Lahiri shoots 65 to be Tied-fourth
Playa del Carmen: Anirban Lahiri shot his best round in over three months with a six-under 65 to be placed Tied-4th at the end of the first round at the Mayakoba Golf Classic. Lahiri, whose last card of 65 came at the WGC-Bridgestone in August, while finishing T-6, had four birdies and an eagle and no bogeys. He is one shot behind the three players, who share the lead. Matt Kuchar, who decided at the last minute to play the Mayakoba Classic, missed only two fairways at the El Camaleon Golf Club, while shooting seven-under 64 that gave him a share of the lead with Dominic Bozzelli and PGA TOUR rookie Kramer Hickok. Lahiri started on the back nine and birdied 13th and 15th and added further gains on second and fourth with birdies before landing an eagle on Par-5 fifth and parred the rest for a 65 at the Par-71 course.
Sathiyan advances in Austrian Open
New Delhi: Star Indian paddler G Sathiyan knocked out world number 16 Marcos Freitas after a gripping battle to move to the pre-quarterfinals of the ITTF Austrian Open in Linz. Ranked 35 in the world and lone Indian in the main draw, Sathiyan had to play out of his skin to down Freitas 4-3 in the elite Platinum tournament. The Indian lost the first game 4-11 but fought back in his usual aggressive way, winning the next games 11-9, 11-9. But the Portuguese was not ready to give up, clawing his way back into the contest by clinching the next two games 11-8, 11-6. A valiant Sathiyan managed to level the match 3-3, battling to a 11-9 victory. With everything to play for in the decider, he showed great temperament to race to a 11-7 win for a sensational victory. "It was a wonderful victory and I am very satisfied with the way I performed today. I just hope to continue my streak and go as deep as possible in the tournament," Sathiyan said after the match.
Teenager Sharma rallies to enter final
Barcelona: Unseeded Maharashtra teenager Atharva Sharma will meet fifth seed Fahad Mohammed of Tamil Nadu in the singles final of the J S Pereira Memorial AITA ranking men's tennis tournament on Saturday. Sharma, from Pune, recovered from the loss of the first set to overcome Mumbais Shahbaaz Khan in three sets, 2-6, 7-5, 6-3, in the semi-final at the Bandra Gymkhana courts on Friday. Mohammed, the lone surviving seed, continued with his impressive form and defeated Gujarat's unseeded Vaidik Munshaw 6-1, 6-3 in the other semi-final to take his place in the summit round. Sharma, who played more consistently in the third set, managed four breaks - in the first, third, seventh and ninth games - to win it and wrap up the match.
Anand engages in marathon draw
Kolkata: Reigning world rapid champion Viswanathan Anand was engaged in a 145-move marathon draw on a day three players, including Pentala Harikrishna, shared the lead after round three of the Tata Steel Chess India 2018 here on Friday. World No 3 Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, current WC winner Levon Aronian and India No 2 Harikrishna shared the lead with two points apiece. Four players including reigning world rapid champion Vishwanathan Anand follow the pack of leaders with 1.5 points. The 10 participants play a single round robin (all play all) Rapid Tournament on first three days followed by a double round robin Blitz tournament on November 13 and 14 and the winner of the USD 40,000 tournament will be decided on cumulative points. The five-time former world champion, who is playing his first tournament in India in five years, drew all his three rounds including a 145-move draw against Wesley So of USA in round one.