Another good start by Aditi
Abu Dhabi: India's Aditi Ashok started with a flourish and looked set for the lead on the first day of the Fatima Bint Mubarak ladies Open golf tournament here on Wednesday, before she suffered a lapse and dropped three shots in a span of six holes to lie tied 12th. The 18-year-old, Aditi, who has been a big hit on the ladies European Tour in her rookie season, had six birdies against three bogeys for a round of three-under 69. She was four shots behind the leader. The leader was Iceland's Olafia Kristinsdottir, who had eight birdies and just one bogey in her seven-under 65.
India draw Iran 1-1
Hanoi: A spirited India on Wednesday played out a 1-1 draw against Iran in the first Group D match of the AFC Women's U-19 Championship 2017 Qualifiers here. Kashmina gave India the lead in the 59th minute while Mokhtarifar got the equaliser for Iran in the 81st minute. India were down to nine players on the field at that moment as Shetty and captain Ratanbala Devi were being treated outside the playing arena. Kashmina's goal came straight out of the text book. It was a counter-attack from which Shetty sped past her marker on the right flank and essayed it for Kashmina in the box. The nippy striker took her time, sidestepped, and neatly placed the ball into the net. India next play hosts Vietnam on November 4.
Pratul wins maiden title
New Delhi: Young Indian shuttler Pratul Joshi clinched his maiden international title by notching up a hard-fought win over Aditya Joshi in the finals of the $17,500 Bahrain International Challenge badminton tournament at Segayya in Bahrain. In a fiercely fought battle between siblings, it was 22-year-old Pratul who emerged as the winner after he prevailed 21-17, 12-21, 21-15 over Aditya in the summit clash which lasted for an hour on Sunday. In the semifinals, Pratul, seeded third, had beaten compatriot Siddharth Thakur 21-16, 22-20, while fourth seed Aditya stunned top seed Anand Pawar 21-19, 21-7.
Verma brothers advance
Saarbrucken (Germany): The Verma brothers — Sourabh and Sameer — advanced to the second round of the men's singles competition of the $120,000 Bitburger Open Grand Prix Gold badminton here. Sourabh, who clinched the Chinese Taipei title early this month, defeated Austria's Rudiger Gnedt 21-16, 21-11 in just 20 minutes, while his younger brother Sameer who became the senior National champion this year, beat Germany's Alexander Roovers 21-11, 21-11 in another match. Sourabh, who had reached the finals at International Challenge events at Belgium and Poland, will next face formidable Chinese Xue Song, seeded 14th. The 12th seed Sameer will be up against Eetu Heino of Finland in the second round.