Kohli and Rahul to take India to 200 for four with 10 overs to go.

Kohli top scored for the Group A winners with 84, but after putting Zampa into the stands two balls into the 43rd over, the leg spinner duly removed him when he was caught by Dwarshuis at long on with 41 runs still needed.

That left Pandya to join Rahul and the pair put on a crucial 34-run stand before Pandya was caught for 28 having hit three sixes.

Rahul finished the game off with a six off Maxwell as India won by four wickets with 11 balls to spare.

Scores in brief

ICC Men’s Champions Trophy, semi-final 1 India vs Australia, Dubai

India 267/6 in 48.1 overs (Virat Kohli 84, KL Rahul 42*; Nathan Ellis two for 49) def.

Australia 264 all out in 49.3 overs (Steve Smith 73, Alex Carey 61; Mohammed Shami three for 48)

Result: India win by four wickets.

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IOC Young Leaders Programme welcomes 25 new recruits for 2025 to 2028

  

Out of more than 5,000 applications: IOC Young Leaders Programme welcomes 25 new recruits for 2025 to 2028

LAUSANNE (SWITZERLAND), FEB 19 After receiving an overwhelming number of more than 5,000 applications, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has announced the selection of 25 new IOC Young Leaders for 2025 to 2028. The selected candidates will embark on a four-year journey to create grassroots sport-based initiatives aimed at addressing social issues in their communities.

The launch of this new cohort saw an unprecedented level of interest, with a remarkable 5,270 young people from 169 countries and territories registering for the first phase of selection. This overwhelming response highlights the growing commitment of young people to drive positive change through sport. "The selection of these 25 exceptional young leaders from diverse backgrounds underscores our commitment to empowering the next generation to build a better world through sport. The record number of applicants highlights how young people globally recognise the important role of sport in society,” said IOC President Thomas Bach. “Their innovative ideas and dedication to leveraging sport for positive social change inspire us all. We look forward to supporting them as they contribute to the Olympic Movement and make a meaningful impact in their communities. This is what the Olympic Movement stands for: building a better world through sport." Coming from 25 countries and territories across five continents, this new cohort of IOC Young Leaders brings together a diverse group of passionate changemakers who will work to develop innovative projects aligned with the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Through this programme, the IOC Young Leaders will receive a bespoke four-year capacity-building programme that includes expert guidance and coaching, access to an extensive sport and sport-for-development network, and seed funding of USD 10,000, which will help them turn their ideas into impactful and sustainable initiatives. A growing community impacting over 55,000 lives Since its launch in 2016, the IOC Young Leaders Programme has supported 145 Young Leaders from 77 countries and territories, who have collectively delivered over 160 projects, positively impacting over 55,000 lives in communities worldwide. This initiative directly contributes to Olympism365, the IOC’s strategy to strengthen the role of sport as an enabler for the SDGs, by empowering young people to drive social change through innovative solutions. This year’s selection further expands the programme’s global reach, with IOC Young Leaders coming from countries that have not yet been represented in the programme: the Dominican Republic, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Poland and Zimbabwe. The 2025–2028 IOC Young Leaders The selected IOC Young Leaders 2025-2028 are: Africa Otim Ambrose (Uganda) Prince Apoh (Ghana) Jordan Joel (Nigeria) Audrey Oronda (Kenya) Nadine Taderera (Zimbabwe) Americas Guadalupe Beltrán (Argentina) Kyndall Hudson (USA) José López Aceves (Mexico) Ayanna Morgan (Barbados) SunMin Park (Canada) Camila Tauil Alves Barreira (Brazil) Rafael Valdivieso (Dominican Republic) Asia Chloé Abou Chabake (Lebanon) Laher Hiten Gala (India) Tin Sum Lee (Hong Kong, China) Sara Merican (Singapore) Amirtya Soerakoesoemah (Indonesia) Yenlik Ultarakova (Kazakhstan) Europe Oleksandra Boliak (Ukraine) Sofia Bonicalza (Italy) Marta Gorczyńska (Poland) Murhad Hussain (Great Britain) Eduardo Oliveira (Portugal) Georges Speyer (France) Oceania Kalinda Robinson (Australia). ====balbirsingh227@gmail.com

Egypt and United States remain perfect at FIH Hockey Nations Cup 2 Oman 2025

Egypt and United States remain perfect at FIH Hockey Nations Cup 2 Oman 2025

LAUSANNE (SWITZERLAND), FEB 19 Day 2 of the FIH Hockey Nations Cup 2 Oman 2025 witnessed more thrillers, with two strong contenders emerging in Egypt and United States, as both teams won a second consecutive match to start the tournament. Egypt's win also ensured them of a place in the semi-final that will be played on Saturday, 22 Feb, while USA are one point away from booking their place in the semi-final. Austria's narrow win over Scotland keeps Pool B completely open with all four teams having a chance of making it through on the final day of pool matches on Thursday, following a rest day tomorrow.  China 1 – 1 Poland For the second day in a row China made a lightning quick start to the game, however, unlike against Egypt yesterday, China managed to get on the board against Poland early with Chao Jeiming scoring with a back post tap in, in the second minute of the game. While both teams created plenty of chances in the first half, no more goals were scored with defences holding down the fort and not even conceding a penalty corner, despite multiple circle penetrations.     Poland were more threatening after the break, winning 6 penalty corners over the course of the second half, but the Chinese defence, especially keeper Gu Runze stood firm and kept the Polish out until the final minute. As China looked to protect their one goal lead, Polish pressure mounted and a poor tackle by Qijun Chen with 5 seconds left on the clock gave Poland a penalty stroke which was promptly smashed in by Gracjan Jarzyński to earn Poland a crucial point at the death to take their tally to 4 points in two games.  Chinese keeper Gu Runze was awarded player of the match for his stellar performance in the goal that almost led to a Chinese win, and ended up earning them their first point of the tournament.  Chile 1 – 3 Egypt An end to end start to the game saw Chile capitalise, converting on their first penalty corner of the game in the 6th minute through a roaring Juan Amoroso drag flick. It took Egypt multiple circle penetrations to score their opener but when they did it was glorious with Mohamed Nasr beating 4 defenders and the goalkeeper before passing it to Ahmed Elganaini who had an open goal to tap the ball into, levelling the score at 1-1 which would hold till the half time.     With a win guaranteeing a semi-final spot for Egypt, they had a huge opportunity midway through the third quarter to grab the lead through a penalty stroke, but the usually reliable Mahmoud Mamdouh put his effort wide, giving Chile a lifeline. Two penalty corner goals in the final quarter for Egypt finally put the game to bed, making Egypt the first semi-finalists at the FIH Hockey Nations Cup 2 Oman 2025!  Mohamed Nasr who created the opening goal for Egypt with his magical run was awarded player of the match, and speaking about his assist he said: “Ahmed and I play together a lot including in club hockey so we have a really good understanding. I knew if I could get the ball to him, he would be in the right place to finish and that's exactly what he did.”  Scotland 2 – 3 Austria Scotland were the stronger of the two European sides in the opening exchanges but it took them until the 26th minute to get the lead when Jamie Golden ripped a drag flick into the top left corner from Scotland’s third penalty corner of the game. Austria made some headway late in the final minutes of the opening half through a string of penalty corners, but Scotland’s stellar rush defence ensured they entered the half with the lead.     Austria didn’t have to wait long to equalise though, with Moritz Frey finding Josef Winkler who tapped the ball into an open goal less than five minutes into the second half. They also managed to snatch the lead in the final minute of the third quarter, where a busted penalty corner attempt still led to the ball ending up with captain Steyrer who converted from close range. Fulop Losonci added a third for the Red Capricorns doubling their lead in the final quarter, and while Golden scored his second to half the deficit late in the fourth quarter, Scotland couldn’t find the equaliser, giving all three points in the crucial tie to Austria.  USA 4 – 0 Oman Following a 10-1 loss on opening day, Oman were heavy underdogs coming into the game against USA, who looked amongst the strongest contenders on day one. But Oman gave a much better account of themselves in the opening half against USA, especially in the midfield where they played with much more control. USA still managed to get into the halftime break with a 1-0 lead, but Oman had a great chance to go level with a few seconds left in the half from a penalty corner, which was cleared off the line after an almighty scramble.  Two trends from their opening match followed USA into the second game. The first was a missed penalty stroke that could have doubled their lead early in the third quarter. The second one was more positive however with Sekayi Charasika scoring from a penalty corner for a second game in a row, doubling the Americans lead in the third quarter. Charasika added a second and Motta scored in the final minute as USA came away with the three points, and just one point away from securing a semi-final spot.  Sekayi Charasika was awarded the player of the match and gave a shout-out to his teammates, saying: “Really proud and happy at how the group welcomed me into the fold over the past couple of months. We started training together in December and to start the tournament with 2 wins in 2 games is a real pleasure.”  FIH Hockey Nations Cup 2 – 18 February 2025 Hockey Oman Venue, Muscat, Oman  Result: Match 1  China 1-1 Poland Player of the match: Gu Runze (CHN) Umpires: Titus Mulwa (KEN), Ilanggo Kanabathu (MAS) Result: Match 2  Chile 1-3 Egypt Player of the match: Mohamed Nasr (EGY) Umpires: Jayden Pearson (AUS), Clare Barwood (WAL) Result: Match 3  Scotland 2-3 Austria Player of the match: Florian Hackl (AUT) Umpires: Tyler Klenk (CAN), Sourabh Rajput (IND) Result: Match 4 USA 4-0 Oman Player of the match: Sekayi Charasika (USA) Umpires: Benjamin Messerli (SUI), Sheena Hori (JPN). ====balbirsingh227@gmail.com

Yuvraj Sandhu and Manu Gandas enjoy two-shot advantage at halfway stage

  Yuvraj Sandhu and Manu Gandas enjoy two-shot advantage at halfway stage

 AHMEDABAD, FEB 19

Yuvraj Sandhu

Chandigarh’s Yuvraj Sandhu, winner of the PGTI season-opener last week, and Manu Gandas of Gurugram enjoyed a two-shot advantage at the halfway stage of the INR 1 crore Glade One presents Gujarat Open 2025 being played at the Glade One Golf Resort & Club, Ahmedabad.

Manu Gandas

Yuvraj (32-34) and Manu (31-35), a former winner at Glade One, were placed atop the leaderboard with identical totals of six-under 66 as they carded second-round scores of 34 and 35 respectively.

Saptak Talwar (34-34) of Greater Noida posted a second straight 34 to be placed third at four-under 68.

Defending champion Abhinav Lohan (36) and Ahmedabad’s Varun Parikh (34) were both placed tied 10^th at two-under 70.

The first two rounds of the event consisted of nine holes each. After the completion of 18 holes on Wednesday, the cut was applied at even-par 72. Fifty-two professionals made the cut.

The third and fourth rounds will now consist of 18 holes each. The tournament will be played over a total of 54 holes. The par for the course in the first two rounds was 36. The par for the course in the third and fourth rounds will be 72.

Yuvraj Sandhu produced two birdies on day two to rise one spot into the joint lead.

Overnight leader Manu Gandas continued on top of the pack as joint leader as a result of his two birdies and one bogey on Wednesday.

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Dalwinder Singh and Jaya Kapoor in semi-finals

 Dalwinder Singh and Jaya Kapoor in semi-finals

CHANDIGARH, FEB 19

Dalwinder Singh and Moksh Puri advanced into the semifinal in the men’s singles of the CLTA-AITA National Ranking Tennis Championship for Men & Women (Rs.1 Lakh prize money each) at the Sector !0 TEnnis Stadium here today.

Fourth seed Dalwinder Singh (PB) defeated fifth seed Mukul Ramanan (TN) 6-1, 6-2. Dalwinder played high level tennis and dominant throughout the match with his aggressive game style to beat his opponent without getting much pressure. Third seed Moksh Puri (DL) won from Omar Rehan Sumar (MH) 6-4, 6-1 in straight sets. 7^th seed Yash Yadav (MP) and Vatsal Manikantan (TN) also moved into the Semifinals.   

In the women’s singles Quarterfinals Qualifier Jaya Kapoor (UK) upset 3^rd seed Saily Prashantkumar Thakkar (GJ) in 3 setter match 6-1, 3-6, 6-3. 4^th seed Vidula Amar (KA) and Jasmine Rawat (HR) also advanced into Semifinals    

Results:

Men's  singles (q-finals):  Vatsal Manikantan (TN) bt. Jatin Nain (HR) 6-3, 6-1,  Moksh Puri (DL) [3] bt. Omar Rehan Sumar (MH) 6-4, 6-1,   Dalwinder Singh (PB) [4] bt. Mukul Ramanan (TN) [8] 6-1, 6-2 ,  Yash Yadav (MP) (Q) [7] bt. Sarthak Sudan (DL) [2] (Q) 6-3, 6-2. 

 Women’s  singles (q-finals):  Jasmine Rawat (HR) bt. Suhani Gaur (RJ) 6-3, 6-4,  Jaya Kapoor (UK) (Q) bt. Saily Prashantkumar Thakkar (GJ) [3] 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, Vidula Amar (KA) [4] bt. Divya Bhardwaj (GJ) [5] 6-1, 6-2,      Rutuparna Choudhary (OD) [2] bt. Jigyasa Narsinghani (RJ) 7-5, 6-3.

Men’s doubles (semi-finals):   Vatsal Manikantan (TN)/ Tanishq Mukesh Jadhav (MH) w/o Bikramjeet Singh Chawla (DL) / Aditya Kothari (DL),   Jatin Nain (HR) / Mayank Sharma (DL) bt. Priyanshu Choudhary (RJ) / Lokesh Pun (HR) 7-5, 6-4. 

Women’s  doubles (semi-finals):  Bhumika Dahiya (DL) / Ayushi Tanwar (RJ) bt. Shefali Arora (DL)/ Diya Ketan Desai (GJ) [1] 6-4, 6-1,  Ruma Ashutosh Gaikaiwari (MH)/ Saily Prashantkumar Thakkar (GJ) [2] bt. Soni Prupti (GJ)/ Pal Upadhyay (GJ) 4-6, 6-2, 10-6 . 

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