Mandeep jangra enters Round 2
Almaty: Asian champion Mandeep Jangra (69kg) rounded off a second successive winning day for India at the World Boxing Championships as he eased past Tanzania’s Selemani Kidunda to enter the second round of the event here on Wednesday. Mandeep out-punched his rival 3-0 in a one-sided contest. The 20-year-old, who is a protege of former Commonwealth Games gold-medallist Akhil Kumar, was dominant from the word go as he clinched the opening round 30-26. The perfect-10 performance continued in the next two rounds as well with Mandeep clinching them 30-27 30-27 to sail into the round of 32. Next up, Mandeep will fight it out against Serdar Hudayberdiyev of Turkmenistan on October 20. On Thursday, Vijender Singh (75kg), who opened India’s medal account in the mega event with a bronze in 2009, will start his campaign in what is his fourth appearance at the biennial.
Mohit and Shweta enter quarters
New Delhi: Top seeds in men’s and women’s singles Mohit Mayur Jayaprakash and Shweta Rana advanced to the quarter-finals of the Fenesta Open National Tennis Championship here. Second seed Prerna Bhambri and Sharmada Balu, seeded fourth, also joined Shweta in the last-eight stage of the women’s singles. Mohit was leading 4-0 when his opponent Saurabh Patil conceded the match due to a lower-back problem, while Arjun Kadhe continued his impressive run with a 7-6(3), 6-3 win over Andhra boy Rishab Agarwal. Vignesh notched up a 7-5, 6-3 win against Shaikh Abdullah, who is the top seed in the boys under-18. Nitten Kirrtane also made it to the quarter-finals of the men’s singles with a 6-1, 6-0 verdict against Vilaser Khate. In the women’s singles, top seed Shweta knocked out Nehal Sahni 6-2, 6-2 and old warhorse Rushmi Chakravorthi got the better of Sahan Shetty 6-2, 6-4.
Manipur emerge champions
Kohima: Manipur on Wednesday emerged as the champions in both men and women’s team event in the 24th National Sepaktakraw Championship held at Indira Gandhi Stadium here. In the final of the men’s team event, Manipur defeated Delhi in two straight sets to emerge victorious, while Manipur women’s team thrashed Nagaland by same margin to register victory. Nagaland and Uttar Pradesh had lost to Manipur and Delhi, respectively in the men’s team semi-finals to be declared joint third-place winners. In the women’s section, Odissa and Assam emerged as joint third after losing their respective semifinal matches to Manipur and Nagaland, respectively.
China junior girls upset India A
Mumbai: Top seeds India A suffered an upset defeat at the hands of third seeds China, 0-3 in a Group I Junior Girls tie in the USD 8000 Reliance India Junior and Cadet Open Table Tennis championships at the NSCI-Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Stadium here on Wednesday. little known Chinese girls Yanmei Yang and li Anqi were the underdogs but they ignored the reputations of the host players to snatch a sensational win. Yang overcame world No. 60 Suthirtha Mukherjee 3-1 in the opening singles, while Anqi rallied from 1-2 down to prevail over world No. 30 Manika Batra in a 3-2 thriller. Yang and Anqi later combined to win the doubles 3-0 to complete the rout.
HIl to have mini auction on nov 18
New Delhi: The Hero Hockey India league will conduct a mini players auction (closed bid) featuring over 150 players from around the world here on November 18, nearly two months ahead of the second season of the franchise-based event. Hockey India Secretary General and HIl Chairman Narinder Batra said the auction would give the franchisees a chance to buy new players to replace permanent withdrawals and complete their squads for the upcoming season. “The base prices for the players vary from USD 2,600 to USD 25,000,” Batra said. Nearly 154 players from India and overseas have made themselves available for the auction. PNS/Agencies